Creative Health Stories

My guests in this episode came together through a puppetry and mask making project commissioned by West Kent Mind called The Forest Project. Cath Jackson is a Wellbeing Worker and Counsellor with the charity, Dani Thompsett is a guardian and big sister who joined the course as a participant and Russell Dean is the Artistic Director of Strangeface Theatre Company.The four of us had a lovely conversation about the work of West Kent Mind and Strangeface Theatre Company, why puppetry and mask making are beneficial to our mental health and expressing emotion, the process of making and the experiences of participants on the programme.Links:https://westkentmind.org.uk/https://westkentmind.org.uk/i-want-help/creative-minds/creative-showcase/https://www.strangeface.co.uk/https://www.strangefacemasks.com/Socials:https://www.instagram.com/westkentmind/https://www.facebook.com/WestKentMindhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/west-kent-mind/           https://www.instagram.com/strangeface3/https://www.facebook.com/strangefacemasks/Creative Health Stories on InstagramLaura on LinkedIn

Ash Nugent is a celebrated artist, writer and founder of RiseUp, a charity that uses creative arts to work with people in prisons and communities. In this episode he discusses his own journey from experiencing racism in the leafy suburbs of Liverpool, finding school unsatisfactory and uninspiring to becoming a disruptive youth and ending up in a Jamaican prison at 17.His turning point came through being open about his love of writing, finding like-minded souls and pursuing an education. This all led to starting a CIC called RiseUp to help people who find themselves on the same path as he was.RiseUp has a team of dedicated people who use creative arts and the Hero’s Journey to help people find self-worth and a better path in life.Ash is an excitable, passionate storyteller dedicated to supporting others and I loved our conversation!Links:RiseUpLOCKS by Ashleigh Nugent published by Picador, June 2023Socials:Ash on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedInCreative Health Stories on InstagramLaura on LinkedIn 

Professor Kevin Fenton is a senior public health expert and infectious disease epidemiologist, who has worked in a variety of public health executive leadership roles across government and academia in the UK and internationally, including taking a leading role in London’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year honours list for services to public health. Kevin is so articulate and generous with his knowledge about what 'public health' is in its widest sense and how it affects us on a daily basis. We run through 10 essential concepts Kevin believes can help improve health, save lives, and reduce inequalities in communities around the world and he provides really helpful connections to creative arts and his own experiences. Along with Public Health and Creative Health, the concepts are: Equity, Racism, Wellbeing, Resilience, Mindfulness, Mental Health, Self Care and Gratitude.Kevin demonstrates his passion and belief in the role that the arts and culture have on our individual and community lives.Links:Office for Health Improvement and DisparitiesPublic Health, NHS LondonUK Faculty of Public HealthKevin's socials:Instagram: @ProfKevinFentonLinkedIn: @ProfKevinFentonX: @ProfKevinFentonTikTok: @ProfKevinFentonCreative Health Stories socials:Instagram: @creativehealthstoriesLinkedIn: @LauraBaileyCreativeHealthIf you want to share your own creative health story, you can now do so on the website. Visit https://creative-health.co.uk/stories/

Creativity and Wellbeing Week is a festival led by London Arts and Health and the Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance and funded by Arts Council England.This is a special commissioned episode reflecting on the festival week past and present to help understand the value of it to the creative health sector. I spent time listening at online events and interviewed a selection of people representing a range of organisations and perspectives about their work, how and why they get involved, and how they think the festival could evolve.All my guests were generous with their time, offering unique, thoughtful and insightful conversation about Creativity and Wellbeing Week, and about the power of creativity for our health and wellbeing in different contexts.Guests:Anna Woolf, London Arts and HealthProfessor Kevin Fenton, Public Health LondonSam Beal, Norwich TheatresDaniela Nofal, Counterpoints ArtsNafeesa Arshad, Hospital RoomsJulie Tolhurst, Barnsley Council Public HealthLinks:Creativity and Wellbeing WeekCulture Health and Wellbeing AllianceSocials:@londonartsandhealth@culturehealthwellbeingalliance@_hospitalrooms@norwichtheatre@counterpointsarts@barnsleycouncilofficial@nhsenglandldn@profkevinfenton@anna_woolf_frsa@nafeesa_arshad@aceagramsIf you would like to commission a podcast episode or audio stories for your organisation, please get in touch via the website.

