Farjana Yasmin, Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Performing Arts (Dance), Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata, West Bengal
&
Dr. Sugata Das, Assistant Professor, Department of Performing Arts (Dance), Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata, West Bengal
Abstract
An important component of overall well-being is emotional well-being because it affects life, interaction and attitude toward physics.
Taking care of mental health is very important because only in a healthy mental state one can control his various emotions and manage various aspects of life easily. A person’s overall well-being relates to all aspects of his life, including his emotional, interpersonal, intellectual and physical well-being. It has been established that mental health is as important as our physical health. Mental health is the opposite of mental illness. The term mental health is used in a positive sense. A person with mental health strives to develop his/ her abilities and potential. A person with mental health develops a happy and effective lifestyle by achieving personal maturity and coping with stress or distress.
Performing arts therapy is used to treat or cure certain health problems. For such healing, arts like painting, sculpture, music, drama, dance and poetry are used. Performing arts therapy includes creation, appreciation and healing. Besides medicine to cure disease, more is needed. Music, dance, drama or any number of other art forms means that performing arts therapy can make possible the relief of many ailments. Art therapy can help individuals manage and cope with mental health issues, physical pain, difficult emotions, feelings and experiences. This is the message conveyed through performing arts therapy in different parts of the world.
All prejudices and negative stereotypes should be removed, and hope should be instilled. If we don’t make mental health a priority, we won’t keep up with the developed world. So now is the time to take the necessary steps. Just as medicine is needed to maintain good physical health, performing arts therapy is needed to maintain good mental health. Therefore, performing arts therapy is essential for maintaining good mental health. In short, performing arts therapy is the best medicine for mental health.
Keywords:
Mental health, performing arts therapy, medicine, physical health, importance, therapy
Introduction
The World Health Organization or WHO states that health is a healthy combination of three states of being: physical, mental and social.
We can say that a person can never have good health based only on the combination of physical and social conditions of the person. Rather, he should be mentally healthy. Mental health refers to the state of a person when he can adapt to the demands and pressures of his environment and live a happy and prosperous life. Mental health is the opposite of mental illness. The term mental health is used in a positive sense. A person with mental health strives to develop his abilities and potential. Currently, the 10th of October is celebrated as World Mental Health Day.
Besides medicine to cure disease, more is needed, those are music, dance, drama or any number of other art forms means that performing arts therapy can make possible the relief of many ailments. Art therapy can help individuals manage and cope with mental health issues, physical pain, difficult emotions, feelings and experiences. This is the message conveyed through performing arts therapy in different parts of the world. Performing arts therapy provides an opportunity for a person to express themselves uniquely. Performing arts therapy can heal multidimensional human ailments. This therapy removes a person’s anger, resentment and anxiety. Also, has a positive effect on one’s brain.
Performing arts therapy is good for physical benefits and mental health. Besides physical and mental health, performing arts therapy has many other benefits.
Hypothesis:
The major question of my hypothesis is,
Is performing arts therapy useful for mental well-being?
Yes, therapy is useful for mental well-being. Then I did field work in different places. Yes there I saw through the performing arts therapy the mental strength of the patient is coming back to survive. Medicine or the doctor is treating them but the mental breakdown or illness is healing through this performing art therapy.
Major Questions:
- Is Performing Arts Therapy Good For Mental Health?
- How Performing Arts Therapies Work On Mental Health?
Mental Health
Mental health is a state of happy and prosperous adaptation and successful interaction with people in the world. In 1908, Clifford Beers founded the first mental health association in Connecticut, USA. In 1909, the National Mental Health Association of America was formed. Currently, 10th of October is celebrated as World Mental Health Day. Mental health means how a person is surviving with positive essence in his or her life belonging to the various environments in society. Mental health is the opposite of mental illness. The term mental health is used in a positive sense. A person with mental health strives to develop his abilities and potential. A person with mental health develops a happy and effective lifestyle by achieving personal maturity and coping with stress or distress.
Importance of Mental Health:
We go to the doctor for treatment when we are physically ill, but not for mental health problems. But more importance should be given to mental health. Just as physical health is important, so is mental health. In the case of good health, both physical and mental health is important.
In case of physical illness, germs enter and make parts of the body abnormal, resulting in various symptoms. Symptoms are diagnosed and treated with medication. There are many causes of mental problems. A man’s mind is influenced by his personality, experiences, family, society, environment etc. Therefore, psychotherapy is necessary in the treatment of mental disorders. I believe that performing arts therapy works as well as psychotherapy in treating mental illness and maintaining mental health.
