Expressive arts and well being
The easily dominated right brain needs all the help it can get to reclaim improved status in the Western world. Until it does, we will experience a high degree of internal conflict and a dissatisfaction in our society.
- Eric Oddleifson
Expressive arts has featured prominently into the Managing Stress to Improve Learning project. Our belief that the arts promote well-being, enhance cognition, contribute to personal and collective transformation, and enhance problem solving has been well documented. We suggest the following reports for background information on the role of the arts in cognition, its value in human evolution, and its importance in education and well-being.
- Oddleifson, E. (1996). The Necessary Role of the Arts in Education and Society: Finding the Creative Power Within Us to Control Our Lives and Shape Our Destinies. Johns Hopkins University School of Education. http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/about-new-horizons-for-learning/
- Patterson, M. (201 ). "Good for the Heart, Good for the Soul: The Creative Arts and Brain Health in Later Life" in GENERATIONS - Journal of the American Society on Aging - Vol. 35 .No. 2 | 27.
 Expressive Arts in the Classroom
Participants in the Managing Stress project integrated the arts through short-term activities and through longer, multi-class projects. They explored visual arts, drama, music, and poetry. Read on for details:
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