Participatory theatre and mental health recovery: a narrative inquiry

Abstract

This narrative inquiry gave opportunity for participants to elaborate on their stories of their engagement with Teater Vildenvei. It is through the richness of the data that the depth of the significance of meaning that people ascribe to their stories demonstrates the potential power of participatory theatre for mental health recovery. Because of its effects, people make life-changing and life-saving claims.

Stigma correlates in individuals with mental health conditions versus community members enrolled in a nationwide integrated arts‐based community rehabilitation program in Israel

“…Amitim's flagship service consists of integrated arts‐based groups designed to facilitate a direct interpersonal contact to enable a meaningful dialogue and ongoing relationships between people with MHCs and non‐clinical community members while they jointly engage in a creative activity such as theatre, music, literature, etc. This aim is in line not only with the abovementioned contact strategy but also with mounting evidence that participation in arts‐based groups promotes personal growth, positive identity, self‐esteem and self‐awareness, empowerment, social inclusion and the development of personal and community resilience (Bosco, Petrini, Giaccherini, & Meringolo, ; Faigin & Stein, ; Holland, ; Lomas, ; Oren, Orkibi, Elefant, & Salomon‐Gimmon, ; Torrissen & Stickley, ). Each year, about 15 integrated arts‐based groups are offered across Israel, which meet weekly for 2–3 hr, for 3–8 months.…”

“…The cross‐sectional data here suggest that people with MHCs who had previously participated in integrated arts‐based groups reported greater personal recovery than those who had not. Thus, participation in arts‐based groups may have played a role in the process of personal recovery, since such groups have been shown to promote personal growth, positive identity, self‐esteem and self‐awareness, empowerment, social inclusion and the development of personal and community resilience (Bosco et al, ; Faigin & Stein, ; Holland, ; Lomas, ; Torrissen & Stickley, ).…”

Mental health recovery and arts engagement

“…In terms of using arts in a present day recovery context, arts and health practices appear to seamlessly deliver elements identified in the CHIME framework (Leamy et al, 2011) and can satisfy categories identified in the recovery processes and, given that the right people facilitate the process at the right time, arts participation can make a significant contribution to the recovery process. Although this study only makes connections to two of the CHIME categories, other studies suggest that there are links between all the identified processes of recovery and arts engagement (see Parr, 2012;Torrissen and Stickley, 2017).…”

What does the actor need to perform in health care? Emotional demands, skills and competencies

“…Research on government policy-making and health care services (Parkinson and White 2013) and the methodologies linking theatrical interventions to individuals and communities in clinical contexts (Baxter and Low 2018;Sextou 2016;Brodzinski 2010) attest to the value of value theatre. More specifically, research evidence captures the perceived wellbeing benefits of using interactive bedside performance with children in hospitals (Sextou and Hall 2015), from drama with older people that transforms patterns of doing, thinking and feeling as a route to wellbeing (Wimpenny and Savin-Baden 2014) and, from participatory theatre with people who experience recovery from mental health issues (Torrissen and Stickley 2018). These studies demonstrate how arts projects in healthcare have provided a valuable means to create new ways of creative engagement with vulnerable audiences.…”