Creativity In Mental Health
10/07/2020
We are here for you! ISBH Clinicians and Staff are ready to support you by providing Telehealth
services.
The Connection Between Creativity and Mental Health
For many of us, our days are filled with structure and specific fact-based activities or more “left brained”
activities. Too often, at the end of the day, we feel tired and depleted. Mental Health providers will often
ask about sleep, healthy diet and exercise to maintain emotional balance.
Creativity or creative outlets are as important.
Engaging in creative activity can help to reduce anxiety, stress, and to process trauma. Creative outlets
include drawing, painting, cooking, gardening, creating or listening to music, and needle crafts. When we
engage in these activities, it releases endorphins which helps to quiet negative thinking, and activates the
areas of your brain responsible for higher level complex thought and memory.
We are ALL creative, it is about finding the medium that you find comforting.
There are so many options to engage in a creative activity:
drawing, coloring books, paint by numbers, listening to or creating music, cooking/baking, gardening,
knitting or crocheting, wood working
Over the last few months, many resources have pivoted to online either as on demand learning, or live
streaming.
Below are some suggestions for resources:
Call (630) 262- 2640 or email [email protected] for more information.
For more information please visit our webpage: www.instep360.org
Dr Amy Drescher-Crumpley, CNM. PMHNP-BC is a board-certified Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse (APRN) who specializes in Psychiatry and Mental Health. Amy partners with her patients to
develop a plan of care that addresses their individual goals. She accepts patients from 12 years old and up
and uses a wholistic bio-psych-social approach.
We are here for you! ISBH Clinicians and Staff are ready to support you by providing Telehealth
services.
The Connection Between Creativity and Mental Health
For many of us, our days are filled with structure and specific fact-based activities or more “left brained”
activities. Too often, at the end of the day, we feel tired and depleted. Mental Health providers will often
ask about sleep, healthy diet and exercise to maintain emotional balance.
Creativity or creative outlets are as important.
Engaging in creative activity can help to reduce anxiety, stress, and to process trauma. Creative outlets
include drawing, painting, cooking, gardening, creating or listening to music, and needle crafts. When we
engage in these activities, it releases endorphins which helps to quiet negative thinking, and activates the
areas of your brain responsible for higher level complex thought and memory.
We are ALL creative, it is about finding the medium that you find comforting.
There are so many options to engage in a creative activity:
drawing, coloring books, paint by numbers, listening to or creating music, cooking/baking, gardening,
knitting or crocheting, wood working
Over the last few months, many resources have pivoted to online either as on demand learning, or live
streaming.
Below are some suggestions for resources:
- Community college extension: Elgin Community College, Waubonsee Community College, College of DuPage
- Local venues such as Water Street Studio, Fine Line Creative Arts Studio, The Art Institute, Lillstreet Art Center
- Music and Dance: Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, School of Rock, Independent teachers
- Local Yarn Stores: String Theory Yarn Store, and Elgin Knit Works
- On demand: YouTube, Sktchy https://school.sktchy.com/, Let’s make art https://www.letsmakeart.com/
Call (630) 262- 2640 or email [email protected] for more information.
For more information please visit our webpage: www.instep360.org
Dr Amy Drescher-Crumpley, CNM. PMHNP-BC is a board-certified Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse (APRN) who specializes in Psychiatry and Mental Health. Amy partners with her patients to
develop a plan of care that addresses their individual goals. She accepts patients from 12 years old and up
and uses a wholistic bio-psych-social approach.
