10 Jul BLOG: Creativity and Better Mental Health
Summer 2020
During these extraordinary times with Covid-19 our creativity and mental health workshops have found a new virtual platform, forming an online community for our clients.
At Oakleaf, we believe that creativity and better mental health go hand in hand. So, we wanted to shine a light on some of the wonderful work that is going on behind the scenes. Work that helps maintain and strengthen this connection; giving you a closer look at our creative workshops, the challenges our clients are facing on a regular basis, and the staff and volunteers who make it all possible.
Oakleaf is currently running two online alternatives to our art-based workshops: Creative Therapy and Art Therapy, both of which serve as a space where creativity flows and participants who are struggling with feelings of isolation, anxiety or depression are able to join in without leaving the safety and comfort of their own homes.
“In a typical therapeutic art session, our group gathers around a large table with a candle lit in the centre, holding the space for the creative work ahead. We then begin the session with a group share in which every participant has a moment to share how they are feeling with the rest of the group. This simple yet important ritual allows for a real sense of community to form.”
Calypso, Oakleaf Activity Leader
“Getting together online was a bit strange at first but we would each be given time to check in. We sometimes even meditated before starting our work. Art Therapy helps me to relax and express myself while providing me with a pleasurable task to focus on and forget my troubles. An all-round peaceful space that makes me really happy.”
Fiona, Oakleaf Client
Once the sharing has concluded, the participants receive instructions for the chosen artistic activity. This may include painting an abstract landscape in watercolours, drawing a flower from real life, modelling a small creature from clay or perhaps creating a vision board from collaged material. Regardless of the artistic medium used, we remind participants to focus their attention on the creative process rather than the finished product. The reason for this is that the creative process is intrinsically soothing and self-healing. It relieves stress, provides a sense of empowerment and personal fulfilment. It also offers clients the ability to express difficult feelings in a non-verbal way.
“I think both the Art Therapy and Creativity Workshops are amazing. They have been some of the most cathartic and therapeutic classes I have done, especially when done in tandem with mindfulness sessions. They are what have kept me going.”
John, Oakleaf Client
It is important to note that it is not just our clients who benefit from these workshops. Oakleaf Activity Leader, Sam told us of a time where her mental health was at an all-time low. She was severely bullied to the point where feelings of anxiety and depression completely diminished her self-esteem; and with it, her artistic spark. This was, until she happened upon a talk held by our CEO, Clive Stone – to whom she credits her first real introduction to Oakleaf.
Despite initial reservations, Sam signed up for some weekly art classes which, she says, “opened my eyes to all I can be, and achieve – not just around art.” This enabled her to not only return to work but to begin studying the things she felt most passionate about, like coaching, art therapy and creative therapy. “Most importantly, in all this I rediscovered a deeply important part of myself that had once been lost, a part of myself that helps me get through good and bad days, that I would have been lost without if the Oakleaf team hadn’t help me re-find it.”
Sam believes creativity can be a powerful tool, which we can and should be used to express our feelings, worries and fears: “Images go deeper than words alone and can give the artist and the viewer a real insight into ‘the self.’ I am deeply artistic; I cannot draw – my horses look like camels – but I still love to be creative.”
Sam, Oakleaf Activity Leader
It doesn’t matter if you’re an accomplished artist or if you haven’t picked up a paintbrush since school. Learning to create something just for ourselves with no judgment about whether it is good or bad is deeply rewarding. It builds confidence and self-esteem in our clients.
We aim to make our services, and particularly our virtual wellbeing activities, accessible to all. For example, some of our clients have very little creative/artistic materials at home. They instead improvise with what they have to hand – even if it is just an old envelope and a biro. Sam, for example, encourages attendees to scribble, close their eyes and trust their intuition; to embrace what she describes as a “childlike innocence” of creating just for the fun of it.
“I feel grateful for the inspiration my creativity group provided. Encouraging us to explore our feelings through art by just having a go. The workshop has helped me to spend more time exploring my own creativity; using the tools to help me process my emotions. Living alone with health problems has its challenges at the best of times, and all the more so in lockdown. My anxiety levels increased greatly due to isolation and all my usual support systems fell away.
“I bought a notebook as the group suggested and began a regular Mandala journal. It has been liberating not to be so attached to the quality of my efforts; a useful and alternative way to process difficult feelings.”
Andrea, Oakleaf Client
The immersive nature of being creative can help you to focus your mind and control your thoughts – much like the practice of meditation. It’s all about flipping the negative. Using those same creative technique to draw on all of the positives that have come out of lockdown; and those which are still to come as restrictions start to ease. Each client has their own particular needs and requirements. Sometimes it can be hard to combat all their feelings at once; loneliness, anxiety, confusion, anger. What’s important is that we can provide them with a safe space. A space where they feel comfortable enough to share how they’re feeling with others rather than hide it away. One, where a sense of belonging is achieved.
“The team at Oakleaf have been outstanding and have adapted to our new normal brilliantly. Their sessions have given me a much-needed focus. We’re usually set a theme or thought to interpret, so that we have the option to interact and engage with one another; something which I now look forward to and rely on. Oakleaf really have been the backbone of my mental health support.”
Jan, Oakleaf Client
If you are able to donate to Oakleaf and help us provide much-needed support as funding sources vanish during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, we would be incredibly grateful—we now need you more than ever: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity?charityId=1006744
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