Partners in health

Sound It Out is a regional social development agency for the West Midlands, and has been utilising music and the arts to engage and inspire individuals and communities for over 15 years. We do an extensive amount of ‘inclusion’ work, and Mental Health Service Users are a key group of people with whom Sound It Out has developed a long and sustained relationship. This has been primarily through a unique programme called Musical Connections, which was established 12 years ago. Through a series of one-to-one and group sessions, each year new recruits had the opportunity to develop their music skills, to interact with a community of existing members, to share and jointly create music, and then twice yearly to perform to an audience within a safe, friendly and supportive environment.

As the programme developed, Sound It Out realised that the social element was providing huge benefits to the individuals. The group sessions enabled the interaction, conversation and social development opportunities which many of the participants ordinarily found themselves to be isolated from. Self confidence, freedom of expression and leadership skills all came to the fore through these creative sessions, and within a few years a growing list of word of mouth referrals came to the organisation. As the success and reputation of Musical Connections developed, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust (BSMHT) started to refer clients. A few years ago a partnership was developed with one of their secure units that brought some of their clients into the programme. It has become one of their most successful pathways to rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Last year BSMHT provided part-funding for the programme, and discussions are currently underway to secure longer-term support.

As well as Musical Connections, Sound It Out has developed a strong partnership with local hospitals. One of the most successful of these has been with Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and the Dynamix Project, working with young people in their Children’s and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Ward at the Parkview Clinic. Again, this work involved intensive one-to-one sessions as well as group and drop-in sessions. Crucial to this programme was induction, training and ongoing support for ward staff by a team of experienced participatory musicians. This increased their levels of comfort and ability to engage, and provided sustainable basic skills for their own future activities once Dynamix finished. Due to the success of this programme with the service users, Sound It Out and Birmingham Children’s Hospital are jointly seeking additional funding to develop this work further.

Additionally, we have recently secured funding from the LankellyChase Foundation for a new programme, Striking Chords, working with patients in Forensic CAMHS Unit and another of BSMHT’s secure units. This programme will have an external evaluator attached to measure objectively the benefits and impact of this music in health work. While there has been no direct partnership working with local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), the value of arts in health work is increasingly recognised by the PCTs, and many conversations have been had to date to consider ways of effective social prescribing through quality arts and music programmes. We have found a number of individuals receptive to the concepts, but are still working on the provision of sustained financial and strategic support to further develop our programmes to meet the needs of their service users.