news
Rishad Khan
Health Minister Terence Deyalsingh wants to open his ministry’s new Queen’s Park Savannah headquarters to the public and transform it into a space that promotes health.
Deyalsingh made the assertion last Friday at the launch of the ministry’s first wellness event, OASIS: Art as Therapy.
“This is the first of many events where we will open the ministry to the public. That’s my dream for this building.”
The ministry said it will first focus on staff through wellness programs and transform it into a place of wellness.
This initiative was born out of a conversation he had with staff over lunch in the break room.
“We are going to introduce and infuse wellness into everything we do,” he said.
The ministry also said it would like to partner with the Indian High Commission on a ‘yoga journey’.
He added that the building will also be available to other government agencies for events such as the standing secretaries meeting held there last Thursday.
The OASIS exhibition aimed to raise awareness of mental health and mental health-related illnesses by encouraging destigmatization of people suffering from mental health challenges and conditions. From Friday to Saturday, more than 100 of his works of art, many created by people with mental illness, will be on display at the new headquarters.
Dr Hazel Othello, director of mental health at the Ministry of Health, said art as therapy had existed for centuries.
She said the therapy was commonly used in the Roman Empire and ancient Greece, where participation in theatrical productions was prescribed as a treatment for conditions such as depression and anxiety.
“Art therapy provides a means of communicating thoughts and feelings that are currently difficult to mobilize, and creates a safe space, among many other benefits.”
Othello said dance, music, poetry, expressive writing and theater are all forms of creative arts therapy.
“Benefits of these interventions have been reported in a wide range of mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, autism, and dementia.
“One six-month study found that caregivers of people with long-term illnesses had reduced anxiety and increased positive emotions after regularly participating in creative activities. No need for sleeping pills. Reduced sexual activity and shorter hospital stays are also reported benefits of art therapy.”
She said such therapy is also particularly beneficial for children and adolescents.
Ms Othello said music therapy and art therapy were now integral parts of treatment, and creative art therapy was becoming a new component of community mental health treatment.
