Mental health and wellbeing column: living our values

Soundcastle is a women-led charity based in Hastings, supporting people facing social inequality. For its first MT column, the charity's co-director, Rachael Perrin, describes its priorities for the workplace.

People's Music community project - Soundcastle

We are fortunate to be part of a sector of amazing community artists, educators and facilitators who believe in the power and value of music-making to support mental health and wellbeing. Each organisation and teacher has their own spin, whether that's songwriting to process trauma, singing to regulate nervous systems, or one of a thousand other ways to use music to support wellbeing. I think we all agree that music is valuable for mental health; multiple research studies, books and documentaries support this, and it feels like our sector, including many key funders and commissioners, now accepts this as fact.

At Soundcastle, which is a charity that works in the heart of grassroots music-making and in arts sector support, our advocacy has shifted over the past few years. There is less of an urgency to demonstrate the essential need and value of the creative work, as society has become more comfortable and, at times, celebratory of the use of music in mental health contexts. We have shifted our focus internally, diving deep into our organisational culture and how we help the people who support wellbeing through music-making.