Arts for Mental Health Research & Resources
MAC and Mass Culture are pleased to present the following articles and resources that demonstrate the benefits of the arts on mental health and physical well-being. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of resources, we hope it is a thorough collection that can be used by the community to both advocate for arts for mental health programs and as a springboard to further research.
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About the Research
In 2017, researching the relatively low valuation of artists and their contributions to society, we at Mississauga Arts Council looked into the remarkable economic contributions of the arts (Hill Strategies and others), we were inspired by the enormous popular support for the arts in Ontario, as evidenced in an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted for the Ontario government in 2017. But obviously economic value and popular appeal haven’t been enough, we had to find a better story for professional artists, emphasizing their value as a competitive advantage in healthcare cost reduction.
Here and there, we gathered spot news reports of beneficial impacts of – a dance program for neuromuscular illnesses, or painting for stroke recovery, or music programs offering important measurable benefits for just about anything. Encouraging good news stories, noting reduced stress, depression, anxiety, and suicides from participation in creative experiences as participants or as attendees; are well known, in a few circles and understood instinctively by the public, yet with these important accomplishments, artists are still barely sustaining themselves as the best educated poor people in Canada.
We turned to other countries, Denmark for its back to work enabling program using arts experiences and especially we made note of the Creative Inquiry Report to Britain’s Parliament in July 2017. The startling healthcare benefits cited, guided our approach to our Arts for Mental Health Conference.
Key Resources
- Canadians’ Arts Participation, Health, and Well-Being – Hill Strategies (2021)
- Health Commons Fact Sheet: Impact of Loneliness & Isolation – Health Commons Solution Lab (2021)
- What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review – Health Evidence Network synthesis report 67- World Health Organization (2019)
- Impressions of the impact of the arts on quality of life and well-being in Ontario – by Nanos to Ontario Arts Council (2017)
- Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report – All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (2017)
- State of the Field Report: Arts in Healthcare – State of the Field Committee (2009)
- Arts, Health and Wellbeing – Arts Council England (2007)
Featured Resources:
Resource: Craft Psychology: How crafting promotes health, Book (Dr Anne Kirketerp)
'Craft Psychology' by Dr. Anne Kirketerp explains the science and psychology behind crafting and its effects on health and wellbeing.
Resource: Group drumming as a burnout prevention initiative among staff members at a child and adolescent mental health care facility (South African Journal of Psychology)
The research concludes that drumming and recreational music-making groups may represent a potentially powerful and cost-effective burnout reduction st…
Resource: Recreational Music-Making: A Cost-Effective Group Interdisciplinary Strategy for Reducing Burnout and Improving Mood States in Long-Term Care Workers (Advances)
Research that concludes Recreation Music-Making reduces burnout and mood dimensions, as well as TMD, in long-term care workers.
Resource: Group drumming and well-being: A promising self-care strategy for social workers (Arts & Health)
Research that concludes recreational drumming is a promising group-oriented self-care strategy among social workers, who often hold high-stress occupa…
Resource: Comfort Sound Drumming: Successfully adapting the traditional drum circle for hospitalized cancer patients and their caregivers (John R. Beck)
The article discusses the use of interactive group drumming among hospitalized cancer patients, specifically hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipi…
Resource: The effects of group improvisational music therapy on depression in adolescents and adults with substance abuse: a randomized controlled trial (Nordic Journal of Music Therapy)
Research on the effect of group improvisational music therapy on depression in adolescents and adults with substance abuse.
Resource: Therapeutic Potential of a Drum and Dance Ceremony Based on the African Ngoma Tradition (Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine)
Research on the benefits of drum and dance ceremonies based in the African Ngoma Tradition.
Resource: African drumming: a holistic approach to reducing stress and improving health? (Department of Physiological Sciences, Stellenbosch University)
Research on Djembe drumming. Findings include that Djembe drumming may improve cardiovascular health and at the same time may decrease stress and anxi…
Resource: Making music for mental health: how group drumming mediates recovery (Psychology of Well-Being)
Research demonstrating that group drumming provides a creative and mutual learning space in which mental health recovery can take place.
