Being of service to the community can help the well-being of all. This week we'll study community psychology, and explore our own interests and capacities for service and creative outlets for coping. In this module, you will:
DISCOVER + ACT: Ways to Help
Jan Michael Looking Wolf Reibach is a Santiam Kalapuya member, a popular Native American flute musician, an OSU instructor, and a person heavily involved in community service organizations that work to serve those impacted by addiction, homelessness and cancer. Watch this brief OPB feature (10 min) about Jan Michael and his work with music and community in endeavors of healing, coping, grieving, and emotional expression. He will be a guest lecturer in this class on Tuesday, May 12.
Note that creativity may have implications for perceptions of post-traumatic growth (Forgeard, 2013) and activities like expressive writing are known to boost psychological and physical well-being.
1. What are your preferred creative forms? Why are you drawn to these forms? Do they give you a sense of accomplishment? Flow? Emotional expression?
2. Do you typically give yourself dedicated time for creative pursuits? If not, why not? Have there been times in your life when you have dedicated more time to them?
3. Based on your building psychological knowledge, hypothesize the mechanisms by which creativity and/or emotional expression might support wellbeing.