Statement of the problem: Creativity can serve to transform constructively despair, hate and violence. But creative efforts to cope with depression and aggression can also fail.
Methodology & theoretical Orientation: Summarizing the “Big Five of Creativity” as a result of creativity research we show on the example of Madonna, Amy Winehouse and Taylor Swift, Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison how eminent creative Pop-Icons treat personal despair and hate but also collective violence. Finally, we draw conclusions in respect to everyday creativity and psychotherapy.
Findings: The “Big Five of Creativity” - gifts and talents (1), skills and knowledge (2), motivation and discipline (3), flexibility and resilience (4), supportive and challenging environments (5) - interact in the creative transformation of despair, hate and violence. Investigating the lives and works of extraordinarily creative Pop-Stars like Madonna and Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger it is shown how the creative transformation can succeed but also how it can fail.
Conclusions: Extraordinary and everyday creativity are elementary means to cope with despair, hate and violence. They are necessary to lead a fulfilling personal life in social responsibility. Creativity can be effective in different approaches to psychotherapy: relational (A), behavioral (B), cognitive (C), psychodynamic-psychoanalytic (D) and existential (E) (see Holm-Hadulla 2021).
