title: 'It's like having a day of freedom, a day off from being ill': exploring the experiences of people living with mental health problems who attend a community-based arts project, using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
abstract: To explore the psychosocial benefits of participating in a 2-year community arts project, eight people living with long-term mental health problems were interviewed. The project involved participants in selecting items of professional artwork, creating personal responses and curating a public exhibition. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants experienced the arts project as improving self-worth, emancipating self from illness labels, offering a sense of belonging, enabling acquisition of valued skills and offering meaningful occupation and routines. Some regarded their developing creative skills as improving their self-management of mental health. However, some anticipated the project's ending with anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: Brunel University, UK frances.reynolds@brunel.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Brunel University, UK.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Brunel University, UK.
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001155:Art Therapy; D019058:Community Networks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: activity; art; creativity; depression; interpretative phenomenological analysis; mental illness; well-being