Authors (including presenting author) :
Ip CK, Lam N, Au WL, Lee WM, Leung HW; Siu BWM
Affiliation :
Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital
Introduction :
Attention to psychological needs nurture rehabilitation for person-in-recovery (PIR). This project aimed to enhance mental well-being by promoting emotional growth through creative process of art activities. Pandemic of COVID-19 narrowed the choice of viable rehabilitation activities. Colourful Journey (色彩樂塗) is the preferred art activity for recovery project under infection control measures, alongside with non-art activities such as movie appreciation.
Objectives :
1. To enrich quality of life
2. To facilitate self-expression
3. To promote social inclusion
4. To provide reality orientation with festive themes
Methodology :
Colourful Journey (色彩樂塗) was held bi-weekly since the latter half of 2019, collecting over 500 attendances throughout. To begin with, PIRs were guided through reality orientation, followed by paint tutorial from staff. The session, utilizing art as media, provided a platform for decision-making and elaboration. Their appreciated works would then integrate into decorations in ward corridors and living area, to reward participants with sense of achievement and recognition. Pre and post comparison was adopted to study the effectiveness of the project. A total of 3 questionnaires were applied:
(I) Perception on the elements of well-being;
(II) The Chinese Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale;
(III) Feedback questionnaire.
Result & Outcome :
Higher scores in elements of well-beings in Questionnaire I for art related activity were reported compared with non-art related one. Reinforced social inclusion was the most significant finding, recording a mean score increment of 43.08% on the related item. With the mild improvement of 10.41% in mean score from Questionnaire II, it was suggested that art related activity may perform better in enhancing mental well-being. Positive responses from participants were received through feedback from Questionnaire III. Participants perceived a higher level of self-esteem, happiness and sense of achievement.
Evaluation of this project revealed positive results that PIRs had a higher level of social inclusion and self-esteem after participation in the project. Art activity might nourish mental well-being of PIRs, which in turn supported the value of continuation and exploration of other forms of art activity in future.
