RESEARCHERS at Anglia Ruskin University say art helps cure mental health issues.
Dr Kerrie Margrove, who led the research alongside the South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT), studied a group of 58 people from Open Arts.
Essex-based Open Arts organises 12-week art courses for people with mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia.
The results showed that 89 percent of the group reported an improvement in relationships with others.
And 88 per cent reported an improvement in motivation and 81 per cent reported an increase in confidence.
Dr Margrove studied 32 people on the waiting list and 26 who were in classes, then took 19 who were on the waiting list into class a year later, and saw their mental health improve dramatically.
She said: "There were so many people wanting to take part in the classes but they could not accommodate anyone.
"We took this as an opportunity to find out how the service users compare to those who haven't been part of the classes.
"It was conducted by a series of interviews with people who were part of the classes and those who were not.
"We are getting an indication that it is a helpful service, and have already applied for funding from the Royal Society for Health Research, but they won't have decided whether they will give us the funding until April.
"With that money we plan to do a much larger trial with many more people and then we hope to randomise this.
"It will be the best experiment yet and it really will identify whether it is the art that has helped.
"Mental ill-health is a significant public health problem in the UK, with costly consequences in terms of the distress for those who experience mental health problems and their families, as well as considerable financial costs to the NHS and society more generally."
Kerrie studied psychology at Cardiff University before joining Anglia Ruskin University two years ago.
She worked alongside an art therapist to complete the research, which has been published in the latest edition of Perspectives in Public Health.
"Some people are self-referred and some come through the GP surgeries, but the communities feel the need to improve their wellbeing, make friends and get a better social life," said Kerrie.
"We are now trialing it with completely different groups.
"We have a lot of students who are stressed and dropping out, so our next stage is to see whether it works for them.
"Open Arts will now take off, hopefully in a university setting, with staff participating.
"Working at Anglia Ruskin is great, it gives me the opportunity to do so many things."
