![]() Cheryl L. McLean from London, Ontario, is an independent scholar, educator, arts and health researcher, publisher, writer/actor and speaker, Publisher and Executive Editor of The International Journal of The Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice IJCAIP and Editor of The CAIP Research Series and books,"Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice Inquiries for Hope and Change" (2010) and "Creative Arts in Research for Community and Cultural Change" (2011) Associate Editor, Dr. Robert Kelly, University of Calgary, Detselig Enterprises Inc. She is also Editor of the recently released text for medical educators and allied health professionals, "Creative Arts in Humane Medicine", Brush Education, Edmonton (distributed by University of Toronto Press) January 2014. Cheryl McLean was recently awarded a Harrison McCain Visiting Professorship at Acadia University N.S. and has taught the graduate course Problems in Education, Research in Creativity at Acadia (MEd. Curriculum Studies, School of Education), and "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" at Western University, London. She is considered a leading contributor to the field of the creative arts in interdisciplinary research. She has been invited to present keynotes, lectures and workshops for universities and health organizations across North America. In March 2014 she presented a keynote address for the Alberta Psychiatric Association 2014 Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting, Living Stories for Hope and Change sponsored by the Alberta Physician and Family Support Program (PFSP) featuring research and stories about the arts in mental health and in physician wellness. She presented the keynote address, Navigating Tides of Challenge and Change through The Creative Arts in Research and Practice at Acadia University, School of Education, July 2014. * See recently published article C.L. McLean, Advancing Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Taylor and Francis, August 2015. http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PWmWUIqhQgMZtyGemehj/full
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Brush Education is distributed by University of Toronto Press
Keynote for health professionals:
Creative Arts for Humane Medicine
Living Stories for Hope and Change
How can the arts offer hope for change and contribute to practitioner wellness? How can the arts help us embody and express our feelings about our lives and work?
How do the creative arts applied in medicine help foster and enhance clinical and relational skills?
cherylmclean7007@gmail.com
A recent study has found that over half of all medical schools in the U.S. involved the arts in some form in learning activities(Rodenhauser, Strickland, & Gambala). Humanistic Medicine is a growing trend today in education as more medical professionals integrate the arts into their practice to foster empathy, improve communication and build better relationships. Drawing from research and her book, "Creative Arts in Humane Medicine" Cheryl McLean shows how the arts in action can contribute toward a more caring and empathic approach to medicine. Practitioner self care is also an important theme in this presentation as the talk illustrates through compelling and active examples and research, how the arts in medicine can help foster new forms of practitioner self expression and healing while re-illuminating how clinicians see themselves and their clients/patients This active presentation engages audiences through topical and demonstrative research, storytelling, performance and compelling real life examples. Cheryl L. McLean is the editor of three leading research books in the field of the creative arts in interdisciplinary practice, "Creative Arts in Humane Medicine", "Creative Arts in Research for Community and Cultural Change", and "Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice", Brush Education, (dist. University of Toronto Press).
Feedback
"Ms McLean's (keynote) presentation ("Living Stories of Hope and Change") addressed two questions: How Can I use the creative arts to support my personal wellness?, How do the creative arts in medicine help practitioners enhance clinical and relational skills? She answered those questions in a multifaceted presentation that began with a dramatic reminiscence honoring the memory of her mother, a psychiatric nurse.
Her references to the burgeoning literature about the dynamic and sometimes controversial, presence of the humanities in health care complemented the performance aspects of her presentation. For Ms. McLean, the arts and the humanities provide practitioners with a rich means to discover and re-discover the nature of healing—of our patients and ourselves."
Alberta Medical Association website
Recent book reviews, for the book, "Creative Arts in Humane Medicine" Edited by Cheryl L. McLean and published by, Brush Education (dist. by University of Toronto Press)
From the Canadian Medical Association Journal published Feb. 23, 2015
"How do the creative arts help practitioners enhance clinical and relational skills? The amply credentialled contributors to Creative Arts in Humane Medicine — physicians, medical students, allied health professionals and artists — provide some answers… Gifted voices from both medicine and the humanities have contributed to Creative Arts in Humane Medicine in McLean’s ensemble effort to show us different paths to the future."
