By Fabienne Rorke, Assistant at RSC
Mental well-being is often brushed aside, buried under stigma and silence. Mental health services in Jordan tend to focus on psychiatric treatment—what happens after the crisis—rather than the structural and cultural barriers that prevent people from seeking support in the first place.
But with 41% of people in Jordan reportedly not seeking or discontinuing mental health support due to stigma, preventative care deserves more attention (Dr. Dmour, H., et al., 2020). Approaches that support young people to engage with their identities and communities and to speak openly about the challenges they are facing could reduce the need for medical intervention in the long run and address the stigma at its core.
Art offers a space to make this possible. In Jordan, community-based arts initiatives are creating new ways to challenge social taboos, foster connection, and rethink the role of mental well-being beyond a Western, medicalized framework. This follows on from my previous blog, looking at the state of mental health services in Jordan.
Art and Mental Wellbeing: A Language Beyond Words
Mental well-being isn’t just about the absence of illness. It’s the very foundation of how we think, feel, and interact with the world—it’s as essential as the air we breathe or the ground beneath our feet. When this foundation is shaken, when societies fracture under the weight of displacement, inequality, and trauma, mental distress follows.
Art, on the other hand, is the canvas on which we reflect this imbalance. Whether through painting, theater, dance, or music, artistic expression allows us to process our realities, express cultural identity, and assert agency over our narratives. Without it, we lose not just creativity but a fundamental way of being in the world.
Art and Culture: Breaking Barriers in Jordan
In Jordan, where refugee communities from Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, and beyond struggle for visibility and strive to build a sense of community, art serves as a bridge. “On Planet Safar”, a powerful story by Mohamed Hussein, a Sudanese refugee and part of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) community, captures how art can be used to retell this reality. The story imagines a world thrown into crisis, where differences divide rather than unite. The fight to overcome these differences and embrace diversity is not a fictional struggle but a struggle faced by many within Jordan and the world.
JRS, alongside initiatives like Seenaryo, has harnessed art as a tool to overcome this struggle, creating spaces where people can share stories and experiences without the weight of borders or bureaucracy. These projects remind us that art does not erase different experiences but allows them to exist without becoming a source of division.
Art as Resilience: A Decolonial Approach
But art does more than build communities—it resists their erasure. In a world where colonial legacies dictate which cultures are heard and which are silenced, artistic expression is a political act used to embolden self-determination.
In Palestine, for example, Jenin’s Freedom Theatre is a symbol of resilience. Founded in 2006 within Jenin refugee camp, the theater is more than just a stage—it is a refusal of occupation, a means of reclaiming narrative, dignity, and space. As co-founder Juliano Mer-Khamis put it:
"What we do in the theatre is not trying to be a substitute or an alternative to the Palestinian resistance in the struggle for liberation, just the opposite. This must be clear. […] We join, by all means, the Palestinian struggle for liberation, which is our liberation struggle. We are not healers. We are not good Christians. We are freedom fighters."
Mental well-being cannot be separated from identity, history, and struggle. To treat it as an isolated, apolitical concept is to reinforce the very colonial frameworks that deny people their agency in the first place. Art challenges this. It offers young people a way to reclaim their voices, to articulate their pasts and futures in ways that Western models of mental health often fail to acknowledge.
Ways Forward: Embracing Local Concerns
This does not mean that modern approaches to mental health – such as psychiatry and mental health services - should be neglected. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Mental health facilities should be enhanced, with more funding going towards services that are accessible and affordable for all. But in the absence of adequate facilities, communities have the power to create their own initiatives that enhance mental well-being and foster a sense of social cohesion and belonging.
Jordan holds a unique position. Unlike with many Western societies, community remains central to daily life. According to trauma expert Bessel Van Der Kolk, community is essential for mental well-being as “our brains are built to help us function as members of a tribe” (Van Der Kolk, 2014). To truly establish a mental health system free from colonial legacies, international stakeholders, including NGOs and INGOs, must consider local concerns and embrace local cultures, identities, and ideas.
Breaking the stigma behind mental health requires more than just raising awareness; it must be driven by local needs. With Jordan being home to a diverse population facing different challenges and needs, mental health initiatives must embrace a holistic approach - one that centers the voices of the people it aims to support. Art provides a powerful way to do just that.
References
Dr. Hussein H. Dmour MD, Dr. Muath F. Marashdeh MD, Dr. Arfat k. Al-Zubi MD, Dr. Maxim A. Obaisat MD, Dr. Malik M. Al-Alwan MD. “Stigma of Mental Illness in Jordan”. April 2020. Journal of the Royal Medical Services. Vol. 27. Available at: http://rmsjournal.org/Articles/637272936889767110.pdf
Van Der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin Random House UK: 2014.
