Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE OCT1000

 
TITLE Communicating through the Creative Arts: Skills for Self-Development in Occupational Therapy Practice

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 2

 
DEPARTMENT Occupational Therapy

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit will provide understanding of the fundamentals of creative art forms as a tool for personal development and communication. The study-unit will provide basic theoretical but mostly a practical experience of different creative art forms aimed at developing the self and as a basis for enhancing therapeutic interactions with clients. Students will also learn the basics of activity analysis in order to understand better the activity demands of the creative art form.

This study-unit aims at stimulating reflection within each student on how the various art forms can address performance skills and components of their clients who attend therapy. Students will be engaged in practical hands-on sessions through “being” and “doing”.

The art forms concerned with this study unit will consist mainly of these main categories :
- performing arts (e.g. activities in the genre of music, dance, theatre, singing and film);
- visual arts, design and craft (e.g. crafts, design, painting, photography, sculpture and textiles);
- literature (e.g. creative writing);

Study-Unit Aims:

1. To expose and introduce students to the creative arts as a tool for health and wellbeing that may support their personal and professional selves;
2. To expose students to creative art forms for both personal and professional growth;
3. To enable students to develop communication skills through the arts;
4. To enable students to start to reflect on and understand the nature of creative occupations and their scope within occupational therapy.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Recognise theoretical and practical knowledge of different creative art forms and their therapeutic value with knowledge of evidence based outcomes for engaging in the creative arts;
2. Practice creative art forms , through personal exposure and participation;
3. Crtitique each creative occupations and their use personally and as a therapeutic tool.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Identify the use of creative art forms and creative occupations as a personal as well as a therapeutic tool;
2. Understand better the essentials in communicating throught he body;
2. Demonstrate practical exposure and hands on active involvement in creative activities;
4. Appraise the experience of each creative modality and its effect on their personal and professional development.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

1. A suggested reading list is provided however other texts and readings will be supplied by the lecturer coordinating the study unit as well as by the occasional lecturers.
2. Arts in/as therapeutic practice. (2018). Creative Arts in Education and Therapy, 4(2), 103-103. https://doi.org/10.15212/caet/2018/4/15
3. Bathje, M. (2012). Art in occupational therapy: An introduction to occupation and the artist. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1034
4. Mullen, R., Davis, J. A., & Polatajko, H. J. (2012). Passion in the performing arts: Clarifying active occupational participation. Work, 41(1), 15-25. https://doi.org/10.3233/wor-2012-1236
5. Müllersdorf, M., & Ivarsson, A. B. (2012). Use of creative activities in occupational therapy practice in Sweden. Occupational Therapy International, 19(3), 127-134. https://doi.org/10.1002/oti.1327
6. Perruzza, N., & Kinsella, E. A. (2010). Creative arts occupations in therapeutic practice: A review of the literature. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(6), 261-268. https://doi.org/10.4276/030802210x12759925468943
7. Spencer, K., G Jenkins, G., M Davis, M., & K Yuen, H. (2019). When occupational therapy and magic collide. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 82(12), 713-715. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022619834254

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Tutorial

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Reflective Diary SEM1 Yes 30%
Assignment SEM1 Yes 70%

 
LECTURER/S Laura Buhagiar
Nathalie Buhagiar (Co-ord.)

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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