Mental health and well-being are crucial aspects of our overall health, and this is particularly so for young people who are facing increased stress levels, high expectations, and numerous challenges (climate change, cost of living crises etc). It has also been shown that '80% of young people with mental health needs agree that the Covid-19 pandemic has made their mental health worse' (source: Young Minds) and well-being is rightly a priority for many schools, organisations and professionals working with young people.
Engaging in the arts has long been shown to have many benefits for one’s sense of well-being – indeed Arts Council England’s review has successfully shown that: 'from a 37% reduction in GP visits to a 68% improvement in mental health symptoms, the research says art on prescription works'.
Taking part in drama activities can be beneficial to mental health and well-being in numerous ways:
Furthermore there can be specific well-being benefits to working towards graded drama qualifications such as those offered by Trinity:
We at Trinity aim to put the learner at the centre of our drama qualifications - we want to empower and inspire, build self-confidence and a sense of well-being in young people preparing for our exams. The freedom to choose is fundamental to that philosophy and is something that our teachers value.
Our range of performance-based qualifications are designed to suit all needs: maybe a candidate has a love of the spoken word and the power that poetry has to express big ideas: maybe they enjoy devising, creating original work that allows their voice to be heard; maybe they have a talent that can’t be assessed elsewhere – such as clowning, puppetry, choreography, film-making; or maybe they have a passion for the way in which musical theatre uses a synthesis of performance skills to explore narratives, characters and ideas.
In addition to a wide range of subjects, all our specifications allow learners to freely select the material they wish perform for assessment. In this way they are free to choose works that inspire and truly speak to them. This choice means the learner has ownership over their exam, a sense of autonomy leading to a greater sense of empowerment and engagement.
But whether a young person is interested in sports, reading, watching films, spending time with friends or engaging in the performing arts, what is important is that they are encouraged to pursue interests that make their hearts sing and are supported to prioritise their mental health & well-being by those around them.
Sources of support: