A Creative Collaboration with Compulsion
For artist Liz Atkin, shame about skin picking has, over time, evolved into compassion and curiosity. Dance, photography and charcoal on paper have enabled Liz to understand, manage and creatively…
The College Mental Health Crisis in 10 Sketches
As schools respond to the 30 percent increase in demand for counseling, artist Ella Baron gives a glimpse inside some students’ experiences. By Krista Karlson The students are seated in neat…
How the Philosophy Behind the Japanese art form of Kintsugi can help us Navigate Failure
A break or moment of failure can be an opportunity to create something new and beautiful. By Ella TennantLecturer, Language and Culture Keele University Introduction In our 20s and 30s, there can be immense pressure…
For the Colonized Body, Tattoos Are Reclamation
By Gabes TorresPsychotherapist, organizer, and artist Tattooing is a reclamation of my body, where I consensually welcome a wound as opposed to the ones that violently invaded my being, physical and otherwise. Tattooing is…
Picturing Mental Health
Over six years, Ron Hampshire produced a series of works at the art studio in Netherne psychiatric hospital. Do these artworks reflect the improvement in his mental health over that…
Daniel Regan on Using Photography to Manage Emotions
Artist Daniel Regan tells the deeply personal story of his own mental health journey, including self-harming in his teens, his time in a psychiatric hospital and undergoing intensive psychotherapy. By…
How Architecture Builds a Profession of Stress
Many architects’ plans intend to improve the quality of life for those using their buildings, and to nurture good mental and physical health. But designing and building these spaces can…
Sarah Carpenter on Making time for Herself Through Creativity
By Sarah CarpenterArtist, photographer and designer Introduction Having spent a long time with so many things on my mind, my recovery has cleared space in my mind and life for…
How I Escaped my Anxiety and Depression Through Architecture and Poetry
After social anxiety led him to introversion and silence, the brutalist architecture of London’s Barbican Estate inspired Rhael ‘LionHeart’ Cape to find liberation in poetry. Here, he writes about his…
Healing Through ink
As his ability to exert some control over his OCD symptoms increased, Josh Weeks contemplated getting a tattoo. And despite his mind conjuring many arguments for avoidance, an inner determination…