An important component of overall well-being is emotional well-being. It affects life, interactions and attitudes towards physical health. Taking care of mental health is very important because only in a healthy mental state a person can control his various emotions and manage various aspects of life easily. A person’s overall well-being relates to all aspects of his life, including his emotional, interpersonal, intellectual and physical well-being. It has been established that mental health is just as important as our physical health.
Mental strength is essential for maintaining mental health. If the health and mental peace is disturbed and it is not treated properly, abnormal behaviour will appear in the person. It can cause various physical and mental diseases. A mentally healthy boy or girl strives to develop his/ her abilities and potential. On the other hand, mental instability acts as a hindrance to the proper development of boys and girls and is responsible for failure later in life. So we all should pay attention to mental health.
Performing Arts Therapy
Performing arts therapy is used to treat or cure certain health problems. For such healing, arts like painting, sculpture, music, drama, dance and poetry are used. Performing arts therapy includes creation, appreciation and healing.
Besides medicine to cure disease, more things are needed. Those are Music, dance, drama or several other artistic mediums i.e. performing arts therapy can make possible the relief of many ailments. Art therapy can help individuals manage and cope with mental health issues, physical pain, difficult emotions, feelings and experiences. This is the message conveyed through performing arts therapy in different parts of the world.
A strong therapist can help identify unconscious patterns that cause challenging behaviour or feelings and explore how they may be caused or influenced by a client’s past. By bringing these unconscious inner workings into consciousness, the client can begin to overcome unhelpful behaviours and feelings caused by these inner forces.
Creative arts therapy includes art therapy, music therapy, writing therapy. Dance therapy and play therapy generally follows a psychodynamic approach. These methods especially play and art therapy, are often used with young children. Psychodynamic therapy is primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, depression, and borderline personality disorder.
Performing Arts Therapy:
- Dance/ Movement therapy
- Drama therapy
- Music therapy
- Art (art/ craft) therapy
- Play therapy
Dance/ Movement Therapy
Dance/movement therapists focus on helping their clients improve self-esteem and body image, develop effective communication skills and relationships, expand their movement vocabulary, gain insight into behaviour patterns, as well as develop new options for coping with problems.
Dance/movement therapy commonly referred as dance therapy or DMT, is a type of therapy that uses movement to help individuals achieve emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration. Beneficial for both physical and mental health, dance therapy can be used for stress reduction, disease prevention and mood management. Additionally, the physical component of DMT offers increased muscle strength, coordination, mobility, and reduced muscle tension. Dance/movement therapy can be used with all populations and individuals, couples, families or groups. In general, dance therapy promotes self-awareness, self-esteem and a safe space for expressing feelings. Dance therapists work with people in therapy to help improve their body image and self-esteem. Dance/movement therapy is a multifaceted form of therapy founded on the idea that movement and emotion are interconnected. Creative expression in dance therapy can enhance communication skills and inspire dynamic relationships. It is commonly used to treat physical, psychological, cognitive and social problems such as:
- Physical problems
- Chronic pain
- Childhood obesity
- Cancer
- Arthritis
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Mental health problems
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Binge eating
- Poor self-esteem
- Post-traumatic stress
- Cognitive problems
- Dementia
- Communication problems
- Social issues
- Autism
- Aggression/violence
- Domestic violence trauma
- Social communication
- Family conflicts etc.
Drama Therapy
Drama therapy is a form of creative arts therapy. It uses drama techniques, such as games, play-acting, and guided visualization, to help people explore their emotions and work through challenging life experiences.
Drama therapists are both clinicians and artists who use their knowledge of theatre and therapy as a means of psychological therapy, which may include drama, storytelling, music, movement, and art; presenting self-works with any problem. Drama therapists are able to explore various issues of clients as like autism and dementia to physical/sexual abuse and mental illness in an indirect way that leads to psychological, emotional and social change. Drama therapists often have a background in theatre, health or education and can be found in a variety of settings such as schools, mental health care, and general health social care, prisons and the voluntary sector.
Drama therapists work with their clients using a wide range of drama techniques in both verbal and non-verbal ways. Although voice, story-making, and talk are integral parts of drama therapy, the practice does not rely solely on spoken language to address what a student, client, or patient may be addressing, exploring, or seeking support for.
Drama therapists are registered and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and undertake Masters level training with an approved course at a university. Many are trained supervisors and are often employed to supervise community artists engaged in art in a health and wellness role.
