Trauma Aware and Anti-Oppressive Arts-Health and Community Arts Practice: Guiding Principles for Facilitating Healing, Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

There is a growing call for arts-health and community arts professionals to work in ‘trauma informed ways’ to prevent re-traumatisation and promote healing. This paper reports on a scoping review of existing literature that deal with trauma aware and informed practice and its applications in arts-health and community arts. Trauma informed practice does not seek to target or treat trauma but, rather, seeks to provide a safer and more informed space for people who experience post-traumatic stress conditions and symptoms to engage in facilitated arts activities. We particularly examine the extent to which existing literature acknowledges the presence of oppression-related collective trauma – such as racial trauma – and offers appropriate creative, anti-oppressive and trauma aware practice approaches. A total of 19 articles were included following librarian input and team checking. Included articles were written in English, published in peer reviewed academic journals, included a creative arts component, and adopted an intentional trauma informed or aware approach to practice. An additional three sources were included as part of descriptive synthesis to foreground leading First Nations resources for practice. Although no specific guidelines for trauma aware practice in arts-health or community arts were found, findings are consolidated at the end of the paper to offer interim principles, values and activities for trauma aware and informed practice in arts-health and community arts. Findings can also inform general trauma related research and therapy by highlighting the growing role of arts and creativity in responding to diverse experiences of trauma and its effects.