Insight Development

Emerging from evidence-based research, Insight Development Workshops are designed to proactively enhance employee resilience and workplace mental well-being through the use of visual communication techniques.
This intervention process, grounded in art therapy, positive psychology and mental well-being theory, addresses many of the ‘one-size-does-not-fit-all’ (Black, 2008) challenges identified within current workplace interventions (Baxter et al., 2009). Insight Development Workshops achieve this by:

• responding on an individual and personally relevant level
• highlighting and clarifying areas of workplace challenge and opportunity
• enhancing insight, awareness and perception
• providing a positive and proactive focus
• re-framing both personal and work related issues
• enhances feelings of personal control and capability

Due to the concrete visual nature of the technique, Insight Development Workshops facilitate group support and collaboration by allowing participants to ‘see’ work-related challenges; provide a physical product that can be returned to for later insight and exploration; supports the memory and implementation of insights though a ‘visual trigger’ and finally equalises communication between participants by redefining the terms of the language from a verbal to a pictorial focus.

Insight Development Workshops are efficient and unlike CBT (Proudfoot et al., 2008) and Mindfulness training (Carmody and Baer, 2008) do not require the time investment of a learned skill in order to achieve benefits. Interventions can be delivered in a single session and intervention booster sessions (Semmer, 2008) are easy to provide.

The intervention process is enjoyable - often leading to experiences of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990); provides a stress release and can easily be formatted to address key business issues and concerns. This inherently flexible technique (Ruppert, 2010) is suitable for both individuals and groups and can be administered as either an individual-level or tertiary-level intervention.

To help key decision makers accurately assess the impact of Insight Development Workshops, trial sessions are available. For more information please e-mail info@collective-arts.org

Baxter, S., Goyder, L., Hermann, K., Pickvance, S., Chilcott, J. (2009) Mental Well-being through Productive and Healthy Working Conditions, (Promoting Well-being at Work) The National Institute for Clinical Excellence, London.
Black, Dame C. (2008) Working for a Healthier Tomorrow. TSO, London.
Carmody, J. and Baer, R. (2008) Relationships between Mindfulness Practice and Levels of Mindfulness, Medical and Psychological Symptoms and Well-being in a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Programme. Journal of Behavioural Medicine. 31, pp. 23-33.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper and Row, New York.
Proudfoot, J.G., Corr, P. J., Guest, D. E., and Dunn, G. (2008) Cognitive-Behavioural Training to Change Attributional Style Improves Employee Well-being, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover. Personality and Individual Differences. 46 (2), pp. 147-153.
Ruppert, J. (2010) Mental Well-being in the Workplace: What evidence supports a role for art therapy as an effective intervention? Unpublished Masters Thesis, Goldsmiths University, London.
Semmer, N. (2008) Stress Management and Well-being Interventions in the Workplace. State-of-Science Review: SR-C6. Report by the Foresight Project, London: Government Office for Science.