Arts for the Blues: Towards integrating the use of the arts in healthcare and cultural settings in order to tackle depression and improve wellbeing in the North West of England

In this project we will develop a strategy of making easily available the Arts for the Blues, a small creative psychological group intervention, for adults and children struggling with depression and low mood or anxiety. It is a creative therapy that uses visual arts, music, dance, drama and creative writing. Because it focuses on the arts it is suitable to people who do not like talking about their problems. This therapy was first used in hospitals and more recently in charities and schools in the North West of England, an area faced with many health struggles.

In this project we will therefore, answer the question: How can the Arts for the Blues intervention be scaled up to be used in healthcare and cultural organisations in order to tackle depression and improve wellbeing in communities in the North West of England?

In order to answer this question, we will work closely with healthcare and cultural organisations to develop a strategy of how to make the intervention readily available in the region.

Throughout the process there will be an active engagement of our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group which currently consists of people using psychological services who have attended Arts for the Blues groups.
In the lifetime of the project, we will bring together key stakeholders in three events, and offer training, workshops and focus groups to at least one healthcare and one cultural organisation. We will produce an online toolkit that will include case examples, training material and a plan of how to integrate this form of therapy in different settings.