WHO Collaborating Center launches Yureka, an international network of creative organizations to support youth mental health

 The WHO Collaborating Center for the Development of Mental Health Services has launched a network of community-based creative organizations in Europe and Latin America to determine how best to use the arts to support the mental health of young people, especially among the most vulnerable groups population.

 

This initiative, dubbed the Yureka Network, was launched in March 2023 by the Social and Community Psychiatry Unit of Queen Mary University of London (LUCM) – a WHO Collaborating Center for the Development of Mental Health Services  and a longtime member of the Pan-European Coalition on Mental Health – and the non-governmental organization People's Palace Projects, also operating on the basis of LUKM.

 

The goal is to create an international partnership group whose members will learn from each other, share knowledge and best practices, and build collective capacity in the use of various arts activities - for example, dance, painting, creative writing, street art and hip-hop - to engage with and support young people to improve their mental health and well-being.

Sharing collective knowledge about the benefits of doing the arts

According to the 2019 WHO/Europe review of arts and health linkages, arts can be beneficial not only in terms of improving well-being and supporting people living with mental disorders, but also in the context of overcoming the stigma associated with mental health, promoting social cohesion and, more importantly, reaching out to vulnerable groups who may be less likely to use formal health services.  

 

"It's now a known and accepted fact that art can help us make sense of and verbalize complex emotions, analyze our life experiences on our own, and engage us emotionally and socially better than most other resources," explains Professor Stefan Priebe, Founder of the Social and community psychiatry.

 

Therefore, the network intends to make an impact in this field on an international scale by encouraging the development of links between creative organizations, scientists and policymakers to promote mutual support and exchange of ideas, methods and strategies, as well as to showcase best practices already accumulated on the ground.

 

Go beyond the health sector – Pan-European Mental Health Coalition

 

The Yureka network was created during a period of increased attention (mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic) to mental health issues facing young people, including an apparent increase in the prevalence of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.

 

Despite the prevalence of these problems, it can be difficult for mental health services to connect with young people, making them less likely to seek support and overcome barriers such as cost, accessibility and associated stigma. That is why, in order to support the mental health of young people, it is necessary to use other available resources and services, for example, activities carried out by creative organizations at the local level.

 

“It helps me a lot to be able to interact with a creative organization,” says one young man from Wales (United Kingdom). “It allows me not only to find new ways to analyze and organize my thoughts, but also to give structure to what I write as well as being inspired and inspired by the people I met there and forming closer relationships with new acquaintances. In other words, it helps me live."

 

For this reason, WHO/Europe, through the Mental Health Pan-European Coalition, emphasizes the importance of working outside the formal health sector. The Coalition is a broad network of organizations, mental health experts and people living with mental disorders, including many young people. It was launched by WHO/Europe in 2021. The focus of the Coalition is on sharing knowledge and experience to empower countries and communities to improve mental health and well-being in all areas of life.

 

The Coalition's agreed priority is to provide enhanced support where young people live, work and study (for example, in schools, sports clubs or other community organizations) and build the capacity of staff in these institutions to provide effective, timely and high-quality support. Providing young people with access to mental health care and psychological support in places where they are already active socially increases the likelihood that they will use this support when they need it.

 

The creation of the Yureka Network is a clear example of how Coalition partners can accelerate the implementation of certain mental health priorities while supporting the implementation of the European Framework for Action on Mental Health 2021–2025.