“It inspires me and suddenly the ideas come”: exploring the use of cultural venues in mental health care

ABSTRACT

Aims

This study aimed to explore the experiences of a group of adults with a history of substance misuse taking part in a novel, multi-centre cultural intervention: Creative Conversations, including the impact of the project on participants' mental health.

Methods

A qualitative approach was used including a Visual Matrix and observation in order to explore the experiences of 10 participants recruited from drug and alcohol services.

Results

The results indicated positive impacts on mental health including a growing sense of competence, engagement, social integration and a sense that the project provided therapeutic support that translated into integrating creative activities into their everyday habits.

Conclusions

Cultural interventions like Creative Conversations demonstrate positive impacts on mental health, engaging individuals who may find it difficult to access services such as those with substance misuse issues, and play an important role in sustaining and promoting mental wellbeing in the community. Despite positive findings, projects such as this require adequate staff training and sustained funding in order to provide wider benefits to those with mental health problems.

KEYWORDS:

• mental health
• substance misuse
• Visual Matrix
• art galleries
• museums

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all participants for their time, to All Change, Islington Heritage, Islington Museum, London Canal Museum and House of Illustration and the artists taking part. Thanks also to Gemma Goodall for her assistance in the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by Arts Council England Museum Resilience Fund [Creative Conversations: Museums and Wellbeing- grant number n/a].