Читать книгу The Creative Arts in Counseling - Samuel Gladding T., Samuel T. Gladding - Страница 19

What art or arts were you first drawn to as a child? Think back to what attracted you to them. How has your experience since childhood influenced your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with the art or art forms that you initially found fascinating?

Similarly, the ancient Roman philosophers encouraged the public to use the arts to achieve health and happiness. Lucretius, Cicero, and Seneca “all spoke in different ways of the healing power of ‘discourse.’ Poetry, Lucretius said, could disperse the ‘terrors of the soul’” (Coughlin, 1990, p. A6). Another belief among the Romans was that the study of humane letters could alleviate pain. Finally, music, cymbals, flutes, and other sounds were used by the Romans to dispel melancholy as well as to promote wellness (Peters, 2001).

Overall, ancient world healers saw power in the arts. They encouraged their followers to experience these forms of creativity vigorously. They believed that doing so had a significant positive impact on mental and physical health.