A feasibility study of an evidence-based creative psychological intervention for doctors in training

The study will evaluate a creative psychological intervention for doctors in training in NHS Trusts in the North West. It responds to the need for support amongst medics and doctors in training particular outlined by several surveys in the field. It will be based on recommendations for the report we prepared with funding from the Wellbeing Trust on the effectiveness of arts-based interventions for helping professionals (https://wellcome.org/reports/where-nextworkplace-mental-health), including doctors, which has been submitted to the WHO Arts and Health Lab. The intervention will be based on a creative intervention originally developed for adults with depression (www.artsfortheblues.com), which we have adapted to meet the needs of NHS staff affected by the pandemic.

Overall aim:
For this study we will focus on establishing whether the intervention used with the general NHS workforce will be a useful intervention for doctors in training in the North West in reducing anxiety, depression and moral distress on the
one hand and improving wellbeing and resilience on the other.

Population: doctors in training in the North West.
Intervention: We will offer 8 hours-long workshops that include creative methods throughout the intervention such as song and creative writing, singing and music-making, drawing and meditation, movement and dance, role playing and drama.

Outcomes: anxiety (primary outcome), depression, trauma, wellbeing, resilience and moral distress will be assessed before and after the 8 hours workshops.
A brief evaluation form will also be used to evaluate the intervention in a qualitative way.

Study design:
A pre-post testing design will be adopted.