Abstract:

This exploratory research relates to social prescribing (SP) ‘Art-on-Prescription’ (AoP) in Wales, UK, examining how levels of anxiety, depression and mental health problems may be managed through developing a creative mindset. Dr Rogers and co-researcher Rogers together with the growing expertise and experiences of medical professionals, healthcare workers and practitioners in the arts, aim to elucidate the wider causes of ill health by offering solutions that go beyond the medical. When patients visit a General Practitioner, (GP), they expect a prescription for medication. AoP works in a similar way but instead of referring patients to a pharmacy, they are referred to arts providers. The Inquiry Report (2015-2017), Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing (2nd Edition), presented by The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW, 2014) endorses the arts for health and wellbeing for the Nation, chaired by Lord Howarth of Newport. This 2-year research, evidence-gathering programme included discussions with patients, health and social care professionals, artists and arts administrators, academics, people in local government, ministers, other policymakers and parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament. When GPs are dealing with patients who might have felt lost and powerless at challenging long-established problems, there are now SP services to try and engage with them, motivating people to make changes. Brandling and House (2007) contend that SP enables primary care services to refer patients with social, emotional or practical needs to a variety of local non-Clinical services. The research paper includes the application of The Pedagogical Variation Model (PVM, Rogers 2013) giving insight to change-making from the perspective of change-makers and those involved in the change themselves. Legislation in the UK, The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014, for SP now includes AoP. Stephen Clift, founding Chair of the Royal Society for Public Health, RSPH, Special Interest Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing, and a founding trustee of Arts Enterprise with a Social Purpose (AESOP) continues to pioneer the arts for health and wellbeing regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Founder of Arts 4 Dementia, Veronica Franklin Gould FRSA, AMRSPH, recognises how participatory programmes in partnership with arts venues, with training, re-energises and inspires people affected by early-stage dementia, and their carers, as evidenced by her reports Reawakening the Mind (2013), Music Reawakening: Musicianship and Access for Early to Mid-Stage Dementia – The Way Forward (Wigmore Hall 2015). Dr Susy Rogers, investigating the critical success factors for SP AoP with the Team of Academics Professor Carolyn Wallace (Director of The School for Social Prescribing Research), Professor Steven Smith and Dr Sarah Wallace, uses Group Concept Mapping (GCM) adopting GroupWisdomTM s/ware as a springboard for gathering data through online “Brainstorming”. Several interesting aspects emerged from 191 statements collected from a research sample (n=80). In addition to social benefits of group activities, some psychological mechanisms may relate directly to art making. E.g. when the role of the flow state where attention is fully engaged in an activity, a person loses awareness of self, space and time being engaged within the artistic process, i.e. where a coherent sense being in the moment, may predict eudemonic happiness.

Keywords:

Creativity, art-on-prescription, health, well-being, holistic therapies, mental health, dementia, social prescribing, Pedagogical Variation Model.