Creativity camp improves adolescent mental health, well-being

The idea behind the study is that engaging in the arts offers a pathway for exploring and expanding new ways of thinking, developing insights and sparking self-discovery.

"As a clinician, I am deeply aware of the urgent need for new treatment options for teens with depression. The findings in this report are promising, and I hope they will encourage more research investigating whether and how arts-based interventions like Creativity Camp can help adolescents with depression to recover and thrive," said Kathryn Cullen, MD, a professor at the U of M Medical School and child and adolescent psychiatrist with M Health Fairview. She is also a member of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.

The research team continues to analyze brain imaging and cognitive data that was collected to evaluate the intervention's neural and cognitive effects. In future work, they also plan to see if their findings can be replicated using an active comparison group and a larger sample.

Funding was provided by Minnesota Futures through the University of Minnesota Research & Innovation Office, the University of Minnesota Medical School and the University of Minnesota Foundation.