This video from Bethlem Museum of the Mind gives insight into the work of art-making as a form of social communication, from the voices of artists dealing with a mental illness, as well as mental health practitioners and health administrators.
Bethlem Museum of the Mind was originally Bethlem Hospital, the first hospital in Britain for the mentally ill (since 1247!). It still offers therapy and healthcare guidance, but is now a huge gallery space, with a carefully archived collection that is internationally renowned.
Similarly, the Dax Collection in Melbourne exhibits and archives (over 15,000 works!) artworks by practitioners who live with mental illness, or occasions of trauma, and utilise artmaking as a means of self-expression, therapy, and personal development.