The project is part of a five-year programme of research led by the new Centre for Equity in Mental Health (CEMH), opening at the University of Huddersfield in April. The CEMH is supported by £11m funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), as part of its Mental Health Research Groups initiative, which will include work across a range of disciplines from experts in academia, experts by experience, and mental health practice. 

The research, co-led by Dr Louisa Peters, Lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Trinity University, and Professor Mike Lucock, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Huddersfield, will target several disadvantaged groups to co-design and evaluate innovative, psychosocial interventions that improve access, engagement, and recovery for people experiencing mental health inequalities 

These will include using creativity to enable people living with mental illness to engage with recovery; working with young offenders, practitioners and justice-system partners to reduce illicit drug use; and implementing a therapy model that helps children from South Asian Muslim communities cope with depression through meaningful activities. 

A recent report by the Mental Health Foundation showed that people living in the most deprived areas of England are 64% more likely to experience a common mental disorder, compared to those living in the least deprived areas. 

“Vulnerable communities can face multiple mental health inequalities,” Dr Peters explained. “Due to many factors, including financial challenges, loneliness, or overwhelmed services, they struggle to access the help they need.”  

“This project came about in direct response to the needs of local communities, and our aim is to work together with them on developing practical interventions to reduce inequalities. Some of these include non-clinical, community-based spaces, which is the focus of my research.” 

Dr Peters’ evidence-informed Creative Communities Framework will be utilised to evaluate and develop interventions through the project. The Framework identifies six key ingredients needed to create safe and empowering community spaces that enable people living with serious mental illness to engage with recovery.  

Dr Peters said: “I created the Creative Communities Framework after working with community arts organisations across three localities in the north of England, who create groups for people living with serious mental illness.  

“For many, these groups provide vital safe spaces, which they lack in everyday life, mainly due to social inequalities. The framework was developed to help demonstrate how and why such groups and non-clinical spaces are so valuable in supporting people who may be on long waiting lists or facing other hardships. 

“The research programme aims to test the framework within different types of creativity, including exercise, green spaces, and cultural activities among underserved populations to inform intervention development.” 

Leeds Trinity University will work with experts from the Universities of Huddersfield, Liverpool and York, and with South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to assess the mental health interventions across a period of five years.