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

在这个项目中，我们将制定一种策略，让患有抑郁症、情绪低落或焦虑的成年人和儿童可以轻松地获得布鲁斯艺术干预。这种团体疗法使用视觉艺术、音乐、舞蹈、戏剧和创造性写作来解决心理困难，并加强管理这些困难的资源。鼓励参与者积极参与简单的艺术创作活动，并具有明确的治疗意图。这些活动可能包括：控制焦虑的呼吸练习，支持自我表达的自由写作；镜像任务以发展关系，使用物体分享困难的故事，参与有节奏的连接以解决孤立问题(有关干预的更多细节和相关视听材料，请参见www.artsfortheBlues.com)。有证据表明，对于那些发现很难谈论自己的问题或正在寻找谈话疗法的替代方案的人来说，基于艺术的干预更容易获得，也更具吸引力。这可能包括来自不同背景的成年人和儿童、难民和移民社区，以及那些与孤独和孤立作斗争的人。布鲁斯艺术干预最初是为了解决曼彻斯特市中心社区的心理健康问题而开发的，此后在英格兰西北部的慈善机构和学校成功试点，该地区长期面临健康不平等。以艺术为基础的小组的参与者表现出显著的心理结果，包括较低的抑郁和焦虑分数，以及改善的幸福感、生活功能和社交能力。因此，在这个项目中，我们将提出一个问题：如何扩大布鲁斯干预艺术的规模，将其整合到医疗保健和文化组织中，以应对英格兰西北部社区的抑郁症并改善其福祉？为了回答这个问题，我们将在三个活动中将艺术家、健康专业人员、现有的网络和合作伙伴聚集在一起，以共同制定一项战略，使干预措施在整个地区随时可用。我们还将为至少一个医疗保健组织和一个文化组织提供研讨会、焦点小组和培训。在整个过程中，我们将与我们的患者和公众参与(PPI)小组合作，以确保我们的目标受益人拥有发言权。该小组目前包括参加过The Art for the Blues小组的使用心理服务的人，并将扩大到包括来自项目合作伙伴的PPI成员。在方法上，我们将采用现实主义的评估方法，这将使我们能够制定一种可扩展、可持续、与系统思维相一致的战略，并承诺为该地区和其他地区长期存在的健康不平等提供解决方案。在该项目的整个生命周期内，我们将制作一个在线工具包，包括案例和培训材料，包含主要发现和用户证词的电影，以及在不同环境中整合这种创造性形式的治疗的计划。

In this project we will develop a strategy for making the Arts for the Blues intervention easily available to adults and children struggling with depression, low mood or anxiety. This group therapy uses visual arts, music, dance, drama and creative writing to address psychological difficulties and strengthen resources for managing them. Participants are encouraged to actively engage with simple arts-making activities with a clear therapeutic intent. These activities may include: breathing exercises to manage anxiety, free writing to support self-expression; mirroring tasks to develop relationships, use of objects to share difficult stories, engagement in rhythmical connections to address isolation (see www.artsfortheblues.com for further details on the intervention and relevant audio-visual material). Evidence suggests that arts-based interventions are more accessible and attractive for people who find it difficult to talk about their problems or who are seeking an alternative to talking therapies. This could include adults and children from diverse backgrounds, refugees and migrant communities, and those struggling with loneliness and isolation. The Arts for the Blues intervention was first developed to address mental health concerns in inner city neighbourhoods in Manchester and has since been successfully piloted in charities and schools in the North West of England, an area faced with long standing health inequalities. Participants in the arts-based groups showed marked psychological outcomes including lower scores of depression and anxiety and improved wellbeing, life functioning and social communication. In this project we will therefore ask the question: How can the Arts for the Blues intervention be scaled up for integration within healthcare and cultural organisations to tackle depression and improve wellbeing in communities across the North West of England?In order to answer this question, we will bring together artists, health professionals, existing networks and partnerships in three events in order to co-create a strategy for making the intervention readily available across the region. We will also offer workshops, focus groups and training to at least one healthcare and one cultural organisation. Throughout the process we will work alongside our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group to ensure our target beneficiaries have a voice. The group currently includes people using psychological services who have attended Arts for the Blues groups and will be expanded to include PPI members from project partners. Methodologically, we will adopt a realist evaluation approach which will allow us to develop a strategy that is scalable, sustainable, aligned with systems thinking and promises to offer solutions to long-standing health inequalities in the region and beyond.Over the lifetime of the project, we will produce an online toolkit to include case examples and training materials, a film with the main findings and user testimonies, and a plan for the integration of this creative form of therapy in different settings.