Join the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program on Tuesday, May 20th from 6:00-7:00 PM ET for the webinar Mind Matters: Mood and Art

This webinar will feature visiting scholar and keynote speaker, Catarina Castela, Ph.D. She will speak about her research, "Monitoring mood variation in bipolar disorder: An interdisciplinary study on the relationship between mood and formal art elements."

Catarina is a Ph.D. student at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. She has over 20 years of experience as a graphic designer, working across national and international projects. In 2016, she completed a master's degree at Curtin University, exploring the cognitive and psychological underpinnings of aesthetic preference. Catarina's Ph.D. research is grounded in lived experience of bipolar disorder. It investigates the relationship between bipolar disorder and creative expression, examining how changes in visual elements within drawings, such as line quality, color use, and composition, may reflect underlying psychological states to reveal patterns in mood fluctuation and symptom severity. Catarina aims to develop and validate a preliminary art-based Mood Monitoring Method (MMMET) by combining personal reflection with a structured analysis of drawings through a formative case series study followed by a large-scale longitudinal study. By translating visual elements into measurable data, her research aims to offer a fresh perspective on the clinical value of art by highlighting its potential to inform tailored treatment strategies and support long-term symptom management.