ABSTRACT
Since ancient times, the arts have been used by humans across the globe as healing methods and vehicles for communication. The arts are increasingly becoming clinical tools to promote health and psychological well-being in individuals. This clinical paper features positive arts interventions which positive arts therapists, positive psychologists and positive psychotherapists can administer in their clinical practice for individuals of all ages to creatively tap into their imagination, reflect upon life goals, gain insight into their character strengths, activate their positive emotions, determine their sources of life meaning and explore spiritual avenues. The following positive arts interventions will be described in great detail: Scribble Drawing, My Strengths Collage, Bridge Drawing with Path (BDP), A Favourite Kind of Day (AFKD), Tree of Life, My Sources of Meaning and Spiritual Pathway. To illustrate these positive arts-based activities, the authors share clinical case examples from Australia, Canada and Ukraine.
Notes on contributors
Olena Darewych, PhD, RP, RCAT is a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario, a Registered Canadian Art Therapist, and Adjunct Faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University and Adler University. She is a past-president of the Canadian Art Therapy Association and her current research explores digital art therapy for adults with autism.
Nancy Riedel Bowers, PhD, MSW, RSW, RPT-S teaches at Wilfrid Laurier University, Faculty of Social Work in Waterloo, Ontario and has a private practice in creative and play therapy. She has numerous publications regarding her research in play and related therapies including ‘Play Therapy with Families: a Collaborative Approach to Healing’ (2013).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.