Editorial Article Swipe

This current issue of the CAET Journal distinguishes the unique power of art in a world of imponderable change, uncertainty, pandemic turbulence, and despair.It reifies the value of physical spaces, human connections, visceral qualities, and closeness to self and to others that had once been self-evident and taken for granted and are no longer so.It postulates upon the creative experience that resonates, expands, and guides its practitioners to maintain their vitality and find their strength, supports, and virtues.The articles presented in this issue overlook global changes in mental health, society, and their ties to art, suggesting that despite the different contexts and cultures in Eastern and Western lifestyles, the arts transcend words and bridge gaps within and between cultural circles.We begin by presenting intersections of arts and health from Eastern and Western perspectives in the article Art, Medium, and Metaphor, providing an example of crosscultural collaboration between researchers from China and Italy.The paper examines the educational value of dance art-a unique medium-in influencing people's emotions from an intercultural perspective.We then move to the paper Therapeutic Poems for Advancing Coping, Empathy, and Cultural Well-Being, in which the author develops and analyzes approaches to using haiku for rehabilitative, therapeutic, and preventive purposes.Then, Dance Movement Therapy in the Time of COVID-19 brings an overarching view of using dance and movement as a symbolic way of helping people use creativity, rhythm, and attunement to cope with trauma and loss in China and the United States.This theme concludes with a review of the book Handbook of Play, Therapeutic Play, and Play Therapy, which brings chapters from 16 countries presenting a cultural diversity of therapists, counselors, and play-specialists who share common values, ideas, and practice of play in its different forms.The next theme covers creative therapeutic models, which were explored and put into practice during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.The Earworm Technique Applied in Telehealth Music Therapy Program during the COVID-19 Outbreak in China presents details of a new technique that was put to use through a free, public hotline in China.The model suggests that a one-time intervention with online music therapy is ideal for stimulating subconscious inner contents and promoting well-being.Then, the authors of Buddhist Psychology Intersects with Dance Movement Therapy demonstrate how incorporating Buddhist meditations with therapeutic movement experiences can lead to recognition, acknowledgement, and expression of thoughts and feelings.Next, the review of the book Arts and Health Promotion Tools and Bridges for Practice, Research, and Social Transformation amplifies the significant role that