Dr. Vincent Hanlon, Physician and Family Support Program, Alberta Medical Association
"The book makes a strong case for broadening the base from which we as medical professionals live and work."
South African Medical Journal -
McLean’s new book is for all those interested in healthcare and the arts.… [T]he integration of the arts into health care professional education remains a marginalized field, but best practices in this field abound.Hektoen International: A Journal of Medical Humanities -
Creative Arts in Humane Medicine takes us on a fascinating journey to
meet the educators, clinicians, support workers and artists who apply
arts-based methods in innovative ways to enhance patient care, reflexivity
in learners and a sense of community, and well-being in practitioners. The
book stands out with an emphasis on multiple media (theater, music, visual
and digital imagery, literature and reflective writing), as well as the
inclusion of international and interprofessional perspectives.
Allan D. Peterkin, MD, FRCPC,
FCFP --
Head, Health, Arts and Humanities Program and Humanities Lead,
Undergraduate
Medical Education, University of Toronto
Cheryl McLean's Creative Arts in Humane Medicine is a fascinating
collection of essays that evocatively illustrates the importance of literature,
music, photography, and art in facilitating self-care and awareness among health
care providers, training empathetic physicians, and improving patient
care.
Martin Donohoe, MD, FACP -- Author of Public Health and Social
Justice (2013)
Creative Arts in Humane Medicine is a graceful and important book that
offers a groundbreaking, inspiriting engagement with issues such as empathy,
empowerment, ethics and evidence, explored by a rich cast of inter-professional
authors such as artists, educators, clinicians, and researchers. Through a
collage of creative arts methods and messages, these authors illuminate the
essence of the “human story of health care” as loving, healing and humanly
embodied—an essential message in an era of highly institutionalized technical
health care. A must read for academics, researchers, clinicians, and students
interested in creative healing arts, narrative health and humane medicine, or
for anyone interested in the application of reflection and curiosity, creative
expression and arts-based methods to the field of healthcare.
Sue MacRae
-- Registered Nurse, Clinical Ethicist, Psychotherapist
Some have said that medicine, rather than being a science, is really an
interactive process. It is informed by science but also dependent on psychology,
sociology, philosophy, law and human creativity. McLean’s book should be a must
read for those responsible for medical education...so that in the end the human
connection between healers and those they heal is enhanced.
Michael Gordon
MD, MSc, FRCPC -- Medical Program Director, Palliative Care, Baycrest Geriatric
Health Care System; Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto
Report on Cheryl McLean Keynote Presentation/Alberta Psychiatric Association from Alberta Family and Physicians Health
Access excerpts here from the recent Keynote, Living Stories for Hope and Change, presented for the Alberta Psychiatric Association Conference 2014 in Banff, Alberta.
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Keynote for Educators
Press Release, May 2014
Navigating Tides of Challenge and Change
with Creative Arts in Research and Practice
"In Navigating Tides of Challenge and Change, a keynote address to the one-day conference titled Creative Professionalism, hosted by the School of Education at Acadia University, Cheryl McLean once again connects people and the work they do. Cheryl understands the need for community and communal responses to communal issues. She does not shy away from challenging her audience, but she also offers encouragement and support to those who take up those challenges." Dr. John J. Guiney Yallop, Acadia University, School of Education
July 4, 2014 at Acadia University, in a keynote presentation addressing 200 students and faculty Cheryl L. McLean challenged educators to navigate the tides of challenge and change through creativity, research and arts based approaches.
Several key questions were addressed in this presentation: How do we engage today's teachers and educational leaders in contemporary thinking that positions creativity at the centre of curriculum? How can today's educators help offer solutions and navigate the tides of challenge and change with creative arts in research and practice? What are topical examples of the creative arts in interdisciplinary research and practice currently making a difference in education and in programmes for community change?Cheryl L. McLean is a leading contributor to the field of the creative arts in interdisciplinary research and practice, an educator, publisher, author and speaker, publisher of The International Journal of the Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice IJCAIP and editor of the CAIP Research series and books, Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Inquiries for Hope and Change (2010), Creative Arts for Community and Cultural Change (2011), Creative Arts in Humane Medicine, Brush Education, distributed by University of Toronto Press (2014). Her journal and books feature international contributors exploring the intersections of the arts across disciplines in research in education, for social change and in healthcare transforming and broadening the way we think about the arts and creativity in education and practice for community and cultural change and in enhancing quality of life. She is also a trained actor and ethnodramatist. Cheryl McLean will be teaching the course Problems in Education, Research in Creativity for the M.Ed Curriculum Studies Program summer, 2014 at Acadia University.
