Arts-Based Interventions for Health Promotion Amidst Trauma and Challenges

Arts-based interventions have the power to foster healing, build resilience, and support communities facing challenges. In this article, we’ll examine insights from two key projects conducted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic: reflections from the grassroots Create Hope Mural campaign in Canada and findings from a systematic literature review on arts-based interventions published in Frontiers in Psychology. These projects highlight the pivotal role that the arts can play in community health promotion and psychophysiological processing of traumatic events.

The “Create Hope Mural” Campaign

The “Create Hope Mural” campaign was a grassroots arts-based community intervention launched in April 2020, amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its goal was to inspire dialogue among Canadians around the theme of hope during uncertain times.?

This volunteer-driven initiative unfolded in four phases:

1. Artwork Submission: Community members were invited to contribute their artwork.? A total of 30 submissions were received by community artists aged 5-18 years old.
2. Online Showcase: The submissions were published on a dedicated website and social media channels.
3. Digital Collage: Art submissions were compiled to form a digital collage.
4. Physical Mural: A community mural was painted in Toronto.

This campaign drew on the socio-ecological model, recognizing how factors within one’s social environment can impact well-being.? Also known as “social determinants of health,” these factors are particularly significant for underserved groups who often face systemic inequities that affect health outcomes.

Campaign organizers reflected on their experiences with this project in a 2021 article published in Global Health Promotion. They underscored the importance of considering social contexts, historical influences, as well as current events when designing arts-based health promotion activities.

A critical theme that emerged was adaptability. The project organizers found that being responsive to the social and cultural climate was essential for the intervention's success. This adaptability serves as an invaluable lesson for those implementing similar initiatives in other regions.

At the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation (BGF), these insights resonate deeply. In our work to implement social prescribing and arts-for-health pilot projects in Hampton Roads, we prioritize a regional approach. By evaluating local resources and sociocultural factors, we aim to create impactful, sustainable programs tailored to the unique needs of our community.

A Broader Look At Arts-Based Interventions For Professional Caregivers

Another perspective on arts-based interventions comes from a December 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology. This systematic literature review examined the role of arts-based interventions during crises, trauma, and challenges, particularly focusing on the mental health of caregiving professionals.

The study analyzed six qualitative studies published between 1995 and 2020, identifying seven key practice elements that define effective arts-based crisis interventions:

1. Creating a Safe Space: Ensuring a space where participants feel secure.? Providing structure and direction to the arts-activities so as to avoid retraumatization.
2. Focusing on Strengths: Framing self-care as a strength and using art to harness internal coping resources.
3. Building Psychosocial Competencies: Supporting peers through skill-building.
4. Emotional Expression: Using art for non-verbal emotional processing and fostering connection through shared experiences.
5. Naming the Crisis Impact: Educational components that help participants articulate how the crisis has affected them.
6. Integrative Creative Approaches: Employing diverse artistic modalities, recognizing the need for various modes of expression to adequately address the “body-bound” nature of trauma.
7. Cultural Sensitivity: Recognizing that arts may be more culturally acceptable in some communities than traditional talk therapies.

The benefits of these arts-based interventions included fostering resilience, restoring balance, and using community as a healing resource. Additionally, these interventions helped participants adapt, recover, and return to their caregiving roles.

This study highlighted how the mental health of caregiving professionals directly impacts the well-being of the communities they serve.? At BGF, we’ve seen this connection firsthand. In Fall 2022, we supported an arts wellness pilot project for staff and caregivers at NYC Health + Hospitals. The impactful results of this program led to NYC H+H receiving a grant from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, which allowed them to hire a full-time artist-in-residence to continue this important work.

Recognizing the vital role of caregiver wellness, BGF partners with organizations to develop arts-based pilot programs tailored to their communities. From project planning to data collection and impact reporting, we assist our community partners in creating initiatives that meet their needs.

Through initiatives like these, we are redefining how arts can transform health care and community well-being, one project at a time.? If your organization is interested in launching an arts-based intervention, we invite you to learn more and reach out to us here: https://www.benjamingoldbergfoundation.org/what-we-do?

Resources:

Abdullahi I, Chana NK, Zenone M, Ardiles P. Art during tough times: reflections from an art-based health promotion initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Glob Health Promot. 2021 Jun;28(2):78-82. doi: 10.1177/1757975921998638. Epub 2021 Mar 25. PMID: 33765878; PMCID: PMC8246409.

Havsteen-Franklin D, Tjasink M, Kottler JW, Grant C, Kumari V. Arts-Based Interventions for Professionals in Caring Roles During and After Crisis: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Front Psychol. 2020 Dec 22;11:589744. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.589744. PMID: 33414746; PMCID: PMC7783413.

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