Case Study: Perinatal Mental Health Project Tanio and Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB

Introduction

Tanio's Perinatal Mental Health Project supported people with moderate to severe mental health needs to receive additional wellbeing care, through regular delivery of arts workshops in community settings. The project grew through previous partnership working between the artist facilitators and nurses in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB Perinatal Mental Health Team. The nurses knew the positive outcomes they had personally experienced working with the artists, and were seeking a longer-term offering of creative wellbeing activities to patients already in their care. Because of the very specific demographic of the target audience, the project needed to remain dynamic and respond in real time to needs and challenges. As such, both Tanio and CTMUHB learned a great deal for future delivery.

The Challenge

In Spring 2025, nurses in the Perinatal Mental Health Team (PMHT) approached artist facilitators Uschi Turoczy and Sue Hunt to explore artistic delivery for perinatal patients in their care. The PMHT had previously worked with the artists on creative activities for their own wellbeing, with a view to potentially support patients in future. Uschi and Sue asked Tanio to support an application to the ACW, which was successful; delivery began in Autumn 2025. The target audience was quite specific - prenatal mental health patients experiencing moderate to severe mental health, living within CTMUHB, receiving care from the PMHT. The pool of potential participants was small, and the nurses and facilitators knew they would need to create warm, welcoming sessions to draw participants in.

The Approach

The project encompassed 12 creative wellbeing workshops, led by Sue (visual arts) and Uschi (creative writing). At least 1 nurse from the PMHT attended all sessions, providing important connection for participants. The nurses had already met all potential participants, specifically inviting them to attend the workshops, and were there to greet them; the nurses' attendance also meant participants were more likely to continue their work with the PMH Service, and engage with more offerings beyond this delivery. Despite personal connection with the nurses, recruitment into the project was extremely difficult. The extent and complexity of attendance barriers were many: some participants struggled to leave the house at all due to mental and physical health. Multiple participants and potential participants already have children, and caring duties for them and other loved ones complicated their attendance at weekly sessions. Nurses identified that self-confidence was a large barrier for multiple participants, who worried about feeling isolated. Responding actively to participation barriers, the delivery location of the workshops was moved from Bridgend County to RCT at the mid-point of the project. We hoped the more central location within CTMUHB would increase participation.

The Impact

Due to participation numbers, we undertook extensive, in-depth conversations with participants, who happily shared their thoughts and insights. Our artist facilitators also wrote narrative case studies about their experiences and learning. H attended sessions in Bridgend. She was in PMHT's care due to severe tocophobia (fear of pregnancy/childbirth). She attended with her sister E (not pregnant). Both women filled in referral forms ranking their mental health before joining. Over the sessions, H felt vast improvements. She reflected, 'If this had been available to me earlier, my mental health would not have gotten so bad.' A attended sessions in Pontypridd, experiencing enormous benefits. A has ADHD and came off medication for her pregnancy. The sessions helped her thrive, giving her space to be creative and focus on herself. A had the focus and attention of the artists and nurses, making her feel nurtured. Artist Uschi said, 'Planning for and accommodating such different life experiences meant Sue and I worked together to reflect in great detail, making us more adaptable, conscientious facilitators.' Artist Sue said, 'There was a lot to learn here, and we all fought to...find out how to apply ourselves and our findings going forward in the most valuable way.'

Lessons Learned

Sessions need realistic expansion of attendance criteria, i.e., allowing a family member or friend to attend with the patient. Sessions need flexibility; offering sessions at more than 1 time of day and/or different days of the week would be beneficial. Recruitment methods should involve artists as much as possible, in appropriate ways. Finding ways for participants to 'meet' the artists in advance would encourage greater participation. This could include in-person or virtual meetings, or a video greeting to be played to patients.

The Legacy

The greatest legacy of this project is in learning for the arts partner, artists, and PMHT. New challenges and participation barriers arose consistently throughout, and while our partnership was agile in response, limited time and funding further complicated matters. Moving forward, our partnership has specific ideas for improving recruitment methods. Participants who engaged in this project have either given birth or are due soon; their cases with the PMHT will inevitably end, so reducing barriers for future participants is key.

Website and Social Media Links

https://tinyurl.com/y9vwcaeu

Contact Details

helo@taniocymru.com Alicia Stark – alicia@taniocymru.com Tom Stupple – tom.stupple@taniocymru.com

Tags: Mental Health, Perinatal Mental Health, Mental Health Facilitation, Creative Writing, Visual Art, Craft, Adults, Pregnancy, Wellbeing

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