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SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTS
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SOCIO-CULTURAL SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTS:
Who needs help? Why has this become a problem?
At least 1000 million people suffer or will suffer some type of disease, this translates to 1 in 4 people of the world population, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Data that also show how depression and anxiety increased by 25% during the first year of the pandemic (García, 2013)10 . A figure that takes health professionals by surprise, since people are more open, there has been an increase in the demand for psychological assistance. Now people request help not so much to get cured because they are sick, but to overcome the difficulties that arise in their daily lives (Tovar, 2016)11. Well, they have realized that it is something that they cannot solve on their own and that not having stable mental health affects them not only emotionally but also physically. The WHO for before 2020 had already warned about the need to expand specific quality mental health care services that meet the needs (WHO, 2021)12. The organization had proposed a plan to increase these services, since the arrival of the pandemic showed that the world is not prepared to meet the needs of psychological assistance. Therefore, the WHO affirms that by 2030 mental health will have become the main health problem in the world and therefore proposes the expansion of its Comprehensive Action Plan on Mental Health. Which proposes research on mental health and its integration into primary health care, so that access to these services is easier. Since there are countries that are not prepared to provide this assistance or need to expand their field. An example of this is Mexico, according to specialists from UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), the percentage of people who receive psychological support when they need it does not exceed 20%. (Gomez, 2016)13. While the Illustrious Official College of Psychology affirms that in Spain there has been a 30% increase in psychology consultations since the beginning of the pandemic (Solano..., 2021)14 when before only 10% of Spaniards were faced with questioning to go to a psychologist (La Razón, 2019)15. While the magazine El País talks about a demonstration that occurred in Spain in 2021, where the right and improvement of mental health services were demanded. Well, during the pandemic, people began to deal directly with loneliness, economic problems, the fragmentation of social relationships, and overwhelm. During 2020 the number of suicides reached up to eleven daily suicides in Spain and it is estimated that about ten people attempted it. In addition, the magazine places a lot of
10 García Santos, Pablo, “La Crisis De Los 25” El Español, (2022) https:// www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20220805/crisis-alertan-psicologos-vez-jovenes-van-consulta/692180968_0.html. 11 Tovar, Javier, “¿Quién Acude a Las Consultas De Psicología?” EFE Salud, (2016), https://efesalud.com/quien-acude-las-consultas-psicologia/. 13 Gómez Maqueo, Emilia, “En El Mundo, 25 Por Ciento De La Población Ha Sufrido Algún Problema De Salud Mental.” (Boletin UNAM, 2016, https:// www.dgcs.unam.mx/boletin/bdboletin/2016_695.html).
14 Solano, Fátima, Angel, Sara, Maria, and Nicolas, “La Salud Mental De Los Jóvenes Tras La Pandemia.”(2021) https://variacionxxi.com/2021/12/24/ salud-mental-jovenes-pandemia/. 15 La Razón, “¿Acudir a UN PSICÓLOGO?”(2019) https://www.larazon.es/ atusalud/acudir-a-un-psicologo-solo-un-10-de-los-espanoles-se-lo-plantea-OB25244587/.
