Produced by Professor Vicky Karkou, Director of the Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine, Edge Hill University

One in five people in the UK are faced with mental health problems.
With similarly high rates internationally, the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared an “urgent global public health crisis“

The Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing (RCAW) team are leading efforts to deepen our understanding of how the arts can help our mental health. Their work is having a direct impact on mental health provision through two important projects:

  • Arts for the Blues: A group therapy programme that uses the arts to help children, adults and professionals who need psychological support. The model, which has had a positive impact on people’s mental health, is developed in collaboration with the University of Salford with funding of over £2m from AHRC, ESRC, NIHR, and the EU.
  • Arts4Us is creating a user-friendly digital directory of the best arts activities and arts therapies support for young people and their families living in some of the most deprived areas in the UK.

With £2.5m investment from UKRI, the RCAW team is collaborating with a range of academic institutions and over 50 partners including health services, community organisations, schools, and local authorities to tackle health inequalities, enabling access to arts activities for as many young people and their families as possible wherever they live.

Professor Karkou’s team are making a huge difference to the wellbeing of children, young people, and adults with mental health struggles. Both projects have also gathered evidence that show how effective and cost efficient arts activities and arts therapies are. The argument this has made continues to influence national policymaking.

Examples of Impact

Examples of Impact described in Professor Karkou’s impact story include:

  • Routine delivery of the Arts for the Blues model in three NHS Trusts in Greater Manchester, with implementation in Mersey Care and Alder Hey Trusts.
  • Arts for the Blues has reached 200 students from 10 schools across the North West, with more than 200 students from 5 secondary schools engaged through the charity Curious Minds.
  • Training offered in the Baltic countries, New York, and Dubai kick starting the delivery of Arts for the Blues internationally.
  • Arts4Us has amplified the voice of over 120 participants including young people and their families.
  • Evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Creative Health and Creative Technologies on the value of arts activities and arts therapies.
  • Commissioned research by the Arts Council of Wales that found £11 return on investment for every £1 invested in the arts, which in turn influenced the Welsh Government’s decision to increase arts funding by 5%.

“Our research has transformed the lives of over 650 vulnerable children and young people, and over 300 adults with mental health problems, reducing depression anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure. We have also seen improvements to sleep quality, wellbeing and quality of life. And I’m pleased to say this positive impact lasts for up to six months after sessions finish, a clear indication that the arts, when delivered appropriately, can have lasting effects.”

Professor VIcky Karkou

The Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing

Check out the video below for an insight into the work of the Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing