PROGRAMMES

Creative Workshops in Mental Health Environments

Eliz­a­bethan Verse, Drum­ming and Song at NHS North Essex Men­tal Health Trust

In 2008, Tribal Soul ini­ti­ated pilot ses­sions in men­tal health envi­ron­ments in Essex at three loca­tions. Both staff and ser­vices users par­tic­i­pated in the workshops.

Many ser­vices users found the ses­sions helped to alle­vi­ate cer­tain symp­toms, such as hear­ing voices. Staff observed that the ensem­ble activ­ity and col­lec­tive focus required for engag­ing with Shake­speare stim­u­lated inter­ac­tions between par­tic­i­pants who did not habit­u­ally inter­act with each other. They also noted sev­eral marked exam­ples of improved con­cen­tra­tion and aware­ness and were excited at the prospect of sus­tained work with ser­vices users.

We are cur­rently engaged in set­ting up more ses­sions in Essex with the inten­tion to roll out sim­i­lar pro­grammes through­out the country.

http://vimeo.com/26226030