Playing in the mud: health psychology, the arts and creative approaches to health care.

Health psychologists' use of the arts is an emerging area for research and practice. This article examines recent research findings and suggests strategies for incorporating the arts in health care across a wide range of clinical and community settings. Ethological theories support the evolutionary significance of the arts in human development and help form a foundation to understand the biopsychosocial processes involved in arts participation. This article builds upon this foundation and presents a wide range of arts and health interventions in the areas of health promotion and prevention, illness management, clinical assessment and improvement of the health care system.