The Tortured Artist

Art, Mental Distress, and the Romanticisation of Suffering

with Dr. Madhurima Sen

 

Key Info

DATE
Fri 08 MAY 2026
17.00 – 19.00 GMT

FORMAT
Live Webinar
Recorded

LOCATION
On-Line
Zoom

FEE
Standard £45
Trainee £35

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Bookings closing date Fri 24 APR 2026.

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Overview

The figure of the “tortured artist” is deeply embedded in Western culture – a narrative centuries in the making. From Vincent van Gogh and Virginia Woolf to Sylvia Plath and David Foster Wallace, artistic brilliance is repeatedly fused with psychological suffering.
Is artistic genius inherently linked to instability, or is this a myth we have come to romanticise?
This interdisciplinary webinar examines how literature, biography, and cultural memory have shaped the enduring narrative of the “mad genius.” Drawing on literary analysis, intellectual history, and psychological research, the session interrogates the romanticisation of suffering and questions the cultural myth that links artistic creativity and mental illness.
Rather than reinforcing or dismissing the connection between creativity and distress, this talk explores how the cultural narrative itself functions, and interrogates its implications for clinical practice.
 

 

 

Why This Matters Clinically

As clinicians, you may encounter clients who:

  • Fear that treatment will diminish their creativity.
  • Identify strongly with the “tortured artist” archetype.
  • Resist recovery because distress feels identity-defining.
  • Internalise the belief that stability equals mediocrity.

Such beliefs do not emerge in isolation. They are sustained by a long cultural tradition that aestheticises suffering. This webinar provides conceptual tools for understanding where these narratives originate, and how they continue to shape resistance to treatment.

Seminar Content

Through case studies of selected artists – close analysis of their specific works– we will examine how mental distress, creativity, and suffering are often conflated in public memory as well as critical interpretation.

We will consider:

  • The historical origins of the “tortured artist” myth.
  • The dangers of biographical reductionism.
  • The tendency to read art diagnostically rather than aesthetically.
  • The ethical implications of romanticising suffering.

This is not a diagnostic reading of artists. It is an invitation to reflect critically on how cultural narratives shape our understanding of both art and mental health.

Who is this training for?

This webinar is primarily designed for psychotherapists and mental health professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of the complex interplay between literature and mental health. It also welcomes scholars, students, and anyone with an interest in how cultural, historical, and gendered perspectives shape our experiences and representations of psychopathology.

Speaker

madhurima sen headshot

Dr. Madhurima Sen

Madhurima Sen holds a doctorate in English at the University of Oxford. She is specialised in the literary representation of trauma experienced by war survivors. She is a founding member and co-convenor of the Literature and Mental Health reading group at Oxford, a pioneering forum that investigates the complex intersections between mental health and literary form.

Madhurima has actively contributed to the university’s Medical Humanities initiatives, including organising an interdisciplinary workshop that fostered dialogue across literature, medicine, and mental health studies. She also brings extensive teaching experience, having designed and delivered courses on ‘Literature and the Mind’ at Mansfield College.

Fees

Bookings closing date

Fri 24 APR
Book Now
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