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A MINDFUL APPROACH Tom Cox,Artscape Project Manager atOxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, discusses the value of creativityArtscape began 13 years ago as pilot project to see what impact the creative arts would have on the mental health of patients in Oxford and it has just grown since then. We now run art groups in mental health wards across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and in the community. We do art in its broadest sense – dance, filmmaking, drama, music making, lots of visual arts, photography and ceramics.Artscape really aligns with the Trust’s decision on how we treat people with mental health difficulties, offering a tailored approach to an individual’s need, and aiding recovery into whatever they feel their life should be. You’ll often find that people have never done art before in their life or they’ve been told that they werebad at it at school. Artscape gives them an opportunity to try it out and often they find that that is really useful. Creativity and art can be a mindful exercise and help with a person’s wellbeing. At first it can act as a distraction and give people other things to think about, but as you get further into it there are all sorts of other rewards. It can help with confidence building, decision making and many of the things that help build a healthy mind.IMAGES: 1 BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY; 2 WIKIMEDIA COMMONS2 Edvard Munch, detail from Solen (the Sun), 1909. Mural at Oslo University, Norway36ART AND THE MINDThe Arts Society ReviewSummer 2017