The Expressive Instinct: How Imagination and Creative Works Help Us Survive and Thrive

Description

Self-expression is a fundamental human drive. The need for self-expression can occur through many means both creative and mundane. The Expressive Instinct explains how the complexity of human experiences and the need to express them manifests more profoundly when distilled into artforms and dispels the idea that creativity is the domain of a select gifted few. The book explores the questions: What is the purpose of art in our lives? Could the desire for beauty, to be surrounded by elements of nature, be an innate need? Are art and creative expression essential for a good life? In this book, Dr. Kaimal links over 10 years of research, theories of evolutionary biology, brain sciences, as well as her own lifelong journey as an artist, scholar and educator in many personal and professional roles (textile designer, art therapist, researcher and educator).

This book makes the case for why we as human beings need to stay creative and not lose our abilities to channel our inner lives in adaptive expressive ways. The arts, the book argues, are a container for the range of human experiences. Creative expression helps us practice and externalize imagination which in turn helps build resilience for dealing with uncertainty and change.

About the author:

Girija Kaimal is an Associate Professor in the PhD program in Creative Arts Therapies and Assistant Dean for Special Research Initiatives at the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions.

Table of contents

Foreword
Introduction
Premise
Guide map
Origins

Part I The Lay of the Land: Theories and Historical Perspectives on Creative Self-Expression

Chapter 1: Why Does Creative Self-Expression Matter?
Chapter 2: Philosophical Perspectives and Theories of Creative Self-Expression and Well-Being
Chapter 3: What our Ancestors Knew: Indigenous and Traditional Arts Practices and Health

Part II Embodied Expression: Physiological and Psychological Processes and Outcomes

Chapter 4: Receptive and Expressive Experiences: How We See, Create, and Make Narrative Sense of it All
Chapter 5: Evoking the Protectors Within: Neurobiological Indicators and Creative Self-Expression
Chapter 6: Tracking Creative Expression Through Imaging Tools

Part III Weathering Storms: Facilitating Creative Expression to Cope with Stress, Adversity and Trauma

Chapter 7: Creative Self-Expression by Ourselves and with Others
Chapter 8: "When Words are not Enough": Creative Self-Expression and Adversity in the Developing Years of Childhood and Youth
Chapter 9: Navigating Adversity in Adulthood Through Creative Self-Expression

Part IV Preparedness- Implications for Current and Future Work in Arts, Health and Well-Being

Chapter 10: The Prepared Warrior for Current Society
Chapter 11: What Lies Ahead? Research and Practices for the Future

Afterword
Acknowledgments
Glossary
References