Mission Statement
The mission of the Arts in Research, Therapy and Service (ARTS) Committee is to harness the transformative power of the arts to promote connection, belonging, healing, learning and discovery across the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the broader community. Through creative expression in all its forms, ARTS seeks to support the well‑being and sense of belonging of members of the departmental community, enhance clinical care, enrich education, advance scientific knowledge and strengthen partnerships within Emory and beyond.
We strive to:
- Foster Meaning, Community, and Connection by cultivating spaces for shared artistic expression—uniting faculty, staff, learners and patients to build community, deepen reflection and celebrate creativity.
- Enhance Clinical Care by integrating music, visual art, movement, narrative and other art modalities into assessment and therapeutic interventions, enabling patients to express themselves, engage actively in care and improve well‑being.
- Support Providers and Learners by promoting the use of the arts for self‑care, resilience and professional growth, while embedding the arts into training to strengthen empathy, meta‑cognition, tolerance of complexity and whole‑person learning.
- Advance Research by rigorously examining the impact of arts‑based interventions on psychiatric symptoms, treatment outcomes, quality of life and community health.
- Engage Communities by partnering with local arts organizations, advocating for accessible arts engagement, expanding public health messaging through creative initiatives and elevating the role of the arts in mental health at institutional and legislative levels.
Through service, scholarship, and creative collaboration, ARTS aims to make the arts an essential component of mental health care, education, discovery, community well‑being and a shared sense of belonging.