Why Aesthetics Matters in Mental Health

Martin Poltrum, Yuriko Saito, Michael Musalek, Kathleen Galvin, Helena Fox

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding with ISSN or ISBNChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    This chapter highlights the importance of aesthetics in psychotherapy and psychiatry both as theories and practices. The long-held and widely practised integration of aesthetics into the promotion of mental health proves the power of the aesthetic to influence the well-being of humans and their communities. The realization that aesthetic experiences have a benefit and positive effects on life has always led psychotherapists and psychiatrists to give their treatment programs an aesthetic-therapeutic touch. The chapter explains that therapeutic practice gives rise to an aesthetic experience for both the patient and the therapist alike. It cites the necessity to choose and thematize aesthetic phenomena that are capable of arousing people’s spirits.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Mental Health and Contemporary Western Aesthetics
    EditorsMartin Poltrum, Michael Musalek, Kathleen Galvin, Yuriko Saito
    Place of PublicationOxford
    PublisherOxford University Press
    ISBN (Electronic) 9780191957857
    ISBN (Print) 9780192866929
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 20 Jun 2024

    Publication series

    NameOxford Library of Psychology
    PublisherOxford Univeristy Press

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