Resource: Immediate effects of group-based wellness drumming on affective states in university students (Mungas and Silverman, University of Minnesota, School of Music)
Resource on the positive benefits of active music-making published from University of Minnesota's School of Music.
Resource: Effect of group empowerment drumming on cognitive performance and mood in women with fibromyalgia – disseration (Aquino, California State University, Fullerton)
Dissertation by Jordan Keith Aquino on the effect of group drumming for women with fibromyalgia.
Resource: WhereToStart.ca
WhereToStart.ca provides access to a variety of mental health services for children and youth offered by four service providers in Peel Region.
Resource: The Arts and the Quality of Life for Ontarians (Nanos/Ontario Arts Council)
Arts and Quality of Life for Ontarians, commissioned from Nanos by OAC, surveyed Ontarians on the importance of the arts for their quality of life and…
Taking a look at ArtsCare (Dan White, Sydenham Current)
Sydenham Current article on the MAC's ArtsCare initiatives and programming.
Mississauga Arts Council: Health Through the Arts (Rick Muller, City Life Magazine)
City Life Magazine article on the introduction of Mississauga Arts Council's Pilot ArtsCare Social Prescription Program.
Sound and sight: Anna Silgardo – We are all unique (Douglas McLean, Doppler Online)
Doppler Online (Hunstville) article on Anna Silgardo's Artist in Momentum programming for self discovery, self awareness, and healing.
Resource: Proposal for a Pilot ArtsCare Social Prescription Program (Mississauga Arts Council)
Following their findings from the Arts for Mental Health Conference in 2021, Mississauga Arts Council created a Proposal for a Pilot ArtsCare Social P…
‘A prescription for fun’: How social prescribing is aiming to connect vulnerable Canadians to their communities (Erin Anderssen, The Globe and Mail)
The Globe and Mail article that explores pilot programming for social prescriptions.
Arts-based social prescribing comes to Stanford (Robin Wander, Stanford Report)
A new partnership between Vaden Health Services and the program Art Pharmacy taps into the power of experiences like taking a poetry workshop or atten…
Resource: Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon Gneral’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community (The U.S. Surgeon General)
Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing soc…
Resource: The Impact of Arts and Cultural Engagement on Population Health: Findings from Major Cohort Studies in the UK and USA 2017 –2022 (University College London)
This report synthesizes the global evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being, with a specific focus on the WHO European Regi…
Resource: The arts in public health policy: progress and opportunities (The Lancet: Health Policy)
To explore what global progress is being made towards the WHO's call for collaboration between arts and public health. The paper presents examples of …
Resource: Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities (University of Florida)
Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities offers a roadmap for communities to develop programs that formally integrate arts, culture, and…
In Warsaw, art brings solace and hope to Ukrainian refugees (Paul Waldie, Globe and Mail)
A "Slow-Looking" program at the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland is an innovative art therapy workshop for Ukrainian refugees.
Art therapy offers an alternative to medication for depression and anxiety (Robin Roberts, Healthing.ca)
Whether it's music, clay or painting, research has shown that experiencing art makes us feel better. If only policymakers recognized the value. Articl…
Resource: The impact of the arts in helthcare on patients and service users: A critical review (Health and Social Care Community)
This review provides an updated evaluation of the emerging body of literature on the value of the arts in healthcare settings. Internationally, there …
Question by The Honourable Patricia Bovey to Ministry of Health: Impact of Arts and Culture on Health
Question by The Honourable Patricia Bovey to Ministry of Health at the Debates of the Senate, 1st Session, 44th Parliament (February 9, 2022)
Resource: Canadians’ Arts Participation, Health, and Well-Being SIA report 53 (Hill Strategies Research Inc.)
