Group singing fosters mental health and wellbeing: findings from the East Kent “singing for health” network project
| Pages | 88-97 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20428301111140930 |
| Published date | 23 May 2011 |
| Date | 23 May 2011 |
| Author | Stephen Clift,Ian Morrison |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Arts
Group singing fosters mental health and
wellbeing: findings from the East Kent
‘‘singing for health’’ network project
Stephen Clift and Ian Morrison
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to describe the development and evaluation of an innovative community
singing initiative with mental health services users and supporters in East Kent, UK.
Design/methodology/approach – A network of seven singing groups was established between
September2009 and June 2010.The choirs met weekly in threeterms with breaks for Christmasand Easter,
and joinedtogether for two public performancesin February and June 2010. In total,137 participants were
involved in the evaluationprocesses over this period. Of these,42 provided complete data on the CORE
questionnaire,a widely used clinical measureof mental distress, atbaseline and eight months later.
Findings – Clinically significant improvements were observed in response to the CORE. These
changes, together with qualitative feedback from participants, demonstrate thatgroup singing can have
substantial benefits in aiding the recovery of people with a history of serious and enduring mental health
problems. A limited body of research has also shown that singing can be helpful for people with existing
mental and physical health problems.
Originality/value – The research finds marked improvements in mental wellbeing on a clinically
validated measure for people with a range of enduring mental health issues participating in a network of
small choirs. Qualitative evidence indicates that group singing can offer a wide range of emotional and
social benefits for mental health service users.
Keywords Mental illness, Group singing, Recovery, Well being, Evaluation
Paper type Research paper
Background
This paper reports on the development and evaluation of an innovative community singing
project in which a network of small choirs for mental health service users and supporters was
established in East Kent in September 2009 and ran until June 2010. Inspiration for the
project came from a small choir established in September 2007 at the Mustard Seed Centre
in Canterbury (a day centre providing services of people in need of support). The choir was
set up in late 2007 up by Elle Caldon, a service user with training in music and singing, and
came to be known as the ‘‘Mustard Seed Singers’’ (Plate 1). An account of the development
of this choir, and two other mental health singing groups in other parts of England co-written
by service users, musicians and researchers has recently appeared in a fascinating volume
entitled Songs of Resilience (Clift et al., 2011).
The present authors joined the ‘‘Mustard Seed Singers’’ in early 2008, and over the year had
discussions with Elle, other members of the choir and local mental health professionals
about the idea of promoting similar choirs across East Kent. We were fortunate to obtain
PAGE 88
j
MENTAL HEALTHAND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011, pp. 88-97, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/20428301111140930
Stephen Clift is a Professor
of Health Education and
Research Director.
Ian Morrison is a Senior
Researcher both at the
Sidney De Haan Research
Centre for Arts and Health,
Canterbury Christ Church
University, Canterbury, UK.
Thanks are due to Canterbury
Christ Church University,
Eastern and Coastal Kent
Primary Care Trust, the Roger
De Haan Charitable Trust, and
the South East Coastal
Communities Project for
funding and support which
made the East Kent ‘‘singing for
health’’ project possible.
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