Conclusion: Reflections on the arts and health as a field

Holt, Nicola J., Vougioukalou, Sofia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0788-0373, Tischler, Victoria and Corvo, Elisabetta 2025. Conclusion: Reflections on the arts and health as a field. Holt, Nicola J., Tischler, Victoria, Corvo, Elisabetta and Vougioukalou, Sofia, eds. Routledge Handbook of Arts and Health, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 466-471. (10.4324/9781003429814-41)

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Abstract

We hope that this Handbook has provided a thorough grounding in the key areas in which the arts are used for health and wellbeing, synthesising work with different domains of art, populations, occupations and settings, as well as highlighting current trends and debates. The arts and health encompasses numerous practices, from formalised health interventions to individual art-making in everyday life, working with a broad range of individuals and communities, and with diverse goals (e.g., psychotherapy, health communication, community cohesion, happiness). It is impossible to do justice to the diversity, detail, and nuance of material covered in this Handbook here. We therefore use this conclusion as an opportunity to reflect on what we noted as themes or issues of contention/debate across the chapters that covered these diverse areas, which may be useful for future practice, research, and discussion. Nine themes are discussed, which relate to: theory development; integrating global perspectives; balancing advocacy and critique; considering when art is and is not helpful; the importance of best practice, training and support; what counts as evidence; a need for conceptual clarity with terminology; and finally, research gaps for future work. However, the overarching message is that prodigious progress has been made in the field of arts and health in recent years, in terms of research, practice, and policy, and we hope that this Handbook will be a useful contribution as this momentum continues.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Medicine Research Institutes & Centres > Centre for Trials Research (CNTRR)
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781003429814
Last Modified:	08 Jan 2026 12:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183727

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