I'm taking a short break over April. In the meantime, I want you to send me your creative health story!Do you have a creative health story you'd like to share which could inspire other people? Send me an audio recording, no more than 5 minutes long, about how you're engaging with creativity for health or wellbeing to include on the podcast. Or write it down in no more that 750 words and I may read it out.Tell me about you and what you do: Your name (anonymous is fine too), maybe where you live, your age, your gender, your ethnicity, your job, anything else interesting about you (all optional).Describe what creative activities you do and the impact they have on your health or wellbeing.You don't have to be professionally trained and your creative activity can be anything from cooking and gardening through to dance, writing, body art and everything in between. Anything creative! Record your story on your phone (e.g. Voice Memos on iPhone or Voice Recorder app on Android) and send it via email with the subject 'My Creative Health Story' to: laura@creative-health.co.ukBy sending me your audio recording and images you agree for them to be edited and published in part or full on my website, podcast, socials or part of an associated project. Creative Health Stories website @creativehealthstories

Mark Kilbey is former police officer and detective who retired from the force after 20 years through mental ill-health after which followed a long period of mental illness including suicide attempts. He set up the peer-led mental health charity Take Off to support people in similar situations. Sarah Winn is a theatre maker who works with young offenders, vulnerable adults and diverse communities . After the loss of her cousin by suicide, Sarah set out to create a piece of verbatim theatre to highlight the issues around male mental health and suicide.In this episode Mark and Sarah share their own stories and how they came together to make the play called 'No one Here Is Me', the impact of the process and the performance, and how the process has forged an incredible friendship between them.*** Please note, the episode includes discussions around severe mental illness and suicide ***Links:Take OffNo one Here Is MePortrait TheatreWellbeing in the ArtsSocials:@sarahwinnactor@dreamwinn@TakeOff_charityIf you're struggling with your own mental health, or you're having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone else who is, please seek help.Places you can contact include:Mind - Seeking help for a mental health problemNational Suicide Prevention helpline: Call 0800 689 5652SOS Silence of Suicide Call 0300 1020 505Samaritans Call 116 123Childline (under 19s) Call 0800 1111If you fear for someone's immediate safety, guide them to Accident and Emergency or dial 999 for immediate assistance

Amal Lad is a GP and musician from Birmingham who has made a career out of exploring the intersection between art and medicine. His ability to reveal the connection between music and well-being has been recognised by the BBC and TEDxNHS, as well as countless listeners around the globe. He is the host of the Creative Medicine podcast, which also explores how people use creativity to improve health and wellbeing. Along with being a GP and podcast host Amal composes and releases his own music and is studying for a Masters in Performing Arts Medicine at UCL.Our conversation covers 'self medicating', the role of a GP and the challenges faced in general practice and the wider NHS, along with Amal's own passion for the healing power of music and the arts. He's a super motivated and compassionate human being. Please consider supporting the making of this podcast via PatreonLinks:Website: https://www.amallad.comSoundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/amal-ladSocials:Twitter: https://twitter.com/amalladmusicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/amal.ladYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/AmalLadMusicFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/amal.lad.musicLinktree: https://linktr.ee/AmalLadMusic@creativehealthstoriesEdited by @podcastpenny

Christopher Bailey is the Arts and Health Lead at the World Health Organization and a co-founder of the Jameel Arts and Health Lab.  Educated at Columbia and Oxford Universities as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, after a career as a professional actor and playwright, Christopher worked at the Rockefeller Foundation before joining the WHO.Christopher has also performed original pieces such as Stage 4: Cancer and the Imagination, and The Vanishing Point: A journey into Blindness and Perception.Our conversation covers Christopher’s journey to his current role (which he created), philosophy, theatre, and how arts and health fit into the aims of the WHO. We talk about the effects of art from neuroscience, public health, and preventative perspectives, along with the effects of awe, shock and wonder and the deep aesthetic experience. We cover the UK’s influence in this field but also the lack of investment. Christopher shares how the WHO influences health policy around the world to be inclusive of the arts and lets us in on his own creative health world.Please consider supporting the making of this podcast via PatreonLinksWHO Arts and HealthJameel Arts & Health LabCreative Brain WeekHealing Arts ScotlandNeuroArts BlueprintDaisy FancourtSocialsChristopher’s LinkedIn@baileychristophet@creativehealthpodPodcast PatreonEdited by @podcastpenny

Kiran 'Kiz' Manley is the UK’s first Hip Hop Therapist. In 2012 she set up Hip Hop HEALS, a mental health social enterprise that spreads knowledge and research about Trauma-Informed Hip Hop. She hosts and produces her own podcast called 'Glowwiththeflow' on therapeutic Hip Hop, offering radical solutions to homelessness and mental ill health. The work stems from her own lived experiences of loss and grief and she now uses this to amplify the voices of others and people powered change to improve health systems. Kiz also works as the ‘Lived Experience and ProgrammeCoordinator’ at UCL for a big research programme called Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities. ***Please note, in this episode Kiz discusses the loss of her sister in a car crash and the resulting grief and acute trauma responses. She also talks about the loss of her father, how grief is dealt with differently in different cultures and the inequities in the health system faced by global majority people in the UK***Our conversation covers the whole spectrum of emotions - grief and sadness, but also lots of humour, frustration, happiness and joy. Links:Hip Hop HEALSKiz shared her experiences in a new book 'Music for Inclusion and Healing in Schools and Beyond' Kiz’s own podcast is Glowitheflow and you can watch podcast footage hereMobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities programmeSocials:@hiphophealsukKiz/Kiran's LinkedInThis episode was edited by Penny Bell @podcastpenny