Allied Health Insights Vol.1, No.6: Social and Creative Therapies

In this week’s edition of Allied Health Insights, we’re examining social and creative therapies, with a particular focus on social prescribing and creative arts therapy.

When a doctor prescribes something, it’s usually a medication. A physiotherapist might prescribe a strengthening program for chronic pain. A podiatrist might prescribe orthoses for a foot deformity, and a speech pathologist might prescribe exercises to improve vocal performance. But what about social prescribing? Dr Paul Butterworth takes an in-depth look at social prescribing and how it may be utilised by allied health practitioners in their daily work. We look at how allied health professionals can implement social prescribing to improve outcomes for the overwhelming number of patients waiting for elective surgery or experiencing acute social isolation in the wake of the pandemic.

And for our small but critical workforce focus, we cover all things art therapy: what therapeutic techniques do art therapists employ, and which character traits are most helpful in art therapy? Read our introduction to The A to Z of Allied Health here. Previously, we covered the music therapist profession as a form of creative therapy, which you can read here.