Feeling at Home in the World through Art: Exploring possibilities for an intervention in a museum for depression
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2019-09-25
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en
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This research explores the possibilities for an intervention in a museum for people with depression. A literature review of relevant studies in cultural theory, philosophy, mental healthcare and cognitive neuroscience, combined with qualitative interviews with museum and mental healthcare professionals revealed that engaging with art in a multisensory way in a guided conversation has the potential to contribute to the participants' wellbeing. This could be achieved by providing an encouraging and inspiring safe space with the focus on personal significance, self-worth and empathy. Engaging with art is a dynamic sensorimotor process, and could be a motivator to get someone out of their head and counteract negative cognitive patterns. On a broader scale, a specialised initiative regarding depression could instigate a movement of implementing mental healthcare in the agenda of museums, and as such follow the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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