Art based burnout project webinar

FREE for SOM Members (please log in on the SOM website first). 

Session details:

Burnout is often spoken about in terms of systems, workload and resilience – but what happens when we explore it through a creative lens? This interactive webinar will consider how art, sketchnotes, and slow creative hobbies can support recovery from burnout, promote self-reflection, and help us reconnect with meaning in our work.
Drawing on personal experience, nursing practice, and examples from creative communities, Elfie will share how watercolour painting, illustration, sketchnoting, and other mindful activities have helped her slow down, process emotions, and challenge the pursuit of perfection. We will explore how creative expression, with its restorative and therapeutic qualities, can act as both an outlet and a mirror – helping people affected by burnout, or on the path towards it, to express themselves and articulate feelings that may be difficult to put into words.
Attendees will be invited to reflect on their own creative habits (or barriers to them) and consider how incorporating creativity into daily life, at work or at home, might offer new perspectives on burnout prevention and recovery.


Speaker bio:

Elfie Astbury is a Registered Nurse, Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA), and passionate advocate for creativity as a tool for wellbeing. Alongside her nursing career, Elfie practises digital illustration and watercolour painting, and enjoys slow creative hobbies such as crochet, embroidery and gardening. She believes these activities help harness their restorative and therapeutic qualities to nurture wellbeing and support mental health. Elfie is also an active proponent of using sketchnotes (visual note taking) to capture ideas and information in ways that reduce cognitive load and support diverse teams. Drawing on both professional insight and lived experience of mental health challenges, she has spoken at conferences and events about the benefits of creative expression in healthcare - from supporting staff wellbeing to enhancing communication and connection.

Chair: Professor Gail Kinman

FREE for SOM Members (please log in on the SOM website). You will then be sent the join link.