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Medical providers are referring primary care patients to non-medical sources of support, often for mental health. “One of the popular activities in pilot studies is suggesting patients engage in activities that support the uptake of new hobbies. These activities relate to other leisure activities such as volunteering in that they provide distraction, novelty, cognitive stimulation, belongingness as well as enhancing coping skills and agency and (when engaged in as part of a group) provide social support.” [More]

Participation in creative activities is linked with positive outcomes for people with mental illness. A recent small, longitudinal, and qualitative study found that participants in a series of creative workshops enjoyed a range of creative mediums, valued peer support, and shared their stories. Overall, workshop participation improved confidence and understanding about their illness. [More]

Worried that your teen is spending too much time alone in their room? Turns out, alone time is good for them, and you too, as long as you're not forced into it. According to a new study, when people seek solitude willingly, they're actually enhancing their creativity, identity development and emotional regulation skills. Worried that your teen is spending too much time alone in their room? Turns out, alone time is good for them, as long as they're not forced into it. According to a new study, when teens seek solitude, they're actually enhancing their creativity, identity development and emotional regulation skills. The study, titled, Motivation matters: Development and validation of the Motivation for Solitude Scale - Short Form (MSS-SF), was recently published in the Journal of Adolescence. Theravive spoke with one of the authors of the study, Margarita Azmitia, a professor of psychology at the University of California. [More]

"Getting creative really does boost your mood" was a recent headline based on the BBC Arts Great British Creativity Test, suggesting that creativity can help avoid stress and improve self-development. Some mental health professionals promote creativity in their work with clients and others report benefits from using it personally. [More]

A new study published in the Accounting Review examines whether it is possible to design incentives that make people more creative. “In the contemporary workforce, just about any job that can be automated is being automated,” study author Steven J. Kachelmeier told us. “Routine tasks are now being performed by robots and computers. What this leaves for humans are more judgment-oriented jobs that require creative and innovative solutions to solve unique problems.” [More]

Mania is something that can be a very productive state of mind when channeled in a positive direction. Some of the most creative minds of our time were diagnosable as bi-polars; Beethoven, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemmingway and Abraham Lincoln just to name a few (the list goes on). [More]