I wanted to share a little of what my inquiry is about.
My inquiry is based around Mental Health within the Arts...what support systems are available to us, how accessible they are and how many of us actually know they exist!
I am looking into the psychological-emotional demands of being a professional dancer. I want to map the facilities that are available to performers - including mental health care and emotional support. I also want to look at the possibilities of making dancers more aware of the support that is available, as well as making the profession aware of the possible need to support dancers better in this way.
I am carrying out interviews with 5 professionals who are at different stages of their careers within the arts. I am hoping to learn from them, information about the facilities available, whether they have experienced them for themselves and how they heard about them. Do they refer their students or employees? Do they have to pay for these services?
I am also doing a lot of book and internet based research into these facilities to really learn what is out there. I am finding a lot of interesting things that I am excited to document and share!!
I feel as though my professional artifact is going to be a great way for me to share my findings and really spread the word to other performers about what is out there. I need it to be something that will really speak but I am struggling at this point to decide on what to do and how to best format it??
Due to my schedule out at sea, I am not often available to attend the Skype discussion. However I really want to get involved in the community and share information. I would love to hear about other peoples inquiries. I would also love to know if anyone has any information or experience about mental health within the arts...any useful websites, journals or blogs that may support my inquiry?
Thank you in advance :)
Firstly what a great topic to focus in on as a former professional dancer I can see the real struggle that some dancers may have and the lack of knowledge on how to address situations that are so sensitive. I am focusing in on primary eduction and the wellbeing of the children and if dance can have a positive effect on them, I suppose mental health problems could occur later on in their life if the wellbeing hasn't been addressed and improved in their early years. This has opened up my thinking as it could be something that may effect a child's future.
ReplyDeleteI am also doing the research through the internet and the universities library search tool and trying to gather as much information and ideas as possible but I am now struggling with moving onto the next stage. Writing a literature review how do I start? If you have any ideas I would love the help, likewise for yourself.
A xx
Hey Amber :)
DeleteOh your inquiry is a great topic too! Ours are definitely connected... a lot of research I have found out talks about how important the early years are on mental health.
For my literature review I made some templates with specific questions, so when I am reviewing and writing about a book I have a clear focus on what I am questioning and looking at. For example how useful the literature is to my study, is it relevant to my own profession, does the literature suggest direction for further research. So after I read a book or an article I fill out one of my templates and it helps to really add structure to my reviews. Hope that helps :) X