SOCIETY

CIVIL SOCIETY: 269 PRACTICES


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Initiative

Innovative Pilot Program “Artist Residencies in Mental Health Units”

Innovative Pilot Program “Artist Residencies in Mental Health Units”
SUBMITTED FROM:

EDRA

EDRA supporting the quality of life and the rehabilitation/integration process of disadvantaged individuals being at risk of social exclusion, as well as programs for the prevention & the sensitization of the community around mental health problems and the promotion of mental health in general.

Read more: www.edra-coop.gr


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Objective Action

Pillar: BRAVO SOCIETY
Subcategory: Ensuring Social Cohesion

  • Raising awareness and informing the public on mental health issues
  • Creative work for mental health service recipients
  • Building and enriching therapeutic interventions
  • Encouragement of the artistic coexistence between mental health service recipients and Athens School of Fine Arts students (A.S.F.A.) .
 

Target Audience

  • General Public
  • Mental health service recipients
  • Providers of mental health service
  • Students of the Athens School of Fine Arts
  • Artistic audience
 

Duration

  • 2016 until today
  • Each "residency" has duration of about 3 months, plus the time required to prepare the projects for their exhibition

Description

The innovative program "Artist Residencies in Mental Health Units" is being implemented since 2016, as part of the memorandum of cooperation between the organisation K.S.D.E.O. "EDRA", the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) and A.F.S.A.’s Office of Interconnection particularly.

Through this collaboration, the beneficial effects of art in mental health are promoted.

There were two phases, within the framework of the program. Under the supervision of the special therapeutic staff of the structures and the organizational program manager:

  • A.S.F.A. students voluntarily visited K.S.D.E.O. "EDRA"’s mental health units and held artistic meetings of co-creation with the residents of the units
  • 4 residents of K.S.D.E.O. “EDRA” units (accompanied by staff members) and 4 students of A.S.F.A., held  a six-day workshop in the artistic station of A.S.F.A. in Delphi, where they engaged  in artistic activities. The workshop was also attended by professionals and recipients of the services of the “Society of Social Psychiatry and Mental Health”.

Program's results (mental health service recipients’ and students’ artistic works) as well as snapshots from the implementation of the action, were exhibited at two artistic festivals, organized on the initiative and co-ordination of K.S.D.E.O. "EDRA":

  • At the first European Festival Art Festival for Mental Health NEFELE, held on 1.10-16.10.2016, at the Bouziani Museum and at A.S.F.A.’s premises.
  • At the 10th International Arts and Mental Health Festival ART4MORE, held on 13-15.10.2017 at TRII ART HUB.

Benefits for participants:

  • to a large extent cover mental health recipients’ need to engage in creative activities
  • opportunity for ASFA’s students, with a special interest in mental health issues to be more familiar with the use of artistic practice as a therapy  and to work with professionals  of mental health units
  • excellent experience of participation in artistic activities for the staff of mental health units.

Except for the artistic meetings that students and mental health service recipients have, the program "Art Residencies in Mental Health Structures" focuses also on the preparation and implementation of:

  • Educational seminars, conferences and educational programs on art and mental health.
  • Artistic exhibitions and actions that promote creativity and fight the stigma of mental illness.
  • Actions, which produce and promote knowledge on art and mental health.

The recording of the activities of the program “Art Residencies Mental Health Units” and its continuous evaluation throughout its implementation (through press releases, review meetings, focus groups, etc.) are important parts for the progress and the continuation of the program, as well as for its reproduction by other organizations with similar interests.

Transferring the knowledge and program techniques to other organisations is K.S.D.E.O. “EDRA”’s next goal.


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Impact on Society

  • More than 28 recipients of the services of the organisation K.S.D.E.O. “EDRA” benefited from their participation in artistic activities. The mental health service recipients described the artistic activities interesting, pleasant and as a good opportunity to meet people outside the units they live in.
  • The first two years of the program, about 32 students, have shown interest in it. The participating student were informed on mental health issues through training by the staff of the units, enriched their CV and closely monitored the functioning of mental health units.
  • 18 students applied for participation and joined the program in 2018 (third year of operation).
  •  Approximately 12 mental health professionals participated in the program and were trained by the students in techniques they might not have known before and they became more familiar with various materials, used in artistic activities.
  • The artistic and the wider audience had the opportunity to admire the results of the program's actions in artistic festivals, which aimed, among other things, at raising awareness among the general public on mental health issues and redefining the notion of "mental illness":

- About 4.000 people visited the NEFELE Festival and about 1.000 people visited the 10th ART4MORE International Arts and Mental Health Festival

- Hundreds of citizens were informed at NEFELE Festival's street happenings

- About 3.000 people were informed from the ART4MORE festival page on facebook and approximately 5.000 people in Europe for NEFELE  festival.

- 10.000 informative material were distributed to NEFELE participants and 1.500 at ART4MORE participants

- 20 publications were made on journalistic and artistic sites forART4MORE

- Report to the media of the 8 ART4MORE media sponsors and 13 of  NEFELE respectively



Initiative Location

  • Psychosocial Rehabilitation Housing Units
  • Supported Living House
  • Artistic station of A.S.F.A., Delphi

Working with Organization


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Workers Participation

  • Participation of units’ staff
  • Voluntary participation of A.S.F.A. students
  • Participation of students, who do their internship at EDRA’s mental health units (i.e. social work students, occupational therapy students etc.)

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Benefits for Οrganization

  • Enrichment of therapeutic programs
  • Wider Promotion of the organization's work
  • Retaining staff ’s interest through their cooperation with A.S.F.A.’s students
  • Networking of the organization



Connection with Global Goals







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