Children and young people with eating disorders, new parents experiencing mental health problems and NHS staff who are processing trauma are among those harnessing the power of the arts to improve their wellbeing through Wales’ ‘Arts and Minds’ programme this World Mental Health Day.
The joint arts fund from the Arts Council of Wales and the Baring Foundation, which today announces a third year of funding for health boards, has supported creative mental health projects across each of Wales’ seven health boards since 2021.
Among those who have benefited so far are children and young people in West Wales living with disordered eating, anxiety and depression, who, alongside artists, have been using animation and aerial movement to improve their wellbeing, develop creative coping skills and enhance their resilience through Hywel Dda University Health Board’s (UHB) ‘Arts Boost’ project. Swansea Bay UHB’s award-winning ‘Sharing Hope’ project has provided hundreds of NHS staff who have experienced trauma and low mood with access to weekly, drop-in and one-to-one creative sessions during working hours. Led by artists, the scheme is supporting staff mental health, enabling them to stay in work or to return on a phased basis after a period of absence.
Further east, an Aneurin Bevan UHB project has given new parents with moderate mental health conditions the opportunity to bond with their babies, make new friendships and relax through music-making and art sessions supported by an assistant psychologist and freelance artists. And in North Wales, male patients in a secure mental health unit have been processing their feelings, expressing themselves and documenting their experiences through rap music, animation and film making supported by Betsi Cadwaladr UHB.
“We are delighted to be partnering the Baring Foundation in continuing to support Wales’ health boards as they find inspiring and diverse new ways to respond to the mental health priorities in their communities and within their own workforces,” said Sally Lewis, Programme Manager for arts, health and wellbeing at Arts Council of Wales.
“We know the challenges surrounding mental health in Wales cannot be solved overnight or by one programme or activity alone. But the growing evidence from Arts & Minds underlines the powerful role the arts can play in supporting our mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan and in a wide variety of contexts. Creative activities within the NHS provide invaluable opportunities for service users to switch off from their everyday stresses, connect with others and find an uplifting outlet for expression. Moving forward, it’s our hope that creative interventions will be embedded as a regular feature of mental health services in Wales’.
There is a mounting body of evidence to confirm the positive impact of the arts and creativity on our physical and mental health and wellbeing. For six years, a memorandum of understanding between the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh NHS Confederation has helped drive greater collaboration between the two sectors in Wales and pioneered new approaches to arts, health and wellbeing that are being watched with interest globally.
Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Lynne Neagle said: “It is fantastic that the Arts and Mind programme will continue to support Health Boards to provide creative mental health projects for a third year. From helping people to communicate, process their thoughts and feeling to building social links, the arts can have a significant positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing.”
David Cutler, Director of the Baring Foundation, added: “Arts and mental health is flourishing in Wales, with the strategic partnership between the NHS and the arts playing a key and exciting role. We are delighted that we are partnering for the third year with Arts Council of Wales on the Arts and Minds programme and to see the Arts and Minds projects both thriving and recognised for the support they provide.”