Are you, or do you know a Gloucestershire-based adult in the north Cotswolds who lives with mental health and/or chronic pain challenges? Artlift is excited to be launching a new FREE Arts on Prescription course bringing people together to make new connections through creativity.
‘Altered Books’ will be facilitated by experienced Creative Health specialist Amy Freeman. She will set up a safe, welcoming space where participants can tap into their creative side through the chance to explore different mediums and processes, like image transfer, leaf printing, Papier-Mache modelling, and simple printmaking. The focus will be on having fun, trying new things together, NOT on trying to create anything perfect – participants do not have to be good at art to take part!
Artlift’s Artist Facilitators not only lead inspiring sessions but draw on their health coaching training to co-produce a personalised plan with each individual, helping them to embed and sustain a creative practice in their life and support wellbeing post-Artlift.
We know from having collected wellbeing data with our partner the University of Gloucestershire for over a decade that Arts on Prescription works! Thousands of people have moved themselves forwards from a place of stress, anxiety, depression, and/or loneliness and/or found better ways of living with chronic pain thanks to connection with others through creativity.
One of Artlift’s 2021 participants fed back:
‘The safety of the group and expressing myself through creativity has had so many positive effects on my health and wellbeing. I think that working with other people who have ‘similar’ issues has helped me feel less alone in my illness.
‘The process of creating pictures, poems etc has helped me focus on positive aspects of life and it has been overwhelming, in a lovely way, to feel appreciated for my contributions.’
The Moreton-in-Marsh courses are part of Artlift’s Create Well Mental Health and Living Well with Chronic Pain programmes generously supported by Gloucestershire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.
Professionals working with adults living with chronic pain or with mental health issues, should e-mail a completed ‘Living Well with Chronic Pain’ or ‘Create Well Mental Health’ referral form as appropriate by Friday 29 July 2022.
Individuals living with mental health issues can put themselves forward for a place by completing a ‘Create Well Mental Health’ form.
Forms are easy to download and submit from:
- https://artlift.org/refer-to-us/ for health or social care professionals (e.g. GPs, Social Prescribers) working with people living with chronic pain or poor mental health.
- https://artlift.org/refer-yourself/ for adults living with mental health issues.
Or, if people need to apply in a different way, they can call / e-mail our referrals team: referrals@artlift.org / 03000 200 102.
If you are an individual living in Gloucestershire and would like to put yourself forward for our Create Well, Living Well or Men's Wellbeing programmes, please...
If you are a health, VCSE or social prescribing professional, or are working with a patient / service user