Mental Health Awareness Week: Supporting Mental Health Through Creative Expression

Mental Health Awareness Week: Supporting Mental Health Through Creative Expression

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week and its theme of Take Action, we are highlighting the role creative expression can play in supporting mental health and wellbeing, both in services and in our wider communities.

Across Social Interest Group (SIG), we see first‑hand how important it is to create meaningful opportunities for people to process experiences, build confidence, and feel heard. Creativity -whether through writing, art, music or other forms- offers a powerful way to do this.

Creative expression doesn’t require formal training. What it does require is space, encouragement, and the freedom to explore.

Why Creativity Matters for Mental Health

Creative activities can play an important role in supporting wellbeing by helping people to:

• Express thoughts and feelings that may be difficult to put into words
• Process and make sense of complex or overwhelming experiences
• Build confidence and a sense of achievement
• Develop self‑awareness and insight
• Experience moments of calm, focus, and emotional release

For people who have experienced trauma, creativity can be particularly valuable. It allows expression without requiring a direct or structured retelling of experiences, creating a safer and more accessible way to engage with difficult emotions.

Resident Spotlight: Nyah’s “In The”

At SIG Penrose RBKC Complex Needs Hub, resident Nyah Randon has shared a powerful piece of writing titled “In The.” The poem offers a striking exploration of trauma, reflecting emotional intensity, fragmentation and resilience through vivid imagery and layered expression.

Here’s a room filled with a million locks

You step inside,

All senses are blocked.



There is a tainted truth,

It peeks through a crack

That shallow swallow of spit

To desperately hold it back.

My brain is broken,

The superpowers awoken,

One blue rose fitting in,

An intersectional token.



Muted escalation

Interrupts the concentration,

Patching up a wound

With steady sedation.

I silently screamed in major

The staccato chords of minor,

Plucked to unrealistic perfection

The last breath of the timer.



Webbed to each corner,

Creeping unto your dreams

I am the trauma living in you

You will learn to live with me.

I soon evolve into a raw steel feather,

Sworn to secrecy,

My thoughts became tethered.



Abandoning what I can’t control,

My feet have touched the ground

Soft dimples reappeared,

The sweet memory of vivid sound.

I am soaring at the speed of light,

Bursting to seek at every sight

Dancing tears are shedding fears,

Saltily healing memory bites.



I sucked on a sweet thought,

Learning what cannot be taught

Purely ancient and animalistic

I was prey waiting to be caught.

The mind is a delicate blade,

Lethal for a thinkers peak

So soothe it with subtle music

Let the unspoken speak.



A spectacle for wandering eyes,

The one false that appears to be true

Can't catch me if you can,

I am the trauma that lives in you.

Nyah’s work provides a deeply personal insight into lived experience. Rather than following a linear narrative, the piece immerses the reader in moments and emotions that can feel overwhelming, complex and difficult to articulate.

It also highlights:

The importance of creating space for people to tell their stories in their own way
The role of creativity in processing trauma and lived experience
The strength, insight and resilience that can emerge through self‑expression

 Embedding Creativity in Practice

This example is a powerful reminder that creativity is not just an activity, it is a tool for connection, healing and empowerment.

Across services, this can mean:

• Encouraging individuals to explore creative outlets that interest them
• Creating safe, supportive and non‑judgemental spaces for expression
• Celebrating creative work (with consent) to build confidence and community

Creativity supports people not only in coping, but in being heard.