See full transcript from keynote Navigating Tides of Challenge and Change with The Creative Arts in Research and Practice as delivered at Acadia University, School of Education.
She has been a featured keynote speaker, performer and facilitator for diverse groups among them The University of British Columbia/Okanagan Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, The Alberta Psychiatric Association, McGill Medical School, American Medical Students' Association, Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, Congress of the Humanities and has taught the course Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement at The University of Western Ontario, London. Among her esteemed colleagues are leaders in creativity and education in Canada such as Dr. Robert Kelly, University of Calgary and Associate Editor of the first two books in the CAIP Research Series. She is honoured to return to Acadia University, once again to teach and present the keynote address for the Acadia University Summer Institute. In October 2012 she delivered the keynote address for the emerging Arts Based Research Network at Acadia made up of the Faculties of Arts, Professional Studies and Science.
More keynote information
CherylMcLean7007@gmail.com
Partial list of keynotes, presentations and performances:
Acadia University, "Who Cares?" an ethnodrama preview performance about aging, caregiving, feeding family and survival, Lower Denton Theatre, September 23, 2015. (writer/director/cast member)
Acadia University Summer Institute Conference 2014, School of Education, keynote speaker, "Navigating the Tides of Challenge and Change", July 4, 2014.
Alberta Psychiatric Association 2014 Scientific Conference,
"Living Stories of Hope and Change: The Challenges of Change" and workshop "Remembering Stories of Hope and Change" Rimrock Resort Hotel, Banff Alberta, keynote speaker, March 27 - 30, 2014.
American Medical Students' Association, Medical Humanities Scholars' Program, Perceptions of Physicians in Literature and the Arts: Arts Alive and Thriving in Medical Education, online guest presenter/facilitator, March 21, 2013.
Arts Based Research Symposium, School of Education, Faculty of Professional Studies, Acadia University, Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Research: A New Pond of Interdisciplinary Opportunity, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, keynote speaker, October 5, 2012.
Creative City Summit Un-conference, Museum London, Creativity, Research and Arts in Action for Sustainable Communities and Cultural Change, presentation, 2011.
Dietitians of Canada National Conference, Montreal, Crafting Stories for Change in Dietetics panel/presentation, 2010.
University of British Columbia, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Okanagan Campus, Creative Arts in Action for Community and Cultural Change presentation, 2010.
Windermere Manor, London, Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series for Professionals in Health Living Stories of Hope and Change (embodiment, drama, writing and group performed narratives) at Windermere Manor London, Program director/facilitator 2007/2008.
Simcoe Muskoka Palliative Care Network, Orillia Ontario, Stories of the Arts and End of Life, Living Stories of Hope and Change, keynote presentation, 2008.
University of Western Ontario, King's University College, Bereavement Services London, Giving Sorrow Shape, The Arts in Death and Bereavement, keynote, 2007.
University of Western Ontario, King's University College, Social Work Research Day, Ethnodrama as Qualitative Research presenter, 2005.
Salve Regina University, Rhode Island, U.S.A. National Association of Drama Therapy 25th Anniversary National Conference, ethnodrama Remember Me for Birds keynote , 2005.
University of Western Ontario, Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work Educators National Conference CASSWE, Congress of the Humanities, Kings University College, Ethnodrama , Remember Me for Birds, keynote, 2005.
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Centre for Research and Education in Aging and Health, Ethnodrama, Remember Me for Birds , keynote, 2005.
McGill Medical School, Montreal, Interdisciplinary Geriatric Seminar, Ethnodrama, Remember Me for Birds, keynote, 2005.
Canadian Counseling Association National Conference, Winnipeg, Ethnodrama, Remember Me for Birds performance, 2004.
The University of Windsor, Social Justice, Remember Me for Birds performance followed by facilitated discussion, 2004.
Rene Cassin Institute of Social Gerontology, Montreal, Ethnodrama, Remember Me for Birds , performance, 2003.
