In communities large and small, the arts are used daily to reduce the experience of pain, help individuals express needs and emotions, and create a welcoming and uplifting environment – a path to joy for those who may feel disheartened. Such moments are made possible by a diverse group of professions providing an ever-expanding array of initiatives that engage the arts, humanities, and design in the service of health and well-being.

Our Integrative Wellness programs introduce these inspiring areas of practice and lays a foundation to connect, unify, and elevate the full arena of the arts, health, and well-being.

It is well known that engaging in creative expression is vital to human health and well-being, to bridging the life experiences that divide people and society, and to helping people understand the human condition (Clift & Camic, 2016; Hanna, Rollins, & Lewis, 2017; Lambert, 2016; State of the Field Committee, 2009). 

Throughout the United States, the arts are being used to enhance personal healing, promote public health, and support community well-being, including relieving stress, decreasing feelings of loneliness, depression, and anxiety, encouraging creative thinking and increasing greater life satisfaction. The marriage of the arts and wellness practices is a natural example of how creativity connects, in this case, with the science of recovery, resilience and longevity. The array of settings from medical and natural health schools and wellness centers, to extended living facilities, companies, and public schools. (2017, Janet Chu, Ph.D.)

• Visual Arts are powerful in helping us to express our feelings, facilitate verbal communication and cathartic release and reveal unconscious materials and symbols that can’t be fully expressed through words. Through this art modality we are able to exercise our mental muscles for nourishment, leading to a process of repair and healing.

• Music is nutrition for the soul that helps to decrease anxiety and restore emotional balance. There is also evidence of the effectiveness of auditory stimulation to abolish pain. Through music we find the strength to process whatever is in our hearts and minds, leading to rejuvenation and restoration.

• Creative Movement helps to relieve stress and anxiety. Those given theater training also exhibit word and listening recall, problem solving, self-esteem, and psychological well-being.

• Expressive Writing can improve control over pain, depressed mood, and pain severity. It aids to organize our thoughts, release our feelings, and regulate our emotions, helping us to gain a sense of control of whatever we might be weighing in the moment. Additionally, studies have shown that individuals who have written about their own traumatic experiences exhibit statistically significant improvements in various measures of physical health, reductions in visits to physicians and better immune system functioning.

• Media Arts are an important means of cultural communication, highlighting our shared human struggles. As we view films, for example, we can assess the quality of the characters' relationships with one another and then use our learnings to practice effective relational and collaborative problem-solving practices to improve, strengthen and nourish our own relationships.

• Social Justice Arts serve as a healing medicine. They aim to raise critical consciousness, strengthen, repair, and restore relationships, build community, and provide a call to action, promoting social change.