Music Therapy
Music therapy is a treatment method that uses music to improve physical and mental health of the patient. But music therapy is not only listening to music, but also includes singing, playing musical instruments, writing songs, etc. Music therapy can eliminate depression, fear, anxiety, negative thoughts. Music therapy is a health care profession in which a qualified music therapist designs client sessions with specific, individualized goals in mind. Therapeutic music is a method for relaxing a client or bringing out your emotions in times of need.
Music therapy is a broad field. Music therapists use music-based experiences to address client needs in one or more domains of human functioning: cognitive, academic, emotional/psychological; behavioural; Communication social physiological (sensory, motor, pain, nervous and other bodily systems), spiritual, aesthetic. Music/music therapy uses music to promote healing and improve quality of life. It is a complementary therapy. It helps the client cope mentally and physically with the diagnosis. Music therapy may include listening to music, playing music, singing and discussing music, and guided imagery with music.
Art (Art/Craft) Therapy
Often, art therapy can strengthen a patient’s emotional expression, self-esteem, and self-awareness. Making art/drawing, looking at it and talking about it provides a way for people to deal with emotional conflicts and increase self-awareness. This allows them to express unspoken and often unconscious anxieties about their illness. Art therapists use images, art supplies, and visual symbols to help clients understand and resolve their own concerns and conflicts. Art therapists work with clients one-on-one or in groups.
Art therapists provide materials needed to create paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other types of artworks. This type of therapy can help clients’ express feelings about cancer through art. In art therapy the client’s art is then used to help the client talk about emotions and concerns. In another form of art therapy, the client is often shown pieces of art/pictures in photographs and then the client can talk to a therapist about what they are seeing. Art therapy can help people express themselves more freely, improve their mental health, and improve interpersonal relationships. Art therapy is founded on the idea that people can recover and feel better through artistic expression. Art therapy is an integrated mental health and human service profession that enriches individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, the creative process, applied psychological theory, and human life experiences within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Art therapy, by a professional art therapist, is accessible, effective in supporting individual and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Using art therapy to improve cognitive and sensory-motor function, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, build emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflict and distress, and advance social and environmental change (American Art Therapy Association, 2017). Art therapy can be a positive experience for anyone at any age. Everyone has the potential for creativity within them and therapy does not require any previous artistic background. The main requirement is that a patient is open and committed to the art therapy process
Play Therapy
It is a new method where through play the client gets pleasure and it leads to their mental growth properly. It is a therapeutic and psychological approach that helps the client to communicate and build relationships with others. Play therapy is widely used in the treatment of psychological problems and behavioural disorders because it fully addresses the unique developmental needs of the client. Play therapy seeks to balance symbolic play with linguistic expression, in a way that is age-appropriate and beneficial to children. Play therapy is widely used to treat emotional problems and behavioural disorders in children because it fully addresses their unique developmental needs.
In play therapy the client may be asked to complete a variety of pre-treatment measures, from questionnaires and drawings to more formal tests. Sometimes the play therapist chooses to observe the client playing alone or with other family members. Play therapy offers a unique and effective approach to supporting children with special needs. By providing a safe and engaging environment, play therapy helps children express themselves, build essential skills and promote their overall emotional well-being.
Play therapy is a form of psychotherapy and can be effective in helping children through mental and emotional issues. Children often use play to express themselves and navigate the world and benefit from play therapy. Play therapy is primarily used with children. However, it can also be used with adults. It is usually used with children aged 3 to 12 years. A play therapist will guide a person through play therapy in a free and safe environment where they feel most comfortable expressing themselves. Play therapists use play activities that a child might enjoy, from painting to dancing to board games. Sometimes the play therapist will ask other family members or parents and guardians to get involved in playtime activities as well.
Fieldwork
Name of Observation Centre – Turning Point
Director – Ishita Sanyal
Place-Baghajatin, Kolkata
Ishita Sanyal, Director of Turning Point, has studied psychotherapy and counselling. She is a psychiatrist.
What is the turning point? What did I do on the first day?
Clients come to Turning Point 4 days a week from 10:30 to 2:30. Everyone starts with exercise. With play therapy, everything is done through play. Because of mental illness, the client is first seen to know what has happened and then treated with group or individual therapy. The diagnosis was made by Smt. Ishita Sanyal, Director of Turning Point and a Psychiatrist. In their program – there will be drama music dance. I taught dance in that drama. Everyone was active, one was looking for his bag, the other didn’t want to move around in the dance.
