In challenging times the arts can not only feel like respite, but a powerful tool in gaining perspective
As a group of arts based clinicians we have gathered arts and mindful resources that we think will be helpful for anyone managing and self-caring for their emotional health, whether for adults or children. These are not a replacement for our usual psychological services, but can form an important part of treatment or enable us to better look after our wellbeing in challenging times.
For further general information on managing mental health then please follow this link to Mind. For our collection of art and music resources then please use the links below.
Musical Expression
Play, experiment and discover sound in one of these computer and phone apps:
BandLab free easy-to-use, all-in-one, social music creation platform for smart phones
Fingertip Maestro Learn piano chords, play amazing guitar free app for iphone
Nodebeat Music app for iphone and android, intuitive and fun visual music app for all ages (paid)
SoundForest Free app for iphone, a mini music maker that allows you to instantly compose a song using a collection of musical creatures
Blocs Wave Free app that will have you making music in minutes. Slice and chop up exclusive Ampify sounds or easily import your own.
Bloom developed by ambient pioneer Brian Eno and software designer Peter Chilvers. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom allows anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen
Music for memory
BBC Music Memories free BBC website designed to use music to help people with dementia reconnect with their most powerful memories. Patients, families or carers can create a personalised playlist for the person with dementia by identifying their Memory Bump and then sampling snippets of music to see if they receive a positive reaction and adding them to the playlist.
100 Years Playlist for Life lists the title and artist of the 100 most popular songs for every year 1915 to 2015 over 230 pages. Each decade is free to download.
Making a Playlist Guidance on how to make your own playlist on Spotify
Music Playlists
Making a Playlist Guidance on how to make your own playlist on Spotify
Music for WellbeingA page for musical self-care. Here you can stay relaxed, help modestly support your immune system (Professor Dave Lee’s lists), simply feel better, feel less lonely and more “connected”, increase your motivation or seek comfort or solace.
The Mindful Mix online radio mixes of meditative classical music for calming moments put together by BBC Sounds
Listen to Music, watch performances
The Scotsman Sessions are a series of short video performances from artists all around the country commissioned by The Scostman and released on their website, with introductions from their critics. Artists featured so far include Pictish Trail, Esther Swift and Karine Polwart
Bella Caledonia : The Howff Bella Caledonia have created this online space to promote artists and musicians who are no longer able to perform live due to coronavirus. Each night features different artists, including opportunities to support them through buying their work online
The Stay at Home Festival a gathering of artists, poets and comedians live streaming pretty much every day, sometimes twice a day, some of our top podcasts like Book Shambles and Science Shambles as well as presenting mixed bill comedy nights and conversations all without anyone leaving their home
The Social Distancing Festival A theatre artist has created The Social Distancing Festival, which gathers live streams and videos of all different types of performances in one place, on one calendar.
Join an Online Choir
The Sofa Singers free & weekly online singing event that brings hundreds of people together from around the world to spark joy and human connection.
Make Art + Find Activities
Lose and find yourself with art materials and art making to broaden your indoor horizons.
Craft Projects – Spruce Arts a website full of craft making projects for all ages from needlecraft to origami
Tonic Art Tutorials Video art making tutorials with a new one each week delivered by Tonic Arts in collaboration with Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation
Make a Memory Box A memory box can be a great place to keep letters, photos, and other meaningful items. Every memory box is different. Some are colourfully decorated and highly personalized, while others are simple and discreet.
Create a Hope Box A hope box is something you can create for when you need a reminder of why your life is so precious. It is simply a collection of various items that can show you that your life is meaningful and worth living.
Keep a visual journal Visual journaling is a way to record life’s experiences, feelings, emotional reactions, or one’s own inner voice visually and verbally
Giant list of ideas for being home with kids activities for young people or the young at heart during this time of being at home and physical distancing
BBC Getting Creative at HomeCreative Masterclasses with Antony Gormley and Clare Twomey on BBC iPlayer
Artist Activity Pack assembled by famous artists from Grayson Perry to Antony Gormley, ideas about how to get creative at home. Anyone can have a go – there are no specialist materials required, plus it’s completely free to download.
Hospital Rooms Arts Activity Videos Hospital Rooms is here to help anyone feeling isolated to get creative.
Grayson’s Art Club Artist Grayson Perry talks to artists, creatives, celebrities and viewers about art and lockdown on Channel 4.
