The Alchemy Project
Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, Maudsley Charity and Arts Council England and with the support of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Early Intervention in Psychosis Services, SLaM Arts Strategy and Rethink Mental Illness.
In 2015 The Alchemy Project undertook an innovative action research project pioneering the delivery of two, dance-led interventions, working intensively over 4 weeks, with two cohorts of young adults accessing Early Intervention in Psychosis Services through the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM).
​
One of the objectives of the 2015 action research project was to engage an independent evaluator in order to establish if the positive pilot findings could be repeated. Optimity Matrix was engaged to undertake this evaluation, in the context of an Early Intervention team. In the published report of the 2015 interventions the research has shown that dance acts as a powerful catalyst in the recovery of service users’ mental health in Early Intervention in Psychosis.
​