The report uses statistical modelling via regression analysis to explore connections between a cultural participation index and four aspects of health…
Resource: National Arts and Culture Impact Survey (NACIS)
A national survey conducted during the pandemic on short-term economic and psychological fall-out for arts workers, impact of government interventions…
What Do We Know About Doctor-Prescribed Museum Visits? (Eva Amsen, Forbes.com)
From depression and concussion recovery to MS, arts have helped Mississauga residents take back their lives Article by Eva Amsen, Published on Forbes.…
Museum Visits Prescribed to Combat Covid-Related Stress (Manuel Charr, museumnext.com)
Social Prescription news from Belgium. Patients suffering from stress will be offered prescriptions to visit public museums.
Resource: Treating symptoms of depression in people with dementia: Are non-drug strategies a promising option? (McMaster University)
Art therapy and reminiscing effective treatments for elderly with depressive disorders.
Resource: Ontario Adding Mental Health Workers to OPP Communications Centres (Ontario News Room)
The Ontario government is investing $8.4 million over three years in a new Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Crisis Call Diversion Program. This program…
Resource: The Windsor Essex Compassion Care Community: 2020 Highlights and Results (The Windsor Essex Compassion Care Community)
"The Importance of Being Connected" program was found to increase awareness of the negative effects of social isolation and promote intentional and pe…
Resource: Qualitative findings from a systematic review: Visual arts engagement for adults with mental health conditions (University of Brighton)
Evidence-based research on arts and mental health.
Resource: SOCIAL PRESCRIBING IN ONTARIO – Progress Report (Alliance for Healthier Communities)
Overview of social prescribing projects in 11 Ontario Community Health Centres
Resource: ARTS ON PRESCRIPTION: Improving health and wellbeing through arts participation (Alliance for Healthier Communities)
Slides from a webinar outlining several projects in the Toronto area linking culture and wellbeing.
Resource: Creating Health Communities Through Cross-Sector Collaboration White Paper (University Center for Arts in Medicine & ArtPlace America)
This paper presents a case for how collaboration among the public health, arts and culture, and community development sectors is critical to addressin…
Resource: ‘Artlift’ arts-on-referral intervention in UK primary care: updated findings from an ongoing observational study (European Journal of Public Health)
Arts for health interventions are an accepted option for medical management of mental wellbeing in health care. Updated findings are presented from a …
Resource: Visual Art and Mental Health: A systematic review… (What Works Centre for Wellbeing)
This systematic review aimed to address the primary question: What are the subjective wellbeing outcomes of engaging with visual arts…
Resource: Identification with arts-based groups improves mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health conditions (The University of Queensland)
A social identity theoretical approach was applied to explore how participation in the arts may improve mental health in a longitudinal study.
Resource: The Value of Arts & Culture, Peoples & Society (Arts Council England)
This evidence review covers he value of arts & culture within four major areas: economy, health & well-being, society & education.
Resource: Be Creative Be Well; Arts, wellbeing and local communities: An evaluation (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health)
This is an important report that describes and evaluates the Be Creative Be Well project and the key role it has played within the integrated, communi…
Resource: Basic Toolkit Handbook: Building and Sustaining Arts in Healthcare Programs (Society for the Arts in Healthcare)
This Handbook reflects the complex and changing needs of our growing field. It serves as a guide through the Society for the Arts in Healthcare’s full…
Research Highlights (Video Summaries):
In March 2017, Nanos Research released their findings from a random telephone survey of over 1000 adult Ontarians on the relationship they have with arts and culture and how it affects their quality of life. Highlights from this research are presented here to show the astounding results of how valuable the arts are to Ontarians, and that the arts make a significant impact to improve mental health and well-being for themselves, their children, and their communities.
In July 2017, the British All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts Health and Well-Being released, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing. This report demonstrates the powerful effects creative experiences have on medical patients, and how arts of all kinds can be used as not only a treatment option for physical illness, but also mental illness. The arts, arts therapy, and creative experiences are an incredibly viable resource in health care.
