HELENA — Art isn't just about creating something— it can also be a way to process stress, trauma, and emotion. Now, Lewis and Clark Public Health is using an around $8,000 Montana Arts Council grant to explore how creative practices can support the people caring for our community.
(Learn more about the grant in the video below)
“Art and creativity and those activities can do so much to benefit us in physical, mental, and overall well-being,” Krys Holmes, the Montana Arts Council executive director, said.
The grant brings in a team of artists to collaborate with over a dozen behavioral health providers through needlefelting, dance, theater and medicine pouches.
The project has been planned for a year to determine measurable impacts on burnout levels.
"The opportunity gives them a tool in their toolbox, and we know art is not going to solve all the problems of burnout, but the social support of doing art in a group is a great opportunity,” Jessica Dorrington, a behavioral health systems improvement specialist with Lewis and Clark Public Health, said.
Healthcare providers will be asked questions before the program and then take a post test, to see if the art program is having a positive impact on burnout.
“It is helping us think outside of the box, and it is the kind of grant. It may seem like a small thing, but it can have a big impact,” Dorrington said.
The goal is to introduce art in a way that healthcare professionals can use both personally and potentially fold into local care environments.
“We are creative people inherently, and we tend to forget that or dismiss it, so we leave all these tools on the table in ways that can really help deepen and make our lives richer and healthier,” Holmes said.
Similar projects in the grant cycle are being used at St. Peter’s Health and in Browning and Glasgow.
