The Arts and Crafts Movement and Occupational Therapy
The arts and crafts movement is a historical period of cultural innovation that began in Europe and the United States during the early 1800s. Its influence can be felt today in architecture, literature and design; furthermore it was inspired by artists such as John Ruskin, Charles Morris and Henry Morrison through their artwork.
Occupational therapy is a therapeutic profession that utilizes purposeful activities to assist individuals in performing daily living tasks. It serves as rehabilitation, aiming to restore or enhance function, performance and wellbeing by preventing disability and encouraging individuals to develop skills and interests (Bathje, 2012).
Crafts are an occupation in which one engages in a series of purposeful activities to produce something of value. Crafts can serve as a form of creative expression to boost self-esteem, foster social interaction and boost productivity; they’re even popular therapy tools (Broderick, 2011; Fancourt & Joss, 2015).
Arts and crafts can be an excellent tool to give therapists and clients a sense of control, independence, and autonomy. When combined with other treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, physical activity, or psychotherapy, it makes for a holistic treatment approach.
The arts and crafts movement was inspired by medieval art and architecture, the concept of “hand and mind”, as well as an emphasis on creativity. It sought to create a society in which individuals could pursue their individual passions with freedom. It was an answer to modern living’s desire for something simpler – an antidote to industrialization.
A hallmark of the arts and crafts movement was its emphasis on a holistic view of health care. This philosophy promoted taking into account patients as whole people, in contrast to a reductionist perspective where patients were simply treated as diseases that needed medication treatment.
By the dawn of World War I, this view had begun to shift as new scientific advancements in medicine and technology altered how physicians treated their patients. Nonetheless, three pioneering nurses and a psychologist still believed it was important to provide a holistic approach when treating their patients; these individuals established an occupational therapy practice using hand-and-mind techniques.
At this time, occupational therapy was little known in Canada. It wasn’t until the moral treatment movement spread through TB sanatoriums and mental hospitals during the late 1800s that this type of therapy gained acceptance within Canadian medical circles.
These individuals were known as the “lost sheep of nursing”. They rebelled against the medical model that had taken hold, opting instead for hands-on, recreational approaches that focused on activity-based healing.
The shift in occupational therapy focused on the needs of patients and their families rather than just physicians’ requirements. This marked a positive development for both profession and patients alike.