Mental Health, Wellbeing and Creativity

Mental ill-health is one of the biggest challenges society faces, accounting for more than 20% of the total disease burden in the UK. It's also pressingly relevant to our student population, with 94% of higher education institutions reporting an increase in demand for their counselling services in recent years.

We believe there's a need for a cross-disciplinary approach, including utilising the arts and social sciences to develop new ways of thinking about and improving individual and collective mental well-being. 

The research centre brings together scholars, creative practitioners, mental health professionals and people with lived experience. It draws together expertise from our colleagues in Psychology, Sociology, English Literature, History, Creative Writing and beyond to ask pressing and inherently interdisciplinary questions about illness, healing, and well-being.