Getting creativity into the week
It's all very well for people to attend a service such as Start, and feel good for a few hours after their arts for health session, but what about the rest of the week?
The team at Start - part of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust - were aware that one session of art or gardening a week could make for slow progress, and yet, because the service is fully subscribed, the service cannot offer more time to its students.
Now the team have come up with a solution -they turned their thoughts to school days to come up with the answer - and it's homework!
Students are given small home study exercises to try out on their own, the results of which they then bring back to their class for feedback and guidance the following week. Exercises involve a technique already covered in a session so that students have some know-how to tackle the task set. The idea of homework is three-fold: it encourages the embedding of skills by practice, shows students that they can work on their own with success, and demonstrates the value of having creativity within everyday life on a regular basis.
Jill Cunningham, Start's textile tutor, piloted homework as part of a recent course run at the local Whitworth Art Gallery, part of the University of Manchester. She explains:
"The request to undertake homework was a surprise and even a shock at first, and there was a bit of resistance. But as the course progressed, and students found themselves receiving encouragement and praise when homework was shown at the start of each new class, enthusiasm built."
The results were clear - self-confidence developed and there was a real sense of pride in what had been accomplished by personal, independent effort:
"I could see how my confidence has grown when we showed off our homework."
"I was surprised that I was able to achieve a piece of work which I was proud of."
As students experienced working on creative activity at home, their awareness of how helpful and rewarding this can be grew:
"I'm enthralled by it, the involvement with it."
They also began to discover exactly how their home studies were supporting wellbeing:
"I had positive feelings and felt absorbed. Time passes quickly and it is relaxing."
"I used it to focus my thoughts when confused."
"I felt relaxed, it helped to keep me occupied and distracted me from my mental health problems."
There is now great interest in the 'homework spot'. Most students say their opinion of homework has changed since giving it a try.
"I am no longer reluctant to do it and find it relaxes me"
"It's not like being in school or uni! I have a choice! And the possibilities are endless..."
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