How finding time for Creativity can give respite from worries Drawing, singing, writing, knitting… lose yourself in something creative to find inner calm. You might also come up with solutions to problems.
Generation Arts | Activities for Older People Creative activities for people aged 50+ in West Lothian
70 ways to use art to improve our health. Various creative ideas from the charity Paintings in Hospital.
Luminate : at home Luminate, Scotland’s creative ageing organisation, have developed a new programme of online creative activities that you can do wherever you are. Created during the coronavirus outbreak, the activities are designed for older people who are isolated at home or in a care home. A new film will be posted at 2pm on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Look at Art – Online Art Galleries
Looking at art can change how we feel about our situation.
Here are gallery tours, videos and online collections from great galleries around the world available for free.
The National Galleries of Scotland
The Ingleby Gallery : Unseen Masterpieces The Edinburgh based gallery presents a series of interconnected images, posted daily online in an exhibition that isn’t an exhibition; a rolling sequence, with every selection being the work of an artist who has taken part in some aspect of the gallery’s more conventional exhibition programme over the past 22 years.
British Museum, London follow a virtual tour of the museum
The Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition of visual art from across Scotland is now online
The National Gallery in London
The Tate London contemporary and modern art collection
The Louvre in Paris
The Rijks Museum in Amsterdam (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc)
Google Arts & Culture get inside everywhere from MoMA in New York to the Munch Museum in Oslo, from the British Museum to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to the Today Art Museum in Beijing
Van Gogh These close-up looks at famous paintings are so intense. Few paintings are suited to such a treatment than the bold, textured lines of The Starry Night.
Movement and Breath sessions for physical and mental health Designed specifically for NHS and Social Care Teams by Scottish Ballet but accessible to everyone, these 10 minute sessions address physical and mental health concerns in difficult times.
Edinburgh Community Yoga have free breathing, audio guided meditation and chair yoga exercises
Edinburgh Community Yoga YouTube channel has videos on self regulation and seated yoga
One Dance UK a series of online resources, videos and task ideas that can be used to support home learning in dance for all ages
Scottish Ballet Health Classes From Monday to Friday, Scottish Ballet are inviting people to join them on Facebook Live to dance together. There is a different class running each day, tailored to the specific needs of different communities but open to all. The classes will be streaming live at 11.30am each day, then made available on Facebook to catch up. Includes classes for people with specific health conditions, people aged 60+ and parents and children.
Daily Dancing Started by Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s Associate Artist Emma Jayne Park (Cultured Mongrel) and Radio presenter Rosie Aspinall Priest (Sounds of the Second Sex), daily dancing is a quick way to set yourself up for the day with a community of people coming together for a boogie. From Monday to Friday you are sent a new ten minute playlist, you join our Zoom meeting at 10.00am, we count down, press play and DANCE!!! It’s a simple, no pressure way of moving and being with people.
How to Stay Calm in a Pandemic Free e-book with illustrations and helpful advice on managing this time
Mindfulness Exercises a simple factsheet on mindfulness exercises created by Therapist Aid
Headspace online mindfulness and sleep exercises
Poetry Unbound features an immersive exploration of a single poem, guided by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing.
Short Stories for Stressed Grown-upsall you have do is find somewhere quiet, where you won‘t be disturbed, and listen to an original short story that will transport you from the troubles of your day.
KEEP CAMHS AND CARRY ON. Podcast created by NHS Grampian for under 18 year olds. This podcast series is a psychoeducation ‘top tips’ collection, recorded by our very own staff, to make managing stress in tough times just that little bit easier.
31 Day Literary Diet A complete 31 days of immersion in videos and audio relating to literature
The Book of Hopes Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children in Lockdown – a completely free online book to look at and read with children
Psychosocial Mental Health and Wellbeing Support for Staff website set up by NHS Scotland in response to Coronavirus to provide information on caring for self, patients and other staff
Staying Safe : a self care guide for staff looking after Coronavirus patients
How to Talk to Children about Coronavirus a guide produced by Sussex Partnership NHS Trust
Psychological First Aid: a guide for field workers produced by WHO (World Health Organization) for field workers overseas and in diverse cultures, this empathetic guide has much for those of us dealing with traumatic scenarios at home
Workplace Wellness Resources a series of free resources to help improve mental wellbeing in your workplace produced by the charity Mind
