Authors: (including presenting author): :
Lai SM(1)
Affiliation: :
(1) Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital
Keyword 2: :
promote mental health
Keyword 3: :
foster social inclusion
Keyword 4: :
intellectual disabilities
Introduction: :
Castle Peak Hospital is recognized as the largest and most historically important psychiatric hospital in Hong Kong. Through its Psychiatric Service for Intellectual Disability (PSID), the hospital offers comprehensive psychiatric care and tailored-made support for patients with intellectual disabilities. These patients often demonstrate significant cognitive and adaptive challenges, necessitating a thorough, patient-centered approach from a multidisciplinary team. Art serves as a well-established tool in healthcare environments, empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to articulate their thoughts, exercise their decision-making rights, and achieve satisfaction and happiness through the art-making process. Given its considerable advantages, the Intellectual Disability Activity Centre of Excellence (IDACE) within PSID has initiated the Multidimensional Creative Handicraft Workshop in 2025, incorporating art elements into social skills training, self-help skills training, and activities that involve patients in leisure and creative endeavors, thus enhancing their learning capabilities and fostering community engagement.
Objectives: :
1. To offer a range of multidimensional creative craft training sessions for the in-patients of PSID.
2. To enable in-patients to express their emotions through artistic creation and to investigate a constructive approach for emotional release.
Methodology: :
The nurses at IDACE developed a total of 25 training sessions, each lasting 2 hours, and engaged in discussions regarding the essential artistic elements of the Multidimensional Creative Handicraft Workshop scheduled for 2025. They utilized the resources of the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped (QEFMH), which provided a grant amounting to $HK 39,972 for the Workshop. The procurement of art materials and items, along with the recruitment of an art instructor for the workshop, was carried out from April 2025 to June 2025. The workshop officially commenced on 26 May 2025.
Result & Outcome: :
25 training sessions of the Multidimensional Creative Handicraft Workshop was implemented in IDACE from 26/05/2025 to 01/12/2025. Total 51 of in-patients were recruited and attended the workshop. Focusing on the promotion of mental health to facilitate social inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities, the Multidimensional Creative Handicraft Exhibition took place from December 15, 2025, to December 19, 2025, in the Atrium located on the ground floor of the Main Block at Tuen Mun Hospital, attracting approximately 1000 visitors to the exhibition. Additional exhibitions for the public will be organized to further promote social inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
