Panel #8 Session 3
Thursday 30 November - 14:30
Building 25, Main Room
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Chair: Owen Bullock
We need to talk about Creative Care
- Pauline Griffiths
University of Canberra
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We need to talk about Creative Care. What is this new term that has hitched itself to allied health lists and found its way into GP discussions about social prescribing? Creative care is a structured arts-based program of activities that enhances wellbeing, boosts quality of life, and is playful and fun. It is terrific for people who live in aged care residences, for participants on the NDIS, and anyone else who needs a regular injection of joy in their lives. Creative care is part of a philosophy of caring and support that combines principles of dignity and choice with an opportunity for people to re-imagine themselves a little differently. It is part of a positive ageing movement and intergenerational learning movement that is sweeping across the world. Creative care is simple, inexpensive, and it turns ordinary moments into glimpses of wonder.
This paper defines creative care, traces its academic origins, introduces a creative care toolkit, and reports on two forms of creative care: 1) creative conversations; and 2) intergenerational zoom conversations between school students and Elders in aged care homes. It is hoped this paper will initiate robust discussion about ways that creative care can be ‘normalised’ by workers in the aged care and disability support sectors.
Pauline Griffiths is Adjunct Associate Professor in the CCCR and founder of an NDIS and My Aged Care service provider, paulinegriffiths.com.au. She is enrolled in a Cert IV Ageing Support course as part of her investigation into ways that creative care can be included in regular professional practice in the aged care and disability support sectors. She has a PhD from the University of Canberra and one from the University of Melbourne. She is a member of the Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice at Griffith University and, for much of her career, has been a lead schoolteacher. Pauline also plays electric violin.
Poetry and wellbeing: A pilot program to evaluate the impact of creative writing for patients in short and long-term rehabilitation
- Owen Bullock
University of Canberra
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The value of creative writing as an adjunct to clinical treatment is well-known. Creative Writing has been used successfully in a wide range of health care and rehabilitation settings, with people suffering from aphasia, dementia, cancer, heart attacks, depression, mental illness, PTSD and anxiety disorders, and dealing with pain. Poetry, in particular, has been identified as a powerful reflective tool. This project aimed to: evaluate whether the writing of poetry can help reframe personal narratives in a controlled setting in ways that facilitate meaningful self-reflection and improve wellbeing; give participants the opportunity and basic skills to write expressively and creatively; facilitate the creation of a safe space in which participants can enjoy open discussion of written works, share readings and offer feedback.
The program was delivered in eight, face-to-face creative writing workshops of one hour’s duration, February-May 2023. Fourteen participants engaged with the pilot program. The paper discusses the practical lessons learnt, relating to staging a program outside an educational facility and the specific dynamics of the hospital context, including creative pedagogical discoveries made in this participant-driven environment. The program was evaluated through a survey, responses to which were overwhelmingly positive, especially in the qualitative comments. Participants welcomed the opportunity to express themselves creatively, both through oral storytelling and written work, in the safe space created during the program. Interactions were dynamic and raised issues that were important to participants, who gave voice to the uniqueness of their experiences, helping re-establish agency.
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Owen Bullock’s latest poetry collection is Pancakes for Neptune (Recent Work Press, 2023), following three other poetry titles, five books of haiku, a bilingual edition of tanka, and a novella. His research interests include creative arts and wellbeing; haikai literature; poetry and process; semiotics and poetry; prose poetry; and collaboration. His scholarly work has appeared in Antipodes, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Arts Therapy, Axon, Journal of New Zealand Literature, Ka Mate Ka Ora, New Writing, Qualitative Inquiry, Social Alternatives, TEXT and Westerly. He is Discipline Lead for Creative Writing and Literary Studies at the University of Canberra. https://poetry-in-process.com/ @OwenTrail