Covid-19 and Mental Health: Could Visual Art Exposure Help?

Abstract

A worldwidemental health crisis is expected, as millions worldwide fear death and disease while being forced into repeated isolation. Thus, there is a need for new proactive approaches to improve mental resilience and prevent mental health conditions. Since the 1990s, art has emerged as an alternative mental health therapy in the United States and Europe, becoming part of the social care agenda. This article focuses on how visual esthetic experiences can create similar patterns of neuronal activity as those observed when the reward system is activated. The activation of the reward structures could have a stress buffering effect, given the interdependence observed between the reward and stress systems. Therefore, could visual esthetic experiences stimulate mental resilience? And if this were the case, could art-based interventions be offered for mental health in the context of COVID-19 and beyond?

The future of intensive care: delirium should no longer be an issue

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The future of the cultural workforce: Perspectives from early career arts professionals on the challenges and future of the cultural industries in the context of COVID-19

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Art‐based mindfulness at school: A culturally responsive approach to school mental health

“…Although this study was implemented before the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic, the digital nature of the L.A.U.G.H.® intervention could have been a proactive approach to improve student wellbeing in the remote learning context. An article by Gallo et al (2021) proposes that exposure to visual art activates the reward centers in the brain and offer a stress buffering effect for individuals. They note that “art promotes wellbeing, social inclusion, and support mental health recovery and resilience” (p. 4).…”