Chapter 6: The Lively Self: Fostering Psychological and Spiritual Health and Well-Being in Student Actors

Psychospiritual health and well-being are established as foundational for coping with life, as is having a secure and stable sense of self and affective self-regulation. Their absence adversely affects functioning across all spheres of life. There is evidence that creative arts professionals, due to a range of situational/professional and personal/psychological factors, are at risk of compromised health and well-being, especially those with unresolved trauma. Referencing the Australian acting context with a particular focus on student actors, this chapter explores how inclusion of psychospiritual education during tertiary drama training would lead to greater awareness, appreciation, and application of health-related knowledge and practices, thereby supporting the broader health, well-being, development, and maturation of individual actors. Noting the contribution that counselors and counselor educators can make to this educative process, in particular, the chapter (a) considers the place and importance of psychological stability in the context of creative expression (i.e., a “lively” self); (b) challenges the idea that creativity arising from psychological instability or fragility leads to sustainable professional life (i.e., the emotional vulnerability myth); and (c) recommends the inclusion of psychospiritual education and counseling in creative arts training programs for the purpose of facilitating career longevity and professional quality of life.