Datathon Resources:
Resource: Political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicalbe diseases, and mental health (World Health Organization)
Decision WHA76(9): Political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the pr…
Resource: 211 Ontario
211 Ontario Authors: United Way & the Government of Ontario Link: https://211ontario.ca Descript…
Resource: 45 Tools and Resources for Student Mental Health (iReviews)
Website from California with services, tools, and resources to support the mental wellness of studen…
Resource: Canadians’ Arts Participation, Health, and Well-Being SIA report 53 (Hill Strategies Research Inc.)
The report uses statistical modelling via regression analysis to explore connections between a cultu…
Resource: National Arts and Culture Impact Survey (NACIS)
A national survey conducted during the pandemic on short-term economic and psychological fall-out fo…
Resource: Treating symptoms of depression in people with dementia: Are non-drug strategies a promising option? (McMaster University)
Art therapy and reminiscing effective treatments for elderly with depressive disorders.
Resource: Arts and Health Promotion: Tools and Bridges for Practice, Research, and Social Transformation (Springer)
Synthesizes theory on health promotion and applied arts for a wide range of scholars, practitioners,…
Resource: Ontario Expanding Mental Health and Addictions Supports for Children and Youth in Northwestern Ontario (Ontario News Room)
The Ontario government is providing more than $1 million in additional annual funding specifically t…
Resource: Ontario Adding Mental Health Workers to OPP Communications Centres (Ontario News Room)
The Ontario government is investing $8.4 million over three years in a new Ontario Provincial Police…
Resource: The Art of Wellness (WriteWell)
This Art of Wellness documentary spotlights the important role of the arts and the positive impact t…
Resource: Let’s get visual! The “art” of improving cognitive ability and mental well-being (McMaster University)
Dementia and mental well-being: art based therapy. Globally by 2050, estimated 150 million people wi…
Resource: The Windsor Essex Compassion Care Community: 2020 Highlights and Results (The Windsor Essex Compassion Care Community)
"The Importance of Being Connected" program was found to increase awareness of the negative effects …
Resource: Mental Health Support Webinar (University of Ottawa)
Susan Farrell: Defining The Royal, Key COVID-19 Effects Survey, Next steps, Responses from The Royal…
Resource: Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood: findings from the HEartS Survey (BMC Public Health)
Evidence-based research on arts and feelings of social connectedness.
Resource: Toolkits – TACLA (The Asian Canadian Living Archive)
A page detailing The Asian Canadian Living Archive (TACLA) and its ongoing efforts to create inclusi…
Resource: CultureCase: A resource for the cultural sector (Kings College London)
CultureCase comprises a vast array of carefully selected academic research from universities and sch…
Resource: Qualitative findings from a systematic review: Visual arts engagement for adults with mental health conditions (University of Brighton)
Evidence-based research on arts and mental health.
Resource: Opera – Civic Impact Framework (The Association for Opera in Canada)
A civic impact framework that would allow its member companies across Canada to better understand an…
Resource: Arts, Health and Wellbeing: The Need for Robust Appraisal of Research in the Field (Colouring in Culture)
Much-needed (though understandably contentious) debate needed about the robustness/rigour of some ar…
Resource: Music Therapy for Autism: How Effective Is It?(Elemy)
Article with resources on the benefits of Music therapy treatments for children with autism spectrum…
Resource: How Art & Art Therapy Can Benefit Autistic Children (Elemy)
Article on the benefits of Art & Art Therapy treatments for children with autism spectrum disorder (…
Resource: The Benefits of Writing on Mental Health (Mindless Doodle)
Interview discussion regarding the benefits of having a writing practise can have on our mental heal…
Resource: FDA Approves Prescription Video Game for ADHD (Very Well Mind)
The FDA has officially granted marketing authorization to the first game-based therapeutic.
