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All Outputs (42)

Conference Report: Poetry & Care (2024)
Journal Article
Nissel, J., Thurston, S., Fitzsimons, M., & Spence, S. (in press). Conference Report: Poetry & Care. Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry, 15(1), https://doi.org/10.16995/bip.11688

The following multi-authored report provides an account of the Poetry & Care conference held at the University of Plymouth, 7-8 September 2023. Many thanks to the organisers: Anthony Caleshu, Mandy Bloomfield, and Russell Evans

Developing a strategy to scale up place-based arts initiatives that support mental health and wellbeing: A realist evaluation of ‘Arts for the Blues’ (2024)
Journal Article
Karkou, V., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Thurston, S., Clark, R., Perris, E., Kaehne, A., & Pearson, M. (in press). Developing a strategy to scale up place-based arts initiatives that support mental health and wellbeing: A realist evaluation of ‘Arts for the Blues’. PloS one, 19(1), e0296178. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296178

Place-based arts initiatives are regarded as rooted in local need and as having capacity to engage local assets. However, many place-based arts initiatives remain poorly funded and short-lived, receiving little attention on how to scale up and sustai... Read More about Developing a strategy to scale up place-based arts initiatives that support mental health and wellbeing: A realist evaluation of ‘Arts for the Blues’.

Turning : selected poems 1995-2020 (2023)
Book
Thurston, S. (2023). Turning : selected poems 1995-2020. Shearsman Books

A selected poems volume covering 25 years of work

Dancing the Blues: An interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and therapists (2023)
Journal Article
Thurston, S., Griffin, J., Davismoon, S., Omylinska-Thurston, J., & Karkou, V. (2023). Dancing the Blues: An interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and therapists. Journal of Applied Arts and Health, 14(2), 159-174. https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah_00107_1

Creative practice differs widely across the contexts of artistic performance and therapy. In this article the authors describe a novel example of how the otherwise separate fields of choreographic practices and dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) have... Read More about Dancing the Blues: An interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and therapists.

The importance of psychological flow in a creative, embodied and enactive psychological therapy approach (Arts for the Blues) (2022)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Turner, R., Thurston, S., Starkey, J., Omylinska-Thurston, J., & Karkou, V. (2022). The importance of psychological flow in a creative, embodied and enactive psychological therapy approach (Arts for the Blues). Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2022.2130431

Psychological flow can be experienced in various occupational, recreational and creative domains and may confer increased well-being. Yet, very few studies have examined flow as a potential feature of creative arts therapies – particularly therapies... Read More about The importance of psychological flow in a creative, embodied and enactive psychological therapy approach (Arts for the Blues).

Bringing creative psychotherapies to primary NHS Mental Health Services in the UK : a feasibility study on patient and staff experiences of arts for the blues workshops delivered at Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services (2022)
Journal Article
Karkou, V., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Parsons, A., Thurston, S., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Nair, K., …Haslam, S. (2022). Bringing creative psychotherapies to primary NHS Mental Health Services in the UK : a feasibility study on patient and staff experiences of arts for the blues workshops delivered at Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12544

There have been several arguments for the need to generate evidence-based creative forms of psychological interventions in Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT), the main primary mental health provider in hospitals in England, UK. In th... Read More about Bringing creative psychotherapies to primary NHS Mental Health Services in the UK : a feasibility study on patient and staff experiences of arts for the blues workshops delivered at Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services.

Diving to The Cinema Beneath the Lake: a novel as immersive, synthetic-magical exploration of the surrealist prose of Claude Cahun, Ithell Colquhoun and Leonora Carrington (2022)
Thesis
Sunderland, S. (2022). Diving to The Cinema Beneath the Lake: a novel as immersive, synthetic-magical exploration of the surrealist prose of Claude Cahun, Ithell Colquhoun and Leonora Carrington. (Thesis). University of Salford

This practice-led PhD explores the role of mimicry (simulation, impersonation, imitation) in the surrealist prose of Claude Cahun, Ithell Colquhoun and Leonora Carrington. It evaluates mimicry both as a feminist critical technique and as a form of ca... Read More about Diving to The Cinema Beneath the Lake: a novel as immersive, synthetic-magical exploration of the surrealist prose of Claude Cahun, Ithell Colquhoun and Leonora Carrington.

Digitising creative psychological therapy : Arts for the Blues (A4B) (2021)
Book Chapter
Farish-Edwards, F., Parsons, A., Starkey, J., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Thurston, S., Omylinska-Thurston, J., & Karkou, V. (2022). Digitising creative psychological therapy : Arts for the Blues (A4B). In J. Prescott (Ed.), Digital Innovations for Mental Health Support (1-17). Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7991-6.ch001

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a need to adapt and develop psychological interventions that address the mental health of those in need. As a result, Arts for the Blues (A4B), an evidence-based creative group psychotherapy model,... Read More about Digitising creative psychological therapy : Arts for the Blues (A4B).

