Coach House Trust 1

Hi, I’m Alison, 1^st year BN Mental Health, and I’m going to be posting some updates from my work as a volunteer art mentor at The Coach House Trust in Glasgow. 

When you turn off the busy main road and head down the cobbled lane to find the old stone coach house where The Trust is based, I’m trying not to sound corny here, but the first thing that you notice is the peacefulness around you. The feeling of calm created by the trees and plants and well kept garden makes you smile, and it carries on when you get inside. There is a tangible feeling of comfort and security, and at first it’s hard to believe that the people around me have been referred to the program by their GP or CPN, and are living with a range of mental health problems.

Although I’m aware that I’m working with people who have mental health issues, so far I haven’t been informed of the diagnosis or specific condition(s) of any member of the group, and I haven’t asked. It doesn’t really seem appropriate and it actually feels good to be able to work with people without getting bogged down with labels and everything that goes along with them. Each member of the group is working independently on a theme of their choosing with advice and input from the head art tutor, her assistant and a volunteer; everyone works with their own chosen medium and all in really different ways e.g. from computer animation to painting to photography, collage and cartoons. Like we’re being taught in our nursing lectures, the focus on recovery has to be person centered. There is a good age and gender mix within the group, and working around one large table means all the members can interact and offer each other support and encouragement. 

The mission statement of The Trust is to help people reconnect with their communities and support them to maximize their full potential. I feel really privileged to be able to help out with this in a small way. The group is working on a 14 week time-frame, currently in week 7, and I hope to update this as they progress.