Resource: Meditative Live Coding and Musicological Hindrances (Matthew Tift)
But if live coding is to become a meditative experience that cultivates mindfulness, then we can sta…
Resource: SOCIAL PRESCRIBING IN ONTARIO – Progress Report (Alliance for Healthier Communities)
Overview of social prescribing projects in 11 Ontario Community Health Centres
Resource: ARTS ON PRESCRIPTION: Improving health and wellbeing through arts participation (Alliance for Healthier Communities)
Slides from a webinar outlining several projects in the Toronto area linking culture and wellbeing.
Resource: Creating Health Communities Through Cross-Sector Collaboration White Paper (University Center for Arts in Medicine & ArtPlace America)
This paper presents a case for how collaboration among the public health, arts and culture, and comm…
Resource: Arts & Health at Duke (Duke University)
Compiled articles and resources from Arts & Health at Duke University.
Resource: Health Commons Fact Sheet: Impact of Loneliness & Isolation (Health Commons Solution Lab)
A two page infographic outlining the economic and health implications of loneliness and isolation on…
Resource: What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review – Health Evidence Network synthesis report 67 (World Health Organization)
This report used a scoping review methodology to map the global academic literature in English and R…
Resource: Seniors & Suicide – Starting the Conversation with the AfterWhys Play (Suicide Awareness Council of Wellington-Dufferin)
A video related to the play AfterWhys, which highlights the risk factors for seniors as it relates t…
Resource: ‘Artlift’ arts-on-referral intervention in UK primary care: updated findings from an ongoing observational study (European Journal of Public Health)
Arts for health interventions are an accepted option for medical management of mental wellbeing in h…
Resource: The MARCH Network (University College London)
The MARCH Network is one of 8 national networks funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part …
Resource: Visual Art and Mental Health: A systematic review… (What Works Centre for Wellbeing)
This systematic review aimed to address the primary question: What are the subjective we…
Resource: Identification with arts-based groups improves mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health conditions (The University of Queensland)
A social identity theoretical approach was applied to explore how participation in the arts may impr…
Resource: Montreal museum partners with doctors to ‘prescribe’ art (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)
A doctors' organisation and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) are partnering to allow physicia…
Resource: It Is Not Illness But Isolation That Is The Taproot of Suicide (100Stone Project)
An event in Alaska where community allies gathered to manifest a sculpture installation, shouldering…
Resource: Put on Your Dancing Shoes to Stay Nimble as You Age (Health Central)
Researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology in Japan found dance best of 16 forms…
Resource: Impressions of the impact of the arts on quality of life and well-being in Ontario (Nanos/Ontario Arts Council)
Executive Summary from Nanos for the Ontario Arts Council on the impact of the arts on the day-to-da…
Resource: The Creative Health: Arts for Mental Health & Well-Being (All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health & Well-being)
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health & Well-being: This resource uncovers 9 key areas to de…
Resource: Culture Track (Business / Arts)
Culture Track: Canada is a study of the attitudes and behaviours of Canadian cultural consumers.
Resource: The Arts & Individual Well-Being in Canada (Hill Strategies)
Hill Strategies Report: The data in the report show that there is a strong connection between 18 cul…
Resource: Singing for Better Breathing: Findings from the Lambeth & Southwark Singing & COPD Project
Over the last eight years there has been a growth of interest in the potential value of participatio…
Resource: Art, Health, and Well-Being in America (National Organization for Arts in Mental Health)
A white paper showing how arts interventions can contribute to positive clinical, experiential, and …
Resource: Arts in Medicine Literature Review (Grantmakers in the Arts)
A literature review on arts in medicine. Illuminates the role artists and arts organizations can pla…
Resource: Museum-based programs for socially isolated older adults: Understanding what works (Museums on Prescription)
This paper presents research findings that help to understand how museum programs created opportunit…
Resource: Arts Participation & Canadians’ Health (Infographic)
The Ontario government is providing more than $1 million in additional annual funding specifically t…
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies for At-Risk, Justice-Involved, and Traumatized Youths (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)
This review explores recent research on arts-based programs and arts therapies.The review focuses on…
Resource: Health Stories (Women’s College Hospital, Sick Kids)
Using digital storytelling to enhance patient care and medical/health professional education.