Concordia University, Montreal, Fine Arts, Ethnodrama, Remember Me for Birds, MA thesis performance, 2003.
Recommendations:
"Cheryl was the keynote speaker for the Arts-based Research Symposium I was involved in organizing at Acadia University in October 2012. Cheryl's keynote address touched a diverse audience of students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members. I still hear comments about how accessible and inspiring her talk was. Cheryl even stayed throughout the symposium and offered us her thoughts at the closing. We were so privileged to have her with us. She is as generous as she is enthusiatic. "
John J. Guiney Yallop, Associate Professor, School of Education, Faculty of Professional Studies, Acadia University
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“Cheryl is an energetic and visionary leader in promoting the arts and creativity in transdisciplinary contexts that include education and health care. Cheryl has a remarkable record of creating networks of colleagues nationally and internationally.”
Carl Leggo, Professor, Language and Literacy, University of British Columbia
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"I had the good fortune of co-presenting with Cheryl at a national dietetics conference where her ideas and style truly left an indelible impression. Attendees were moved by Cheryl's honest and compelling narratives about how ethnodrama enhances our understandings of health and health care. I highly recommend her as a conference speaker. "
Jacqui Gingras, Assistant Professor, Ryerson University School of Nutrition
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“As editor of the International Journal of the Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Cheryl McLean has exercised significant impact advancing the field of arts-based research in innovative and sustaining ways. She has opened up new horizons for researchers, artists, and the general readership of the journal.
Pia Kontos, Research Scientist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
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“…Cheryl has moved the field of arts-based research forward significantly and her contributions are well recognized by scholars in the field.”
Katherine Boydell, Senior Research Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children
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“Cheryl is a responsive and attentive editor. She is leading a terrific initiative with imagination and energy and the books emerging are interesting and nicely put together. She makes a fine contribution to the field of arts in society
Jan Selman, Chair, Department of Drama, University of Alberta
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SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
Upcoming:
Alberta Psychiatric Association 2014 Scientific
Conference, Keynote speaker, Rimrock Resort Hotel, Banff Alberta, March 27 - 30, 2014.
American Medical Student Association, Medical Humanities Scholars Program, Perceptions of Physicians in Literature and the Arts, guest presenter "Creative Arts in Medicine, Research and Practice", March 2013.
Arts Based Research Network, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, A new pond of interdisciplinary opportunity creative arts in research, keynote address (Faculties of Arts, Professional Studies and Science), October 5, 2012.
International Journal of the Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice workshops for health professionals, "Creating and Living Stories for Hope and Change" facilitator workshop series, ongoing Windermere Manor, London
University of British Columbia, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Okanagan Campus, "Creative Arts in Action for Community and Cultural Change" presentation
Creative City Summit Un-conference, Museum London, Research and Arts in Action for Community and Cultural Change, presentation
Dietitians of Canada, National Conference, Montreal, Crafting Stories for Change in Dietetics panel/presentation
Simcoe Muskoka Palliative Care Network, Orillia Ontario, Living Stories of Hope and Change, keynote
King's University College, University of Western Ontario, Bereavement Services London, "Living Stories of Hope and Change" keynote
Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work Educators National Conference CASSWE, Congress of the Humanities, Kings University College, University of Western Ontario, "Ethnodrama Remember Me for Birds" keynote
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Centre for Research and Education in Aging and Health, keynote and performance
McGill Medical School, Montreal, Interdisciplinary Geriatric Seminar, "Ethnodrama Remember Me for Birds", keynote
Rene Cassin Institute of Social Gerontology, Montreal, Ethnodrama, "Remember Me for Birds" performance
Canadian Counselling Association National Conference, Winnipeg, Ethnodrama, "Remember Me for Birds" performance
PUBLICATIONS/BOOKS
Publisher, Executive Editor International Journal of the Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice IJCAIP http://www.ijcaip.com
Editor, "Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Inquiries for Hope and Change", CAIP Research Series, Detselig Enterprises Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, 2010.
Editor, "Creative Arts in Research for Community and Cultural Change", Detselig Enterprises Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, 2011.
Editor, "Creative Arts in Humane Medicine," Brush Education Inc., Calgary, Alberta, (in process) scheduled for release 2013.
Info: cherylmclean7007@gmail.com