Using the arts in teaching and learning: building student capacity for community-based work in health psychology

Perspectives have emerged within health psychology that focus on the social constitution of health and emphasize community development and social change strategies to reduce human suffering and improve quality of life. Education and training are needed to build student capacity in these areas. Our analysis, grounded in theoretical, empirical, and experiential evidences, suggests that the arts may play a leading role in building this student capacity for community research and action. Major themes are that the arts promote student understandings of the values, goals, and practices of community-based work and enable meaningful student roles in community-based partnerships. Narrative accounts of our use of creative writing, visual arts, poetry, film, and theater in classroom and community-based practice with students illustrate these themes.