December 3, 2016

Paul Sowden, International Representative

Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242

Dear Mr. Sowden,

The purpose of this letter is to ask for your help in conducting a research project that aims to
understand the correlation between mental illness and creativity. I understand that the Society for
the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts works in promoting research in topics such
as cognition, creativity, and motivation. I would like to request a grant of 7,000 for my research.
As you may know, misdiagnosis is a crucial issue we cannot ignore, particularly if it involves
children. Misdiagnosis in children can cause inappropriate treatment plans or negative effects
from medication. However, if we can understand how creativity relates to mental illness we can
look at adding criteria to specific conditions.
I am a fourth year psychology student at the University of New Mexico. Recently, I conducted
research for a case study in which I argued that mental illness has influenced literature in more
ways than we know. I noticed that there is a plethora of influential writers who were speculated
to have had a mental illness. Perhaps there is a correlation. By conducting this research, I can
hopefully gain insight into how creativity relates to bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and
substance abuse disorder. Misdiagnosis is a silent issue that needs to be addressed and by adding
more criteria to certain illnesses, we can decrease this issue.
The current criterion for diagnosing bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse
disorder is adequate, but it can be improved. I believe that we can make it easier for clinicians to
diagnose patients correctly if we consider creativity.
Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal. I look forward to discussing an action plan
and my qualifications with you and how we may move forward with my research
Sincerely,
Carissa Arellano
Society for the Psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts
750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
carellano@unm.edu

Table of Contents
Cover Letter

Page 1

Table of Contents

Page 2

Introduction

Page 3

Current Situation

Page 3

Solution Narrative

Page 3

Conclusion

Page 4

Works Cited

Page 5

Resume

Page 6

Proposal: Decreasing misdiagnosis by adding the criteria of high

creativity
Introduction
Misdiagnosis of severe mental illness is an epidemic that needs to be lowered or eliminated.
However, conducting a research project in which we can understand the exact correlation
between creativity and mental illness will allow us to distinguish between psychiatric illnesses.
Highly creative individuals in the media have been speculated or diagnosed with a severe mental
illness. Therefore, it is likely that creativity plays a major role in specific mental illnesses that we
did not understand before. If we can add high creativity to the criteria for bipolar disorder,
schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorder, it will prevent clinicians from misdiagnosis. Thus,
when patients receive the appropriate diagnosis, they can be treated accordingly.
This proposal will explain how misdiagnosis of psychiatric illness is an epidemic that needs to
cease. The proposal will contain information on why misdiagnosis is so serious, and a solution to
decrease the number of misdiagnoses
Current situation
Less than half of diagnoses are incorrect; however, the amount of misdiagnoses is higher than it
should be. Clinicians make mistakes but if more criteria are added to diagnose an illness the
amount of misdiagnoses should decrease.
In the documentary, The Medicated Child, children receive one or more (comorbid) psychiatric
diagnoses that typically decrease their daily functioning. The lack of functioning is due to too
many or inappropriate medication prescriptions. Side effects of the medications can be extreme
and result in tremors, lack of motivation, or increased aggression.

Children are not the only population that is affected. Adults that receive inappropriate treatment
suffer from mild to extreme side effects that also detriment their typical functioning.
Inappropriate treatment resulting from misdiagnosis can detract from functioning in school,
work, or interpersonal relationships. Because of this, the patient suffers unnecessarily.
If more individuals have the correct diagnosis, it will aid in their treatment plan. In addition, this
research may help to look at new aspects of the disorders that have not been previously
considered. Psychology and Psychiatry evolve at incredibly fast rates and any new information
can affect preconceived notions of neuroatypical individuals in ways that may be more beneficial
to them.
Solution narrative
Goal: The goal is to conduct research in order to understand the correlation between creativity
and psychiatric illnesses including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorder
in order to add creativity to the illnesses criteria to decrease misdiagnosis.
Objective 1: Utilize IQ tests that are creatively oriented
I want to look at the correlation between neuroatypical individuals with a high IQ that write
creatively. I plan to do a few case studies in which I assess the IQ of a neuroatypical individual
and how their IQ and mental illness affects the quality of their creative pieces.
Objective 2: Compare writing styles and mediums
I will compare writing styles within each illness, and compared to writing styles between the
three mental illnesses chosen, and compared to works produced by individuals without a mental
illness (my control group). I see comparing different mediums of writing as viable because

poems, song lyrics, and short stories are unique in the way they are produced. Moreover, I
mentioned that I wanted to look for eccentric, surrealist, articulate, and eloquent qualities of their
work that may be determined through how strange or outstanding the work is, particularly
compared to other works within my control group.
Objective 3: Request that high creativity be added to diagnostic criteria in the DSM
If the statistics and correlations are outstanding enough, my research will be proven substantial.
Once it is proven substantial enough for the APA to consider, high creativity needs to be added to
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse criteria.
Conclusion
I look forward to working with the society for the psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the
arts. We can decrease the amount of misdiagnoses each year if we add more criteria to the DSM.
We can achieve this by conducting research to understand the correlation between mental illness
and creativity. There are far more benefits than costs to adding more criteria to the DSM. Thank
you for your consideration.

Works cited
Park, Jiyoung, zlem Ayduk, and Ethan Kross. "Stepping Back To Move Forward: Expressive
Writing Promotes Self-Distancing." Emotion 16.3 (2016): 349-364. PsycARTICLES. Web. 6 Nov.
2016.

Balon, Richard, and Mary Morreale. "'Experiential' Writings: Insight Into Mental Illness." Academic
Psychiatry 38.1 (2014): 100-103. PsycINFO. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

de Gramont, Sanche. "A Vocation for Madness." Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, edited by
Sharon K. Hall, vol. 3, Gale, 1980. 20th Century Literature Criticism Online. Accessed 10 Nov.
2016. Originally published in Horizon, vol. 12, no. 2, Spring 1970, pp. 49-55.

Alfano, Sean. Because the Doctor Isn't Always Right . 7 May 2006. Document .