Its Mental Health Week!
The number of children experiencing mental health problems is increasing at an alarming rate, we must support our children and provide them with strong building blocks to overcome mental health. Creativity and engaging in the arts can benefit individual and community health, from spreading public health messages, to supporting wellbeing in isolation.
The Greater Manchester i-THRIVE Arts, Culture and Mental Health programme was established to build on the known links between creativity and wellbeing, arts, culture and health, to bring fresh/innovative and age-appropriate solutions to the challenge of meeting the mental health needs to Greater Manchester’s young people.
Their program found that:
- story-telling can aid sense-making and answer questions in accessible ways
- arts engagement can provide relaxation, distraction and absorption
- arts engagement has been shown to reduce the harmful effects of stress on the body and protect the immune system
- arts activities build self-esteem, senses of achievement and pride
- culture and the arts can engender a sense of awe, an emotion with social benefits
- culture improves connection and belonging, and can be achieved now through, for example, joint projects and competitions
- creative exploration helps to foster meaning and purpose during unsettling times.
You can read more about their programme here:https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/news/breaking-new-ground-in-children-s-mental-healthcare-through-culture-and-the-arts
The Wonder Adventure Subscription explores 7 wonders of the imagination and aims to support children's wellbeing and mental health. Subscrip now: https://www.rainbowfactorykids.com/the-wonder-adventure-subscription