title: The arts as healing.
abstract: The relationship between artistic involvement and individual mental health is considered, and the concept of "healing" is differentiated from that of "therapy." Seven properties of art experience are identified which, when developed, have contributed to patients' recovery from mental illness. Implications of these properties for clinical programs, and the related value of art experience for non-patients, are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001155:Art Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002399:Catharsis; D003405:Creativity; D006380:Helplessness, Learned / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D014705:Verbal Behavior