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The final report for allied health professions Enhance, Include, Evolve: New Ways of Working for allied health professionals (Care Services Improvement Partnership/National Institute of Mental Health in England, 2008a) is the culmination of a journey that the allied health professionals have travelled over the past six years. Their aim has been to refresh practice in the light of recent policies and initiatives and, in particular, New Ways of Working.

The purpose of this paper is to reach beyond existing research into the mental health benefits of arts-based or educational opportunities, to discover the particular impact on members’ recovery processes of being part of a committed, long-term troupe or community – specifically focussing on specialist theatre companies.

Following a literature review investigating the growing number of theatre troupes for mental health service users, qualitative research was conducted into one such company. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with six company members. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was then cross-checked and enriched through a group interview with six other members.

Two overarching themes emerged: the importance of “being known” within the company (key sub-themes included “intuitive democracy” and the “paradox of reliability”), and the ways in which individuals “branched out” from this secure basis into artistic, professional and voluntary roles, while remaining company members.

The findings from this small-scale study, while not necessarily generalisable to other long-term communities of care and learning with a “troupe” or “team” structure, would provide valuable starting points for a larger-scale investigation.

If generalisable, institutions in the mental health and educational worlds should place more emphasis on developing and resourcing long-term models of support.

The specialist theatre company model contrasts with prevalent individualised, time-limited services for those experiencing mental ill health.

The study provides compelling narrative evidence to amplify understanding of how “connectedness” is experienced within a troupe, and may enable individuals with mental illnesses to progress further in their recovery journey.

Our regular round‐up of innovative projects that support social inclusion for people with mental health problems

The relationship between learning and mental health, as well as a growing body of literature, underscores the need for art therapy in educational settings. This is particularly true for learners with special needs. Shostak et al. (1985) affirmed that “for children with special needs, art therapy in a school setting can offer opportunities to work through obstacles that impede educational success” (p. 19). School art therapy facilitates improved social interaction, increased learning behaviors, appropriate affective development, and increased empathy and personal well-being. It can be adapted to meet the specific developmental needs of individual students and to parallel students’ developmental, learning, and behavioral objectives. This chapter introduces the reader to the history and basic constructs of art therapy as a psychoeducational therapeutic intervention in schools. Model programs are identified, as well as the role of the art therapist within the context of K-12 education settings. Additionally, examples of special populations who benefit from art therapy intervention within school systems are provided, along with considerations for school-wide art therapy.

Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) is a national programme to increase the involvement of adults at risk in the adult safeguarding process. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The implementation of MSP in the London Borough of Sutton involved three areas of analysis: a quantitative analysis of 47 safeguarding cases in which adults at risk were asked what they wanted the safeguarding intervention to achieve and whether or not these outcomes had been achieved; qualitative analysis of the service users’ experience of the safeguarding process using focus groups led by creative arts therapists; and interviews with social workers, team managers and administrators on their experience of the implementation of MSP.

In 81 per cent of safeguarding cases, outcomes were achieved satisfactorily. The focus groups identified the importance of freedom of movement, freedom of association, being listened to and regular communication with a consistent person. The practitioner interviews identified themes of increased efficiency, increased effectiveness, empowerment; the transformation of relationships and the practice of new skills.

This research shows that focus groups led by therapists can be used to explore safety and safeguarding and supports the effectiveness of MSP in achieving person-centred outcomes. No baselines or control groups were used, so the extent of effectiveness is difficult to determine. The sample size is relatively small, so results may not be generalised.

A number of learning points for practice are identified including how to chair and where to hold safeguarding meetings and changes to practice required to implement MSP.

This is the first research into MSP using art, drama and music therapists to explore the experiences and view of adults at risk of safety and safeguarding.

Eating disorders (EDs) remain a major health concern, and their incidence has further increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the equally increasing demands on treatments and service provision and the high levels of relapse post-treatment, it is important that research explore novel and innovative interventions that can further support recovery for individuals with EDs. There is growing evidence that arts interventions are beneficial for recovery from EDs. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a stand-up comedy course to support ED recovery.

The study used a qualitative interview study design to evaluate the recovery benefits of participating in stand-up comedy workshops for a pilot group of people in recovery from EDs (n = 10).

The comedy intervention was well-attended and had high acceptability and feasibility. For most individuals, participating in the course had a positive impact, including promoting personal recovery (PR) outcomes across all five elements of the CHIME framework. Unique assets of the course included providing participants with an opportunity to distance themselves from everyday worries of living with an ED; the opportunity to cognitively reframe situations by making them the object of humour; and providing a safe space to (re-)build a positive sense of self.

This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that evaluates stand-up comedy workshops for ED recovery and further demonstrates the potential of arts interventions and the relevance of PR frameworks in this field.

A social skill is similar to a skill found in a workplace that involves social interaction. The hallmark of a social skill is the smooth progression toward a goal. As with other workplace skills, social skills have both cognitive and behavioral components (Attwood, 2003). According to Webster's New World Dictionary (1986), a social skill is a “developmental tool used to interact and communicate with others to assist status in the social structure and other motivations” (p. 23). This means that social rules and social relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways creating social complexity useful in identifying outsiders. The process of learning these skills is called socialization (Barry & Burlew, 2004). Specific examples of social skills may include initiating, responding, and keeping interactions going; greeting others and conversing on a variety of topics; giving and accepting compliments; taking turns and sharing; asking for help and helping others; and including others in activities (Wahlberg, Rotatori, Deisinger, & Burkhardt, 2003). Simply put, social skills are the behaviors we use to work and socialize with other people. As Walker, Todis, Holmes, and Horton (1988) pointed out, social skills are defined as social responses and skills that (a) allow one to initiate and maintain positive relationships with others, (b) contribute to peer acceptance and to a successful classroom adjustment, and (c) allow one to cope effectively and adaptively with the social environment.

This article aims to be a synthesis among the latest learning and development books as well as academic journals across organizational behaviour, educational theatre, drama therapy, and performance studies. It pinpoints five management‐related competencies that the new trend of applied theatre in corporate training can facilitate.

This briefing is prepared by an Asian practitioner‐performer‐scholar who identifies and distils knowledge in Western interdisciplinary contexts.

This article concludes that applied theatre can be a new concept and methodology for corporate training to enhance the main competencies in business settings – leadership, communication, creativity, team building, and emotion management. Practical implications – This study provides a conceptual foundation and practical language for human resource and training professionals as well as company directors who choose and evaluate training methodology.

This briefing links theory with practice as well as connecting academia to industry. It saves busy businesspeople's and researchers' time to integrate multiple‐fielded knowledge by presenting it in an insightful and single‐minded format.

There remains a lack of clarity regarding what constitutes “normal” or “complicated” grief within this client group. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that complicate grief and considers interventions which would be beneficial.

The paper draws on previous research by the author and others to comment on some of the issues discussed by Hannah Young in her article.

Three domains contribute to complicated grief in people with learning disabilities. These are the learning disability itself, environmental factors and the impact of disability on attachment.

A relational approach to support is important in preventing complicated grief. If the grief becomes complicated, a relational psychotherapy is recommended as the preferable intervention.

This paper gives important consideration to practical factors that can lower vulnerability to complicated grief for this client group.