News
Following its successful pilot in Naas last autumn, The Creative Well Programme will be facilitated in two further locations in County Kildare this spring. The aim of this programme is to develop a social model for supporting mental health and wellbeing through the arts and within the context of local communities.
It draws on a number of established Arts on Prescription programmes in the UK for inspiration and evidence based practice. However while Arts on Prescription programmes typically cater for mental health service users, the Creative Well differs as it offers an integrated programme of arts workshops open to all in the community.
Through an integrated approach it seeks to address the social isolation experienced by many mental health service users and offers them an opportunity to connect with others outside the mental health system. The pilot programme was evaluated using The Warrick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale as a self-assessment tool before and after the intervention and a strong positive improvement in the wellbeing of participants was observed. These statistics were also reflected in the participant testimonials received after completion.
A participant of the pilot remarked ‘Every week I just lived for the workshop and looked forward to meeting the other participants…we also learned from each other and learned to appreciate each other’s abilities.’
The next programme, Storytelling through Film and Animation will commence in Kildare Town on 20 March and in April a programme based on drama and theatre, Lights, Action, Curtains will run in Athy town. The Athy programme is currently open to applications, the closing date is 20 March. For further information visit www.kildare.ie/artsservice or contact Catherine O’Grady by emailing catherine.ogrady@hse.ie or phoning 087 0566784.
