Participant for a research project on mental health and creative work

Research Study: Mental Health and Creative Work

Are you a creative worker with experience of living with a mental health condition?

I am inviting people to take part in a research project exploring the experiences of individuals with mental health conditions who work, or have worked, in the creative industries.

Creative activities are often promoted as beneficial for mental health and wellbeing, and many arts programmes encourage people to develop creative identities and careers, yet, relatively little research has explored what happens when people with mental health conditions enter the creative workforce and how they experience the realities of creative employment. As someone with mental health issues myself, this gap in research really stuck out to me during my studies of the creative industries and had fuelled me to bring these experiences to the forefront of scholarly research.

Taking part involves a confidential one-to-one interview lasting approximately 60 minutes, online (via Microsoft Teams). The interview will explore your experiences of creative work, your career journey and your perspectives on how mental health has shaped your working and artistic life. There are no right or wrong answers, I am interested in hearing about your individual experiences.

Participation is entirely voluntary. You may choose not to answer any question and can withdraw from the study at any time before your data is anonymised. All information you provide will be treated confidentially and anonymised in any research outputs.

To take part, you should:

• be aged 18 or over;
• identify as having lived experience of a mental health condition (self-identification is sufficient, you do not need a formal diagnosis); and
• currently work, or have previously worked, in a creative occupation or creative industry.

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information, please contact:

Isabelle Glover

Master's Researcher

Cardiff University

Email: iglover@cardiff.ac.uk

or

Dr Carrie Westwater

Director of MA Cultural and Creative Industries

Dissertation supervisor

Cardiff University

Email: westwaterCA1@cardiff.ac.uk

Thank you for considering taking part in this research. Your experiences could help improve understanding of how mental health and creative work intersect and contribute to future discussions around arts, employment and wellbeing.