By Sim YH
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, SEPT 22 – In recent years, mental health has been identified as a serious public health concern. Therefore, maintaining and maintaining well-being including mental health is very important.
“Currently, there are nearly 1 billion people living with mental disorders worldwide. Mental disorders include various symptoms from mild ones such as anxiety to serious ones such as abnormal behaviour,” stated the Director General of Medical and Health Services, Ministry of Health, Pengiran Dr Haji Mohd Khalifah bin Pengiran Haji Ismail.
The youth said so in the forum entitled Canvas of Calm, Utilizing Art for Healing and Wellbeing which took place at Garden’s Veranda, Rimba, yesterday.
Belia also added that the need for mental health and psychosocial interventions will increase in line with the expected increase in the number of mental patients, while stating that this situation requires better and innovative investment including the use of art therapy in mental health treatment service support programs.
Art therapy is increasingly popular in the field of mental health worldwide because it provides a recovery-oriented, patient-centered approach that addresses emotional, spiritual, social, and clinical needs.
Accordingly, art therapy can serve as a valuable method that can complement traditional mental health care treatments such as counseling or medication and serve to improve cognitive function, emotional resilience and self-confidence.
The forum organized by SynARTgy Company and supported by the Center for Health Promotion, Ministry of Health aims to explore the therapeutic aspects of art as an effective method for self-regulation, emotional expression and overall well-being, to study the calming effects of art and its ability to provide a safe space to process emotions and experience.
It also provides practical strategies for using art as a coping mechanism and focuses on art therapy’s inclusivity, accessibility and potential benefits for individuals of various backgrounds and abilities.
The forum was attended by more than 80 participants consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs, JobCentre, companies that focus on the well-being of employees, parents, teachers and students from the Ehsan Center, ABLE Brunei , Eric Goh Happiness Center, Pulaie Happiness Center and La Vida Brunei, counselors and individuals.
The keynote speaker of the forum is a registered Creative Arts Therapist from New Zealand, Dr Amanda Woodward who is a recognized supervisor with the Creative Arts Association of Australia, New Zealand and Asia (ANZACATA) and an academic from the MIECAT Institute, Naarm Melbourne, Australia.
Dr Woodward shares her experience in art and art-making in therapy, community wellbeing, education, research, supervision and self-care practice. He also offers art-based techniques that have been found to be supportive and may help in communicating ‘what’s important’ when words alone are insufficient or fail.
The second speaker was a trained art therapist at Jerudong Coast Specialist Center (PJSC) and ANZACATA member, Dayang Nur Nadiah Suhailli who shared her experience in a briefing that discussed art therapy available in the country as well as her experience working with people with disabilities and how they benefit from making art.
