High art can have larger impact -- most art exposure therapy research showing modest effects are based on art as little more than a basic visual stimulus
At key locations, place exceptional pieces of high art based on concepts vital to trauma recovery and general mental health.
Throughout the environment, several pieces
Haven House and Cloud Nine Studios feature several exceptional pieces of high art that are based on very specific concepts vital to trauma recovery and mental health.
These pieces have been chosen and placed extremely carefully to maximize their impact.
Since Haven House is a shared living environment, these works are primarily in the common areas of the home.
For example, "What Shines Through" is hung in the Haven House office, which every resident visits at least once a day. But it is hung in a space where it's only seen for a brief moment before being passed. This is by design because the message the piece illustrates—that positivity is a choice—is vital for everyone in trauma recovery to learn before they leave. However, this message would be counterproductively harmful to deliver to someone at the beginning of their therapy program, when they are presumably near their lowest. After surviving severe trauma and suffering the effects for a long time, being told that you need to choose positivity can appear hopelessly naïve or worse, like victim-blaming. But since this lesson must eventually be learned, instead of hanging it anywhere it could be stared at and meditated upon for long periods, it's in the only spot where everyone will see it regularly, but not for very long. That way, they can be repeatedly exposed to it for brief durations, so that when their mental state improves to the point where they can be receptive to the concept, they can recognize and accept it.
On the other hand, "Heart Says Go; Gut Says No" is a painting that shows a woman at peace with her conflicting emotions. This powerful piece promotes healthy emotional regulation and encourages women to honor their instincts and protect themselves, especially when they sense danger—a vital message since so many societal mechanisms pressure women to ignore their own feelings and sacrifice their own safety and security in order to please others.
This piece is hung by the front door, as traveling through the portal between the home and the outside world triggers a mental reset, and reinforcing the idea of honoring and regulating one's emotions is a vital when coming home to interact their housemates, leaving the home to go to therapy or elsewhere out in the world.
"Reflection" by Steven McGovney requires no such explanation, as its form is intuitively understood.
which is a particularly
"Heart Says
Art can cause reactions, be they immediate chemical, short-term emotional, or long-term cognitive.
The right art, to the right person, at the right time can have
At Haven House, these works are distributed throughout the home
Throughout the environment
At Cloud Nine Studios,
Strategically placed art
This is a difficult and time-consuming strategy to execute, as such art is exceedingly rare; all there is to say about my future plans for this strategy is that I’ll keep looking and bring them up if and when I find more. Such pieces are also usually expensive. However, high art commands attention and can communicate complex thoughts and emotions in ways that words cannot.
While expensive, the value of these works of art can be compared to the value of a low-dose, high-frequency therapeutic pharmaceutical. Amortized over enough time, certain art could provide a greater therapeutic benefit per dollar, especially when considering the lack of side effects, interactions, and administration costs even before considering that certain art can provide unique, targeted benefits that drugs cannot. Intended goals would vary piece by piece.
There are over a dozen pieces of high art in Haven House, eight of which are exceptionally strong and overtly about mental health. I’d go over them all, but I could talk for 15 minutes about each piece.
Which is a good segue, because the therapeutic efficacy of these pieces can be exponentially enhanced by combining it with...