Highlights from Recovery Pathways for Mental Health Awareness Week 2023
Recovery Pathways is a Trust citywide service. Through creative and wellbeing themed practice that is delivered in supportive settings, we aim to build confidence and skills, enable personal recovery from mental distress and support access to moving on.
During Mental Health Awareness Week, lots of creative groups sessions have been taking place across Manchester. Find out more below.
Green Wellbeing
Arts for Good Health course: Bird Box Making
Venue: Studio One
Tutor: Kate Ulrick
Learning to use drill, clamps and developing woodworking skills to create bird boxes at Studio One yesterday.
Participant quote: "I managed to use a power drill on my birdbox to make a hole for my bird… it’s the first time I used this tool and was very impressed… and was very happy and confident."
Arts for Good Health course: Nature for Health
Venue: Whitworth Art Gallery
Tutor: Tamzin Forster
Exploring Colour. Participants chatted about favourite colours and the impact they have on mood. They explored the wildflower garden, and the found colours from the colour wheel in the raised-bed in the community garden (created by Recovery Pathways Green Wellbeing Gardening Group)
Participant quote: “I really enjoyed today. I had a purpose to go out – if I hadn’t I would have just been at home in bed. I’ve a sense of achievement. I’ve something to talk about – and I really liked walking round park observing colour.”
Arts for Good Health course: Bloom
Venue: Studio One
Germinating seeds is a great way to develop the patience to let things happen in the time that they need.
Tutor: Cathy Fortune
Participant quote: “These sessions remind me to enjoy the journey as well as the end results.”
Benchmark: Garden Furniture Production
Venue: Benchmark and Anson Road
A collaborative project between Benchmark and Anson Road, service users are manufacturing and assembling garden furniture using monies won by Anson Road via the Dragon’s Den scheme. Pieces are being manufactured at Benchmark and assembled on site at Anson road.
Tutor: David Lowery (Benchmark) and Laura Treanor (OT Anson Rd)
Start: Photography
Collaborative project between Start and Anson Road to support development of a peer led photography group.
Venue: Anson Road
Tutor: Simon Jones
Using the confidence and skills gained in the wellbeing photography course at Start, a number of service users have started their own photography group at Anson Road. This has been successfully enabled with camera equipment that has been acquired by Anson Road assistant OT, Reuben, through Trust funding for such ideas. As part of the service users goals and intended outcomes for attending the wellbeing photography course at Start, their aspirations were to find and develop a creative interest that could continue after the course had finished.
The photography group at Anson Road is now a regular weekly feature in which the service users are sharing skills learned, continuing to grow their confidence and self-esteem, along with engaging and inspiring others at the centre to get creative and interested in photography.
Textiles session : Weaving - Threads of life
Symbolism of life’s connectedness. We are all interwoven in life’s journey.
Venue: Start
Tutor: Mia Nisbet
To support mental wellbeing: Weaving is an ancient meditative technique. Engaging in this mindful, relaxing technique enables one to feel present and connected. This grounding creative activity can elevate stress and anxiety, helping contribute to an improved sense of wellbeing.
Painting and Drawing session: Collaborative group piece using ink and bleach
Venue: Studio One
Tutor: Liz Scantlebury
Picture with no spoken words, a vibrant silence.
To support mental wellbeing: this exercise was designed to allow individuals to create ‘together’ and fully communicate with one another without the added perceived social pressure to ‘speak’ with words. Together, the group produced a piece of art that all participants expressed they had felt involved with and all had said they had enjoyed.
To find out more about Recovery Pathways, click here.