The dance and movement work of Jennifer Pike Cobbing : economies of effort and vitality dynamics (2021)
Journal Article
Thurston, S. (2021). The dance and movement work of Jennifer Pike Cobbing : economies of effort and vitality dynamics. Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry, 13(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.16995/bip.3401

Jennifer Pike (1920-2016) was a major artist whose practice traversed the disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography, jewellery-making, poetry and performance. Although a fuller appreciation of the scale and range of... Read More about The dance and movement work of Jennifer Pike Cobbing : economies of effort and vitality dynamics.

Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography (2020)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Kefalogianni, M., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Turner, R., Ingleton, H., Omylinska-Thurston, J., …Karkou, V. (2020). Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography

A new, evidence-based, multimodal, and creative psychological therapy, Arts for the Blues, was piloted with survivors of cultic abuse in a workshop within a conference setting. The five facilitators, who occupied diverse roles and perspectives w... Read More about Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography.

Arts for the Blues : the development of a new evidence-based creative group psychotherapy for depression (2020)
Journal Article
Omylinska-Thurston, J., Karkou, V., Parsons, A., Nair, K., Starkey, J., Dubrow-Marshall, L., …Sharma, S. (2021). Arts for the Blues : the development of a new evidence-based creative group psychotherapy for depression. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(3), 597-607. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12373

Introduction: Depression affects many adults in the UK, often resulting in referral to primary care mental health services (e.g. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, IAPT). CBT is the main modality for depression within IAPT, with other ap... Read More about Arts for the Blues : the development of a new evidence-based creative group psychotherapy for depression.

A poetics of subjective resistance (2020)
Thesis
Frances, J. (2020). A poetics of subjective resistance. (Thesis). University of Salford

This doctoral thesis is a work of poetics, which speculatively casts into the future of possible writing, to ask how contemporary innovative poetry can enact or contribute towards political resistance. More specifically, it asks how poetry that finds... Read More about A poetics of subjective resistance.

Flowing towards freedom with multimodal creative therapy : the healing power of therapeutic arts for ex cult-members (2020)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Turner, R., Ingleton, H., Kefalogianni, M., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Karkou, V., …Dubrow-Marshall, L. (2021). Flowing towards freedom with multimodal creative therapy : the healing power of therapeutic arts for ex cult-members. Arts in Psychotherapy, 72, 101743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2020.101743

Creative arts can play an important role for cult survivors in surviving, transcending and healing from their past realities. Flow – an empowering state of mind-body integration and skilful, intuitive action while engaged in a challenging yet enjoyab... Read More about Flowing towards freedom with multimodal creative therapy : the healing power of therapeutic arts for ex cult-members.

Phrases towards a Kinepoetics (2020)
Book
Thurston, S. (2020). Phrases towards a Kinepoetics. Brighton: Contraband

This sequence of twenty-five poems is the latest product of a sixteen-year process of integrating dance and movement into my poetic practice. The poems draw on the practice of Five Rhythms, Movement Medicine, Authentic Movement, Alexander Technique,... Read More about Phrases towards a Kinepoetics.

Allen Fisher : reading 'Mummers’ Strut' (2020)
Book Chapter
Thurston, S. (2020). Allen Fisher : reading 'Mummers’ Strut'. In C. Cheek, & R. Hampson (Eds.), The Allen Fisher Companion (134-162). Swindon: Shearsman Books

In 1995, Allen Fisher published a poem entitled ‘Mummers’ Strut’ in an issue of the magazine West Coast Line, accompanied by a statement of poetics. This essay offers a close reading of the poem by investigating its multiple sources alongside Fisher... Read More about Allen Fisher : reading 'Mummers’ Strut'.

Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression (2019)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Karkou, V., Harlow, J., Haslam, S., Hobson, J., …Griffin, J. (2020). Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 48(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2019.1633459

Routinely prescribed psychological therapies for depression are not always effective. Arts therapies, particularly Dance Movement Psychotherapy, may offer additional therapeutic mechanisms for depression. Therefore, client-reported helpful factors fr... Read More about Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression.

A space to tell : writing poetry in a second language (2019)
Thesis
Setia Sari, W. (2019). A space to tell : writing poetry in a second language. (Thesis). University of Salford

Distinct from the increasing interest in Research on L2 creative writing in a pedagogical context, this practice-based PhD research attempts to situate the process of writing poetry in a second language as a creative practice in its own right. This e... Read More about A space to tell : writing poetry in a second language.

“For which we haven’t yet a satisfactory name” : the birth of Linguistically Innovative Poetry and the practice of a collective poetics in Robert Sheppard’s Pages and Floating Capital (2019)
Book Chapter
Thurston, S. (2019). “For which we haven’t yet a satisfactory name” : the birth of Linguistically Innovative Poetry and the practice of a collective poetics in Robert Sheppard’s Pages and Floating Capital. In C. Madden, & J. Byrne (Eds.), The Robert Sheppard Companion (36-59). Bristol: Shearsman Books

A detailed account of early editorial pieces by Robert Sheppard (b. 1955) - a major figure in Linguistically Innovative Poetry - in his magazine Pages - laying the theoretical groundwork for a new movement in poetry. The piece also consider Sheppard'... Read More about “For which we haven’t yet a satisfactory name” : the birth of Linguistically Innovative Poetry and the practice of a collective poetics in Robert Sheppard’s Pages and Floating Capital.