{"id":491,"date":"2026-03-19T11:32:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/psychological-sciences\/?p=491"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:36:33","slug":"routledge-handbook-of-arts-and-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/psychological-sciences\/routledge-handbook-of-arts-and-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Collating a field: Inside the Routledge Handbook of Arts and Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By <\/strong>Nicola Holt<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From community choirs and dance programmes to arts in hospitals and museums, arts-based activities are increasingly being recognised as valuable tools for supporting health and wellbeing. The field of the arts and health<\/em> has grown rapidly in recent years, bringing together researchers, practitioners and artists from around the world to explore how and why arts-based methods can make a difference. This blog post introduces the Routledge Handbook of Arts and Health<\/em>, the first handbook to synthesise work across this emerging field and offer a critical overview of its development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a psychology undergraduate with a love of the arts, I spent much of my spare time painting, singing and creative writing. At the time, I never imagined that these personal interests would one day lead me to edit a collection of research exploring the impact of the arts on health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet this is exactly where my journey has taken me with the Routledge Handbook of Arts and Health<\/em><\/a>, a volume that brings together international perspectives on how arts-based methods can support health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with co-Editors (Victoria Tischler<\/a>, Sofia Vougioukalou<\/a> and Elisabetta Corvo<\/a>) and 76 international colleagues, this was a three year-long process, beginning with working out how to scaffold the content and what topic areas to cover. Inviting authors, reviewing and editing chapters, was a time consuming but enjoyable process, working with experts from across the globe and weaving together a text that will hopefully be useful for this emerging field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process also involved deeper reflection on the field, noticing patterns, complexities, issues of contention, debates, perspectives, gaps and trending directions, and writing about these in the book\u2019s conclusion. In this way, developing the handbook, deepened my own understanding and insights about the arts and health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the following sections, I will briefly describe the main contents of the book by Section. Each summary is accompanied by a visual display of images from the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section One: Historical and Contemporary Contexts of the \u2018Arts and Health\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first section of the handbook aims to lay out the field, exploring both the contexts and definitions of arts and health. Chapters examine the use of the arts for health and wellbeing from a historical perspective, reminding us that these practices are not entirely new. Key terms, such as \u201carts and health,\u201d are defined, and frameworks for how the arts are used in different formats and settings are explored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This section also situates the field within its contemporary context. In recent years, major evidence reviews on arts and health have been produced and disseminated by organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the European Union and the National Centre for Creative Health in the UK. At the same time, different organisations have highlighted the need for greater critical rigour<\/strong> and broader global perspectives. Reflecting this moment in the field, this section synthesises existing evidence<\/strong> to provide an overview of the current research base, while also highlighting gaps in knowledge. It encourages critical appraisal of the evidence, identifies key weaknesses, and draws attention to inequalities in research and the need to better represent knowledge and practice from the global majority<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Images<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Images from Chapter Four (Global perspectives on creative health) by <\/em>Ranjita Dhital<\/em><\/a>. On the left are photographs of <\/em>Creative Health Nepal: Community Festival, Siddartha Art Gallery, Babar Mahal Revisited, Kathmandu, Nepal (November 2024). On the right are s<\/em>culptures and paintings \u2018Trigunas\u2019 by Om Prakash Shrees (2024).<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section Two: Domains of \u2018Arts and Health\u2019: Impact and Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arts are, by definition, varied, and here we explore this, focusing on how different art modalities can be used for health and wellbeing, chapters examine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n