Theme 8 · ACGMH 2027
Exploring how arts, faith, and cultural systems can be intentionally integrated into mental health promotion and care — honoring indigenous knowledge, spiritual resources, and creative expression as legitimate pathways to healing.
Overview
This theme is part of the broader conference focus on community-based mental health systems, innovation, equity, and resilience across Africa and low- and middle-income countries.
← All ThemesMental health is not only treated in clinics — it is expressed, shaped, and often healed within culture. Across African contexts, communities have long relied on arts, spirituality, storytelling, music, ritual, and collective practices to process distress, restore meaning, and rebuild connection.
This theme recognizes that effective mental health systems must go beyond biomedical models to include indigenous knowledge, spiritual resources, and creative expression as legitimate and powerful components of healing.
By broadening the scope of mental health systems, this theme highlights the importance of identity, meaning, connection, and shared experience in promoting mental wellbeing.
Significance
This theme addresses urgent and interconnected challenges in mental health systems, with direct implications for research, policy, practice, and communities.
Enhances cultural relevance: people are more likely to engage with services that reflect their beliefs and lived experiences.
Expands access: arts and faith-based spaces often reach individuals who may not seek formal care.
Reduces stigma: cultural narratives and creative expression can normalize conversations about mental health.
Supports collective healing: many African communities emphasize shared, communal approaches to wellbeing.
Bridges systems: integrating cultural and clinical approaches strengthens holistic care models.
Key Areas of Focus
Submissions may address any of the following focus areas, or propose related topics aligned with the conference vision.
Music, dance, theatre, poetry, and visual arts in mental health promotion
Storytelling as a tool for expression, identity, and recovery
Arts-based interventions for trauma, grief, and community healing
Role of artists as mental health advocates and change agents
Role of religious beliefs and practices in coping and resilience
Faith leaders as frontline mental health supporters
Integration of mental health into faith-based programs and spaces
Building partnerships between mental health systems and faith institutions
Traditional understandings of mental health and distress
Role of traditional healers and community elders
Cultural rituals and practices for healing and restoration
Opportunities and challenges in integrating traditional and biomedical approaches
Cultural storytelling as a mechanism for processing adversity
Reframing narratives around mental illness and recovery
Collective memory and healing in post-conflict communities
Language and its role in shaping mental health discourse
Role of identity and belonging in mental health
Impact of cultural disconnection and urbanization
Strengthening community cohesion through cultural engagement
Cultural pride as a protective factor for mental well-being
Designing culturally responsive mental health programs
Collaborating with artists, faith leaders, and cultural institutions
Training mental health providers in cultural competence
Policy implications for integrating cultural approaches nationally
Cross-Cutting Considerations
Respect and Ethics
Ensuring cultural practices are engaged respectfully and safely
Inclusion
Recognizing diversity within cultures and avoiding homogenization
Collaboration
Building partnerships between formal systems and cultural actors
Evidence Generation
Strengthening research on the effectiveness of cultural approaches
Safeguarding
Ensuring that all interventions protect vulnerable individuals
Guiding Questions
How can arts and cultural practices be systematically integrated into mental health promotion?
What role can faith leaders play in expanding access to care and reducing stigma?
How can traditional healing systems and biomedical approaches work together effectively?
What are the risks and ethical considerations in integrating cultural practices into mental health care?
How can storytelling and creative expression support individual and collective healing?
How can cultural identity and belonging be leveraged as protective factors for mental well-being?
What We Invite
Strategic Importance
This theme broadens the scope of mental health systems to include community-rooted and culturally meaningful pathways to healing. It challenges narrow definitions of care and highlights the importance of identity, meaning, connection, and shared experience in promoting mental wellbeing.
Ready to contribute?