emphasis on paying attention to the most impoverished or disadvantaged social sectors; since they are more likely to suffer from a mental health problem and also these are the ones with the fewest resources (Errejón, 2021)16 . Everyone should have access to receive psychological assistance. Stress and anxiety are disorders that anyone can experience, regardless of age, race, or social class; according to the National Association of Clinical and Resident Psychologists these represent at least 80% of mental health problems (Fundipp, 2021)17 . Other circumstances for which a person attends therapy or seeks help are: behavioral disorders, learning problems, difficulty maintaining interpersonal relationships, coping with difficult situations and learning to solve problems. As well as to treat couple, family, work, abuse and violence problems. Like people who seek help to deal with chronic diseases such as: Alzheimer’s, dementia, cancer, bipolarity, schizophrenia and among others. The typical treatment for these diseases is psychotherapy, in which one must have “a voluntary commitment and the desire to establish a therapeutic relationship” where language is the main means of communication (Cosme, 2013)18 . “Art is not just a contemplation, it is also an act, and all acts change the world, at least a little” - Tony Kusher
After the increase in the need to satisfy psychological assistance, the opportunity arises to give way to other therapy alternatives, which even provide non-verbal options for people who do not find it easy to establish a communicative and/or expressive link. This makes it difficult to get the help they need to treat or cope with their problems. This alternative could be creative-artistic therapies, which use the arts to treat illnesses. To understand these therapies, one must first understand what art itself is; and according to the Royal Spanish Academy, art is a “manifestation of human activity through which the real is interpreted or the imagined is captured with plastic, linguistic or sound resources”. While the fine arts are a concept used to mention the seven manifestations, which are: architecture, sculpture, music, literature, dance and cinema (El Corte Inglés, 2021)19. This, in clinical terms for therapeutic and rehabilitation processes translates into the following therapies: music therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy and art therapy.
16 Errejón, Iñigo, “La Vida No Debería Doler Tanto a Tantos.” Revista de Prensa, (2021), https://www.almendron.com/tribuna/la-vida-no-deberiadoler-tanto-a-tantos/.
17 FUNDIPP. (2021). “Las Cifras De La Salud Mental En España ANPIR.” Fundación para la investigación en psicoterapia y personalidad, https://fundipp. org/las-cifras-de-la-salud-mental-en-espana/#. 18 Cosme Ramírez, Mariana, “El Uso Del Arteterapia Como Alternativa Psicoterapéutica En El Área Clínica De La Psicología: Un Estudio De Caso,” (Dissertation, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2013). 19 El Corte Inglés, “¿Cuáles Son Las Bellas Artes?” Blog, 2021, https://www. elcorteingles.es/entradas/blog/cuales-son-las-bellas-artes/#:~:text=Desde%20el%20siglo%20XX%2C%20las,manifestaciones%20culturales%20 y%20art%C3%ADsticas%20modernas. 20 Gete Sabater, María, “Terapia Expresiva En Educación Infantil” (Dissertation, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja 2013).
Which are described below:
MUSIC THERAPY DANCE THERAPY
DRAMA THERAPY ART THERAPY
Therapy through music, which uses rhythm, harmony, intensity and melody; to enhance the possibilities of expression and creativity. 20 .
Photo by Robert Stokoe
Therapy through dance, the American Association of Dance Therapy describes it as the use of movement for the integration of people both physically and emotionally 21 .
Photo by Michael Zittel
Therapy through theater, which uses the use of theatrical images and metaphors, based on the interaction between spontaneity-creativity and imitation 20 . Therapy through plastic arts 20 .
Art therapy has different definitions, but these two pioneering associations in the field are the ones that come close to defining this therapy in a more accurate way. The Spanish Professional Association of Art Therapists defines art therapy as: A healthcare profession that uses artistic creation as a tool to facilitate the expression and resolution of emotions or psychological conflicts. In art therapy the objects resulting from the artistic creation process act as in termediaries in the therapeutic relation ship, allowing certain conflicting feelings or emotions to find a complementary or alternative way of expression to words (ATe, 2006)22 . [On the other hand, the British Art Therapy Association defines it as]: A form of psychotherapy that uses artistic media as the primary mode of communication. This is practiced by art therapists, who work with children, youth, adults and the elderly. It can be used for different diagnoses such as emotional disorders, physical disabil ities or neurological situations. Art ther apy is not a recreational activity or an art class, although it can be enjoyed. Clients do not need prior experience or expertise in art (BAAT, 1969)23 .
22 ATe (Definición de Arteterapia. Asociación Profesional Española de Arteterapeutas, 2006), https://arteterapia.org.es/codigo-etico/#:~:text=2%20 definen%20la%20arteterapia%20como,o%20psicol%C3%B3gicos%20 de%20las%20personas.
