UCLan students and mental health service users have collaborated, for the second time, to produce unique art exhibition.
Inpatients and staff from Guild Lodge Forensic Hospital in Whittingham and the new Wesham Rehabilitation Unit have come together to collaborate with students from University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) to create a vibrant art exhibition.
A Collaborative Experience
The exhibition, which opened on Wednesday, May 4, by the renowned Lancashire abstract artist Iain H Williams, Being Human explores who we are and how people make sense of their past, how they live in the present and their hopes and fears for the future.
Being Human is a culmination of hours of work by BSc (Hons) Coaching, Counselling and Psychological Interventions undergraduate students and staff and service users from Guild Lodge and Wesham at the University’s PR1 Gallery.
Speaking about the exhibition, Mark Love, Occupational Therapy Manager, who worked directly with patients to help them produce their art, said: ‘Following the success of the previous display towards the end of last year, we wanted to give our service users and staff the opportunity to again showcase the work that they are understandably very proud of.’
A ‘Reflective Experience’
The project has been led by Senior Lecturer at in psychological interventions at UCLan, Lowri Dowthwaite; Cassie Batterby Technical Instructor artist at Guild Lodge, with input from consultant rehabilitation psychiatrist Dr Emily Kaye and occupational therapist Olivia Graham, both based at Wesham.
Mark continued: ‘We use art as a therapeutic tool to benefit individuals in their treatment and recovery and we find the sessions help us assess peoples’ skills and strengths, as well as their needs.
‘They are able to socialise, express their feelings and improve their cognitive skills, but most importantly, they can see themselves as being more than a ‘patient’. Our service users gain a sense of control, self-esteem, communication and confidence, as well as a new role.
One student, Nadean Marshall, from Preston, called it a ‘reflective experience’ and an opportunity to think about their own mental health.
Nadean said: ‘It’s been a fantastic project and I know as a student group we’ve gained so much from it. I was a nursery nurse before I came to UCLan and have always wanted to help others. Once I graduate, I’d like to continue working with young people, helping them with their wellbeing before they need counselling services.
‘Personally, it’s been a very reflective experience and made me think about how my own mental health in the past, present and how I hope it will be in the future.’