Observation:
At the turning point centre, I found that clients come there all physically healthy but mentally ill which means mental health is not good. Many of them have mental disabilities that mean mental problems; many have ID, OCD, special children, Down syndrome children, infinity complex, etc. They are coming to the turning point centre on their own, but they are coming with a guardian, one or two people are coming alone. They could not express their thoughts or speak properly, many were very shy, many were doing the same thing over and over again, many were having trouble lifting their arms and legs, many were becoming violent again, many were not as intelligent as children compared to normal, all of them had maximum Age ranged from 18 to 55.
Identification: – I got to know from Ishita Ma’am, director of Tunning Point Centre, OCD, Down Syndrome, Learning Disability, Schizophrenia, ID, Infancy Complex, Frustrated, many of them have not developed properly mentally compared to their age, and many of them had mental problems i.e. Mental Ill. Application: I gave them various therapies through performing arts therapy in the sessions.
Case-History:
Characteristics of clients: ID is actively inactive or troubled. Not severe, some have schizophrenia, some have OCD, some have special children, learning disabilities, mental illness LD+ mental illness, inferiority complex, anger at everyone, inequity complex, violent.
Age: 30-55 (2 teenagers)
Language – Bengali
Total – 20 people (Boys)
Applied therapy – dance movement therapy / drama therapy / music therapy / art/craft therapy/play therapy
- Session-8/10 days (Thursday, Sunday)
- Time- 1 to 2 hours
- Milestone – Many have not improved with age. All are physically healthy but have mental illness.
Session-(Turning Point)
Introduction: Everyone stood round. I first gave my name and identity. Then everyone said their names one by one.
Activity: I said, “Sristi sukher ullase” have you heard this poem? Some said, they can / some said, they heard but can’t. Then I said, act and show. One showed. Then I showed the hand mudra of the flower. They also raised their hands and showed mudra of flowers. I went between them to encourage them, showed flowers, hand poetry and mudra of hands raised on shoulders, they also danced imitating me.
Place hands on everyone’s shoulders, hands in front of the chest, keep face to face and turn with (Alapadma)-hand gesture and count from 1 to 4.
Result: Everyone showed up individually, then in groups.
Reinforcement: Some examples of reinforcement are clapping hands, verbally praising, saying very good. By reciting poems of joy in creation, movement and acting, the clients expressed their joy by showing how they enjoyed themselves.
Activity:
- circle
- walking
- spinning
- Hand movement
- Solder touch-up-down
- Helping friend
- improve confidence (Solo performance)
- Rhyming together
- counting (1-4)
- Greeting (Introducing)
- Happy Birthday Celebrating
- Arranging room for dance.
- What does it improve?
- Communication
- Movement (Fine motor and gross motor)
- Empower
- Reward
- Inspire
- In the subsequent sessions, poetry creations by Kazi Nazrul Islam were danced with sristi sukher ullase song.
- Rabindra Nritya (Dance)- Prano Bhoriye Trisha Horiye-Rabindranath’s song was sung in sequence.
- And later the dance was taught with this song,
- Then lines were taught how to enter and exit the stage.
- Many of them did not want to do it and many of them were doing it with interest but by practicing every day they were able to master these dances.
- And used to sing the songs with great joy.
- Another day they were asked to draw something of their own liking on white paper and then after drawing they were asked about their drawing did you draw as you like and why did you do it, they very happily expressed their thoughts why they did. did the drawing
- Another day they were made to work with flowers then they were told to sing about flowers then they started singing flower songs in which everyone sang the flower song.
- Also through acting they were made to role play through which they presented their statement to the audience through a message.
- Through a long dance song acting practice, they were finally promoted to a program. And it’s a very good program.
- ·Later they went to the field trip to the beach, and there was Rabindra Nritya (Dance) on the beach with joy and later his video was sent to me which I loved to see.
Result
I was sent to the Turning Point Centre to do my internship with the teachers I learned about Performing Arts Therapy from the one-year post graduate diploma course classes at the Performing Arts Therapy Centre at Rabindra Bharati University. While working there I applied knowledge gained from performing arts therapy classes. After the session at Turning Point, I found that after the sessions of movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, art and craft therapy, there were some changes in clients such as increased communication skills, increased social skills, increased physical motor skills. Many were very sensitive, did not suddenly want to hold someone’s hand, but gradually learned to hold hands through daily practice and participated in the dance. Many were very shy, hidden, shy to stand in front of everyone, did not want to express themselves, but through practice they learned to express themselves gradually. One of the clients was very hyperactive, sometimes angry, did not want to listen to any instructions, But through movement therapy and music therapy, the client gradually learned to participate with everyone. Through art and craft therapy they express their own thoughts and their social and emotional development and emotional development, their self-esteem increases. They try to solve various problems by participating in role play in drama therapy. Many had problems with their hands or feet, motor skill problems, they could not raise their hands completely.
