What I've Learnt - Caitlin Marshell & Lizzie Rose (MakeShift)

WHAT I'VE LEARNT

Caitlin Marshall & Lizzie Rose, founders of the award-winning MakeShift. This not-for-profit org is one of the first creative prescribing agencies in Australia. Lizzie and Caitlin are known and respected internationally for their work on creativity and mental health. There’s so much ground to cover, your audience will love it. They’re available for interviews in February and March.

🌺 they have worked with thousands of individuals, communities and businesses, including first responders and communities affected by bushfires, floods and other natural disasters, to provide trauma-informed creativity programs.

For the first time, they have distilled their decades of knowledge and practice into a new book, Creative First Aid: The Science and Joy of Creativity for Mental Health, published in March 2024. Here’s a digital copy and I’ve attached the media release. Please let me know if you’d like a review copy, it’s ace!

Caitlin and Lizzie are at the forefront of the creative prescribing movement in Australia. Their remit is to ‘jam the joy’ into mental health restoration, recovery and collective resilience. They firmly believe that you don’t need to be good at art for art to be good for you.

🌺Research shows that just 15 minutes a day or a couple of hours a week spent doing something creative significantly improves your mental health. It might be art, craft, singing, dancing, gardening, cooking, playing ukelele badly – even drawing dodgy stick figures can reduce anxiety. Knitting regulates our stress levels, just like jogging does. And singing calms our trauma response. Creative practices soothe our nervous system, reduce burnout and help us feel present and connected.

The book offers 50 hands-on creative prescriptions anyone can try. They can guide your listeners through practical, hands-on activities that can take as little as a few minutes, to demonstrate the powerful impact of creativity in practice. And have fun with it!

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/
Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850