This report summarises the discussion at the National Arts Centre Roundtable on Mental Health and the Arts, the second in a series of roundtables on healing and the arts. Community leaders from the worlds of science, business, the arts, government and philanthropy engaged in a conversation that ranged from current scientific knowledge about genes and creativity, to how the arts can be used to help treat mental illness and promote mental health.

Presentations and speeches covered various subjects such as the potential for arts groups to work in the mental health arena and help defeat stigma, deflate stereotypes, and generate understanding around mental illness; what scientists know about creativity and the brain; and how music can help treat people with Parkinson’s disease.

National Arts Centre. (2006). Roundtable on Mental Health and the Arts. Canada: National Arts Centre.