Creative Clinic Directory
On this page you will find useful organisations, resources and reading to inspire you on your creative journey.
Please contact us if you have any suggestions on what we should add here!
Useful organisations
Relit Foundation - Foundation for bibliotherapy: the complementary treatment of stress, anxiety and other conditions through slow reading of great literature, especially poetry. We believe in the power of words to restore and relight the human mind.
Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine
London Arts Health Forum: aims to develop the role of culture in wellbeing and to promote and support arts in health activity across London and nationally.
The Bigger Picture: non-profit collaboration that aims to improve health professional wellbeing and patient care by providing a wider perspective including the arts and humanities
Creative inspiration
Try new creative experiences – lots of free videos online – here’s a few recommendations:
Origami: Dr Lizzie Burns University College Hospitals London Creative Specialist - find her videos on youtube
Recommended reading
Books
Big Magic – Creative Living beyond fear – Elizabeth Gilbert
Art Cure: The Science of How the arts saves lives - Daisy Fancourt
How to live an artful life - Katy Hessel
Poetry
Tools of the Trade – Poems for new doctors – Scottish Poetry Library
Stressed Unstressed – Classic Poems to ease the mind – Jonathan Bate
The Emergency Poet – An anti-stress poetry anthology – Edited by Deborah Alma
The Poetry Pharmacy – Tried and true prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul – William Sieghart
These are the hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS - Michael Rosen
Articles
Lesley Morrison & John Gillies ‘Poetry please’ BMJ 18 July 2015 p. 6
Gabriel Weston ‘Sing a song of lung health’ BMJ 19 January 2019 p. 105
Adrian O’Dowd. Why I Sing. BMJ 19 October 2019 p.124
Holly MacCormick. How writing helps medical students and doctors handle stress, May 20 2020