INSPIRE

This project is funded by Creative Scotland and is run by Scots Music Group in Edinburgh.

The aim of this innovative project is to involve people who have issues around Mental Health and vulnerability. I have been involved as a singing and Storytelling tutor at the Stafford centre and the Bethany Men's group.

The Stafford Centre had a fantastic Burns Lunch where music and stories played a central role. Although at first some were reluctant, the 'trashy tartan' props went down a storm! The 'Bethany Babes' revealed their confident vocals at the Acorn centre last week to an enthusiastic audience.

Tutors have been collaborating with the different groups to write new songs, and are also working on new music inspired by the project.

This project has moved us all and we have been thrilled at the response of people to engage with the traditional arts and also find their voice and come together in the process.

Our final event, where groups will perform alongside some folk from Scots Music Group classes, will be on June 18th (6pm - 8pm) at the Acorn Centre in Leith as part of the Leith Festival. This will also feature an audio/visual presentation of the work of the project, along with the new compositions.

Forteviot Project- funded by NHS Lothian and the Scottish Storytelling Centre

From Sept 2009 till April 2010 I ran 12 storytelling sessions at Forteviot with a group of older children (10-14 yrs) and 2 staff members.

Nurse, Alison said, 'The experience of being involved in this collaboration with Ruth, our storyteller has been extremely valuable.'

Forteviot staff involved in this project have observed the absorption shown by young people. Staff have also had the opportunity to observe young people's responses to often potent underlying themes raised in the story - such as sense of attachment, belonging, being claimed, justice and resolution in the face of unfair treatment , emotional hurt and the changing sense of self and relationships in the transition from child to young adult.

A staff training day introduced the skills and explored potential benefits of storytelling as an intervention. We saw its potential as a way of working therapeutically with children experiencing life challenges, and acknowledged it as a meaningful and emotionally nourishing experience for children attending both the younger and older programmes.

Some examples of the comments from the young people about the sessions are -relaxing, liked listening, the stories are encouraging because they have happy endings, helped my concentration, helped my confidence to talk, stop me worrying so much, fun.

We hope this project can be repeated in the future.

Glasgow symposium- 2010- Stories for Health

A busy week was enjoyed by all who attended in May. I was a guest facilitator, running a week long workshop on the theme of 'Magic and Meaning'. The group explored one story and found this profoundly satisfying. We used art, craft, discussion and reflection in order to discover the potential power in a particular story.

I was also invited to give a keynote speech on Effective Creative approaches with Children and Young People.