23 BAAT (Definición de Arteterapia. Asociación Británica de terapeutas de arte, 1969), https://www.baat.org/About-Art-Therapy. 25 Cosme Ramírez, Mariana, “El Uso Del Arteterapia Como Alternativa Psicoterapéutica En El Área Clínica De La Psicología: Un Estudio De Caso,” (Dissertation, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2013).
26 NIMH. (n.d.). “¿Es Estrés o Ansiedad?” National Institute of Mental Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nimh. nih.gov/health/publications/espanol/estoy-tan-estresado#:~:text=El%2 0 e s t r % C 3 % A 9 s % 2 0 e s % 2 0 l a % 2 0 r e s p u e s t a , s u c e d e r % 2 0 r e p e t i d amente%20durante%20mucho%20tiempo.
In general, creative-artistic therapies help both children and teenagers as well as adults and the elderly. These therapies treat people with functional diversity, mentally ill, cancer patients, individuals who have suffered abuse, geriatrics, with physical problems and among others (Gete, 2013)24. Creative-artistic therapies themselves treat depression, anxiety and stress disorders. But these also help to develop a good self-esteem, help to improve the expression, acceptance and confrontation of problems and / or diseases. It also helps to improve mood and well-being. That is why they can be applied to all types of population (Cosme, 2013)25 . For the purposes of this research, we will focus on art therapy, focused on stress, anxiety and depression. Which are defined below:
Stress: It is a physical or mental response to an external cause, be it for example: school, work, some traumatic event or some important change in life. It is a factor that occurs in the short term or suddenly (NIMH, n.d.)26 .
Anxiety: is the body’s reaction to stress or to a situation of uncertainty in the face of a possible threat or event to occur.
Depression: are the symptoms of sadness, lack of interest, demotivation and frustration. Being these symptoms that do not disappear in a short time, affecting daily activities such as sleeping, eating or working (NIMH, n.d.) 27 . According to Pilar Domínguez, Ph.D. in Fine Arts and Psychology graduate (2013) 28, there are various types of depression, which are classified and have been treated by art therapy, showing its effectiveness in:
1
Depression due to physical illnesses:
Depression due to critical life stages:
Depression due to traumatic external situations:
Depression due to psychic or mental illness:
quironsalud.es
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bbmundo.com/
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hackensackmeridianhealth.org
blog.uvirtual.org
Cancer
Old Age
Parental Divorce Functional Diversity
Postpartum
Mistreatment and Abuse
2
3
4
Art therapy, despite being a concept that has been studied, has not yet been fully explored and lacks information. There are countries like the United States and England where its effectiveness has already been proven, but in many others the benefits of this therapy must be demonstrated and its use promoted. Well, unlike traditional therapies, this is mainly based on a “Triangular Relationship”, developed by the English psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott (2000)29. This relationship is made up of the art therapist, patient and the presence of the work; This is contrary to traditional therapy that is based solely on verbal communication. Art therapy introduces this new agent, this being the work that is performed by the patient. In addition, art therapy, like traditional therapies, interventions can be carried out in the following way: individual, dual, family and group (Cosme, 2013)30. Art therapy has so much to contribute that it can be a tool together with psychotherapy to satisfy the needs for therapeutic services that the world is facing. IMAGE
PATIENT THERAPIST
27 NIMH. (n.d.). “Depression.” National Institute of Mental Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/ topics/depression.
28 Domínguez Toscano, Pilar, “Arteterapia En El Tratamiento De La Depresión: Revisión De La Producción Científica .” Essay. In Arteterapia En El Ámbito De La Salud Mental, (2013) 49–84. 30 Cosme Ramírez, Mariana, “El Uso Del Arteterapia Como Alternativa Psicoterapéutica En El Área Clínica De La Psicología: Un Estudio De Caso,” (Dissertation, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2013).
- Domínguez, 2013.
