In this episode Andy McClenaghan and guests explore the therapeutic role artistic and musical creativity can play in improving mental health.

Andy is joined by experts by experience Ash and Molly and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service Social Worker, Sarah Ombler, who along with her colleague, Shauneen O’Connor, oversaw the incredibly exciting initiative, IMPACT CAMHS. They discuss the benefits which have come from the project, a service-user involvement group which supported a group of young people who use CAMHS services, to write and record music as part of a collective called Counterpart.

The conversation examines the importance of meaningful coproduction by empowering service users to shape the projects and services they engage with. They discuss the benefits experienced by the young people in terms of increased confidence, improved social skills, reduced loneliness, and the realisation of creative potential. The episode also explores what social workers can learn from the creative, group-based approach to therapeutic service delivery.

You can listen to the EP, Colour Theory, by Counterpart on Spotify and videos for the songs Hope and Break the Silence are available on Youtube:

The project evaluation conducted by Queen’s University Belfast mentioned in the episode is available here.

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