Feb. 6, 2018 - According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), mental illness affects tens of millions of people each year. Nursing students in Mental Health Nursing (NRS 240) are assigned an art project to enrich the educational experience in learning about mental illness.
The students are instructed to create an artistic piece related to a mental illness learned in class, seen in the hospitals, or within their families. There is no rubric to allow freedom of expression in any form of art. There is no right or wrong answer, only one’s self and how one interprets the assignment. Students reflect on their pieces in discussion format. Reflection topics relate to why students select a certain art form and topic and what the project means to them. Sharing these concepts with each other allow the students to gain insight into mental illness and how it effects the individual and the family.
Students’ learn to listen to the stories told within the art.
The students' artwork is on display in the Broome Library now through Feb. 28. We hope you walk away from the art moved by listening to the stories each piece holds.