5 ways the performing arts support mental health

The performing arts (acting, dancing, and singing) help transform young lives each and every day. We take a look at how they can support young people in improving their mental health and wellbeing, and how you can introduce performing arts activities into your child’s life.

Building confidence

Through spending time on stage, the performing arts help children to feel more confident in themselves and in public. Coupled with improvements to their public speaking skills, children who engage in the performing arts can feel more confident answering questions in class, volunteering for school activities, and making friends. 

Children can also feel less isolated and restless if they are more engaged and supported at school, which in turn can improve their wellbeing and mental health.

Therapeutic qualities

According to Steve McCarthy-Grunwald, Senior Lecturer of Mental Health Nursing Studies at the University of Cumbria, the performing arts enable people to develop a sense of value in themselves and their personal experiences.

Additionally, the performing arts are a creative outlet that allows children to express their feelings and open up about trauma or struggles they might have experienced. This helps keep children from bottling up their emotions, and encourages them to be open and transparent about what’s going on in their lives.

Creating communities

The performing arts are often a safe space for children and young people to be themselves. It’s an environment that’s open and inclusive to young people of all gender identities, sexualities, ethnicities, and disabilities. 

If a young person struggles to fit in, they can feel isolated and alone. This puts them at greater risk of exclusion, and of being exploited by criminal gangs. Their mental health, wellbeing, and overall safety is improved by knowing that they aren’t alone, and by being in a space that encourages them to be themselves.

Developing a support system 

Due to a reduction in funding for the performing arts in the UK, it’s becoming harder and more expensive to take part in it. Additionally, many schools don’t offer any drama or dance lessons at a primary level, meaning young children often have little to no exposure to the performing arts until their teens. 

Charities such as Montage Theatre Arts offer free and reduced-rate places on all their courses, making the performing arts accessible to all young people living in Lewisham. This has a tangible impact on the confidence and wellbeing of children in the borough.