Exploring perceptions of helpful and unhelpful aspects of Arts for the Blues workshops with Black university students with anxiety and/or depression

A qualitative study

Abstract

Introduction: In the UK, more Black young adults are diagnosed with mental health issues than their white counterparts, including university students (Griffith et al., 2019). There is a limited choice in service design, delivery, and culturally appropriate services suitable for Black young adults and university students (Arday, 2018), which involve multifaceted intersections of psychotherapy. This research explores a creative intervention that might be helpful for Black University students and useful in counselling in Africa and the diaspora.

Aims and objectives: The research aimed to explore perceptions of helpful and unhelpful aspects of the Arts for the Blues (A4DB) workshops (Haslam et al., 2019), with reference to a four-week face-to-face delivery for Black university students with anxiety and/or depression.

Methods: A qualitative research approach was used. Ten Black university students, six females and four males, living with anxiety and or depression, were recruited to participate in four 90-minute A4DB workshops. Participants completed three outcome measures prior to the workshop. They were the Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-10 (CORE-10; Barkham et al., 2013), the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7; Spitzer et al., 2006), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001). Four of the ten agreed to a 45-minute narrative interview after the workshop.

Results: Participants found A4DB workshops helpful. Students interviewed would prefer this service delivered by a Black facilitator. Six themes emerged: joy of the creative method; helpful outcomes; unhelpful aspects; sense of belonging in the Black community; suggestions for future A4DB for Black students; and shared Black cultural experience. The quantitative data suggested a reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms. The generalisability of the findings is limited due to the small sample size, and further research is needed.

Discussion: Creative methods offered a way for non-verbal emotional expression and psychological safety particularly in racially representative groups. Participants stressed the need for Black facilitators and culturally adapted approaches aligned with Afrocentric values, highlighting gaps in current counselling models and the potential of creative therapies to complement traditional methods.

Conclusion: A4DB shows promise as a culturally adapted intervention for Black students with anxiety and depression. Integrating such approaches into university counselling services could reduce racial barriers and improve outcomes, contributing to psychotherapy models centred on cultural identity and spirituality.