The importance of creative expression to healthy human development and recovery from mental distress is well established across cultures.

For people who have mental health problems, the arts therapies have specifically been developed to allow people to tap into their inner, creative resources while exploring personal issues in a safe, contained space with a trained arts therapist and a view to psychological change.

In the last two decades much interest has also been generated in the arts-in-health initiatives where engagement in the creative process per se is seen to have therapeutic value.

 
This engagement is seen to promote general well-being including mental health. Indications from international, UK and Scottish research are that many people with mental health problems find the arts therapies helpful, either on their own or as part of a range of therapies, which may include medication and talking therapies.


People who experience the arts therapies have found that they provide a sense of choice and control compared to medication or talking therapies.

Music Therapy is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health. In some instances, the client's needs are addressed directly through music; in others they are addressed through the relationships that develop between the client and therapist.


Music therapy is used with individuals of all ages and with a variety of conditions, including: psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical handicaps, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging. It is also used to: improve learning, build self-esteem, reduce stress, support physical exercise, and facilitate a host of other health-related activities.


"Poetry, music, dance as well as art media – all have their place in helping people recover.


It does not matter if people cannot draw or paint as long as they know and share what the image is about. It works well in group situations and also in one on one sessions."

Valerie Mackenzie, Dip Couns. Cert.PCAT