Contemporary Western aesthetics embraces aesthetic experience that is participatory, immersive and connective with oneself and through this, with others and the environments we meet them in. Such encounters are central in healthcare practice. This seminar will address why awareness of such aesthetic experience matters in mental health and wellbeing. This daylong seminar will include a range of speakers covering underpinning ideas and aspects of other fields that may be relevant to healthcare care.
The seminar will be hybrid (in person and online) and is organised by the Aesthetics in Mental Health Network of the Collaborating Centre for Values-Based Practice in Health and Social Care, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, Sigmund Freud University, Vienna.
For questions email the organisers:
Helena Fox, doctorhfox@gmail.com
Martin Poltrum, m.poltrum@philosophiepraxis.com
Programme
Registration 9.30-10.00
10.00-10.10 – Ashok Handa – Welcome and introduction to CCVB and St. Catherine’s College
10.10-10.20 – Helena Fox – Introduction to the conference
Chairperson: Martin Poltrum
10.20-10.25 – Martin Poltrum – Why Aesthetics Matters in Mental Health?
10.25-10.55 – Yuriko Saito – The Aesthetics of Care
10.55-11.25 – Anna Bergqvist – The Participatory Turn in Museum Curation as a Model for Person-Centered Clinical Care
11.25-11.45 Break
Chairperson: Yuriko Saito
11.45-12.15 – Eugene Hughes – Aesthetic Engagement as a Pathway to Mental Health and Well-Being
12.15-12.45 – Isis Brook – Engagement with Nature for Mental Well-Being: The Role of Imagination and Aesthetics
13.00-14.00 – High Table lunch in College
Chairperson: Helena Fox
14.10-14.40 – Julian C. Hughes – Understanding Dementia. An Aesthetic Approach
14.40-15.10 – Kathleen Lennon – Bodily Aesthetics: Challenging Damaging Imaginaries of the Ageing Body
15.10-15.40 – Shelley Sacks – Making Social Honey: Social Aesthetic Strategies for a Change of Heart
15.40-15.55 Break
Chairpersons: Martin Poltrum, Helena Fox
15.55-16.25 – Helena Fox – Aesthetic Experience in the Everyday Clinical Work of Healthcare Practitioners: A Practice-Based Description
16.25-16.55 – Martin Poltrum – Psychotherapy and Film
16.55-17.10 – Closing Remarks, Outlook, next Steps