Resource: The Arts in Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Benefits of Arts Participation (National Endowment for the Arts)
This report is a literature review and gap-analysis of recent research about the arts’ relationship …
Resource: Impact of fine arts participation on self-determination and locus of control among persons with developmental disabilities.(Matheny School and Hospital)
This preliminary study sought evidence of the degree to which self-determination and locus of contro…
Resource: The art of being healthy: a qualitative study to develop a thematic framework for understanding the relationship between health and the arts (University of Western Australia)
Guided by the biopsychosocial model of health and theories of social epidemiology, the aim of this s…
Resource: Joining the Spectrum: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry Into Theatre as an Intervention for Autism Diagnosed Teens (National Endowment for the Arts)
"Joining the Spectrum": An Interdisciplinary Research Inquiry into Theatre as Intervention for Youth…
Resource: Musical improvisation and health: a review (Psychology of Well-Being )
There is an expanding field of research into how making or listening to music can improve wellbeing.…
Resource: The Value of Arts & Culture, Peoples & Society (Arts Council England)
This evidence review covers he value of arts & culture within four major areas: economy, health & we…
Resource: Using New Metrics to Assess the Role of the Arts in Well-Being (Office of Research & Analysis or the National Endowment for the Arts)
There is implicit consensus that the arts play a positive role in most societies, with good reason. …
Resource: Music: a better alternative than pain? (University Hospital of South Manchester)
Information about the effectiveness of music from randomised controlled trials will only ever partia…
Resource: Art & Wellness: The Importance of Arts for Aboriginal Peoples’ Health & Healing (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health)
How art & culture practices can contribute to the health & healing processes of Aboriginal peoples i…
Resource: Making and gifting belonging: creative arts and people with learning disabilities. (School of the Environment, University of Dundee)
Through the doing of creative arts, people with learning disabilities can transcend the exclusionary…
Resource: The arts, health and seniors project: A Three Year Exploration of the Relationship between Arts and Health
From 2006-2009, an initiative was developed in Vancouver and North Vancouver to provide vulnerable a…
Resource: Be Creative Be Well; Arts, wellbeing and local communities: An evaluation (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health)
This is an important report that describes and evaluates the Be Creative Be Well project and the key…
Resource: Impacts of community events and festivals on rural places (Government of Alberta)
This research provides a literature-review-based overview of community events and festivals. This re…
Resource: National Arts & Youth Demonstration Project (McGill University)
The objective of the present study is to examine the effectiveness of after-school arts programs in …
Resource: Choral singing and psychological wellbeing (Journal of Applied Arts and Health)
A recent systematic review (Clift, Hancox, Staricoff & Whitmore 2008) identified 35 research reports…
Resource: Basic Toolkit Handbook: Building and Sustaining Arts in Healthcare Programs (Society for the Arts in Healthcare)
This Handbook reflects the complex and changing needs of our growing field. It serves as a guide thr…
Resource: Do Community Arts Programs Promote Positive Youth Development? (University of Windsor)
This article reports on a multi-method evaluation of the Tampa Arts and Youth Demonstration Project …
Resource: Learning, Arts, and the Brain (The Dana Foundation)
The Dana consortium findings define/evaluate causal relationships between arts training and the brai…
Resource: The arts, health and wellbeing (Arts Council England)
This framework outlines Arts Council England’s first formal national strategy for arts and health, c…
Resource: Social engagement and health outcomes among older people: introduction to a special section (University of Sheffield)
This article provides a detailed overview of pre-2005 studies of social engagement and health among …