Through daily movement therapy, they were able to gradually lift his/ her hand up completely. They also learned to balance standing on one leg. Applying the knowledge gained from performing arts therapy to clients, I saw that clients’ cognitive skills increased, emotional skills increased, they learned to express themselves as they participated in the program very well and received praise at the end of the ten-day session. Since my internship ended, I stopped going to the Turning Point Centre. Then the clients of the Turning Point Centre went on field trips to the beach on behalf of the centre. They went to the beach to express themselves, singing and dancing which they learned from me and the Director of Turning Point sent me the video and expressed his happiness that the clients now love dancing and singing which they learned to express themselves. , learned socialization and increased their self-confidence. I found that in my ten-day sessions, clients acted out what I had taught them through therapy on field trips.
Attempts were made to cure or alleviate their illness or emotional distress through performing arts therapy. Patients of all ages came to the hospital after accidents or illnesses to try to speed up their recovery and improve morale and mental health through therapy, and performing arts therapy was later found to accelerate their recovery.
As a result we can say performing arts therapy good for mental health. Now performing arts therapy included in school, institute and hospital also.
Conclusion
If you are emotionally disturbed, performing arts therapy will give you peace of mind. Also performing arts therapy helps to keep away from depression, depression, helps to adapt to any situation. Performing arts therapy enhances people’s intelligence. Studies show that people who use performing arts therapy improve their decision-making processes. Performing arts therapy releases stress-relieving hormones from the brain. It keeps the mood nice and neat. Performing arts therapy is good for muscles. According to research, regular performing arts therapy reduces sleepiness. Performing arts therapy helps in maintaining good blood circulation in the body. It can remain active throughout the day. Performing arts therapy is a good exercise for this. Many people are suffering from stress these days. However, experts say that performing arts therapy is a great way to reduce stress and lower levels of stress hormones. Health experts say that daily practice of performing arts therapy can reduce anxiety. It is not always possible to cure the disease with medicine. The first step in eradicating any disease is to make lifestyle changes. And the most important work and medicine for maintaining mental health is performing arts therapy. Performing arts therapy has a positive effect on our brain. It also helps to boost self-esteem in oneself. Performing arts therapy improves physical health as well as mental health. Therefore, it is necessary to take performing arts therapy daily to stay physically and mentally healthy. If you don’t have time to exercise regularly or don’t feel like going to the gym after a long day at work, even performing arts therapy at home can keep you fit and improve your mental health. Performing arts therapy improves memory, the brain is used better by applying this therapy. So feel good and maintain good mental health by applying performing arts therapy.
All prejudices, negative stereotypes should be removed, hope should be instilled. If we don’t make mental health a priority, we won’t keep up with the developed world. So now is the time to take necessary steps. Just as medicine is needed to maintain good physical health, performing arts therapy is needed to maintain good mental health. Therefore, performing arts therapy is essential for maintaining good mental health.
In short, performing arts therapy is the best medicine for mental health.
Acknowledgment
Thanks to my guide Dr. Sugata Das. I am deeply grateful for the time and effort you have invested in mentoring me. I am thanking him for valuable suggestion for various book and also he gave me encourage for field work and thanks to the Management of Sister Nivedita University.
I learned a lot from performing arts therapy centre of Rabindra Bharati University. Without whom it would not have been possible to know about this knowledge and concept of therapy, I expressed my thanks and gratitude to Smt. Remonti Raai (Head of the Centre of Performing Arts Therapy, R.B.U), faculties of the Centre of Performing Arts Therapy and Smt. Ishita Sanyal (Director of Turning Point).
References
- Azad Alia. Manosik Shashther first aid. Publication -Adorsho, Bangladesh, 1st Published 2022.
- Rahman Mahfuzur. Banglar Nritykala Udbhab and Bikash. Publication – Nabajug Prakashani, Bangladesh, 2021.
- Haque Md. Aminul, Uddin Dr. Md. Kamal Professor (Editor). Psychology-1st Paper (Class XI-XII). Publication – Hasan Book House, Dhaka-1100., 2014.
- Lohani Kamal. Sangskritik Oitijya and Nrityashilper Bishtar. Publication – Ittadi Granthaprakasg Bangladesh, 2nd edition 2021.
- Prof. Sarkar Niharanjan, Dr. Sarkar Tanuja. Abnormal PsYCHOLOGY Mental Disorders, Symptoms, Causes and Modern Treatment. Gyanakosh Publications, 38/2-A, Banglabazar, Dhaka-1100, 1st edition September 2002.
