Introduction: Creativity has been used in occupational therapy treatment since the very
beginning of the profession; they are used as a medium or a tool for assessing and achieving
the goals of treatment. The use of such activities is respected and valued in the field of mental
health, more specifically in the treatment of mental disorders. Nevertheless, there is little
evidence of the use and impact of creative activities in occupational therapy treatment, as a
result they are underappreciated and people do not see the point in using them. Purpose:
The purpose of this thesis is to determine how different types of creative activities affect
people with mental health disorders and which are most commonly used. Methods: In the
diploma work we will use a descriptive method with a review of the literature. We used a
time frame from 2015 to 2020. The following databases were included in the review: DiKul,
CINAHL, PubMed and Web of Science. The literature search was conducted with different
combinations of keywords (occupational therapy, creative activities, music, art, painting,
drawing, mental health, mental disorders, mental illness, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia)
in Slovenian and English. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 sources were
included in the analysis, in which we also assessed the strength and level of evidence.
Results: The creative media exposed in the literature are music, fine arts, dance and creative
writing. All four media have proven useful for use in terms of creative activities in people
with mental disorders. Their use increases autonomy, self-confidence and acceptance of
oneself, enables the expression of emotions, feelings, attitudes towards illness, reduces
symptoms and strengthens physiological and cognitive functioning. Progress can be seen in
individuals, both at the individual and societal levels. Discussion and conclusion: Greater
autonomy and self-confidence, expression of emotions, improvement of health and
functioning are one of the main positive effects of the use of creative activities in therapy in
general as well as occupational therapy. Through the creative medium, the bond between the
health worker and the individual is strengthened and good mental health is promoted. With
demonstrable positive effects, the use of creative activities makes sense in the occupational
therapy process. In the future, research is needed in the field of creative activities in
occupational therapy, as most of the literature is related to therapy in general.
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