Arts Care offers bespoke training to healthcare professionals who want to bring creativity into everyday care. Led by experienced artists, these sessions give staff the tools to deliver simple, effective creative activities that support mental health, encourage engagement, and enrich the patient journey.
Training can be tailored to suit ward-based settings, one-to-one support, or group work with service users. Staff are encouraged to observe, participate, and gradually lead sessions, gaining practical skills in a supportive and inclusive environment.
Training areas include:
In partnership with Queen’s University Belfast, Arts Care delivers an annual three-week Arts in Health Module for third-year medical students. This pioneering course immerses future doctors in the realities and benefits of creative health practice.
Students:
This hands-on experience highlights how artistic engagement can build empathy, reduce stress, and support more compassionate healthcare.
Arts Care also provides training and mentoring to professional artists who want to expand their work into health and community settings. These sessions explore how to deliver inclusive, meaningful creative experiences for people of all ages and abilities.
From adapting workshops for hospital wards to facilitating in residential homes, we share our experience to help artists navigate this rewarding and sensitive field with skill and confidence.
We also offer tailored courses for nurses, activity workers, and Arts in Health ambassadors, ensuring that creative health is accessible to everyone delivering care.
“I never considered myself creative… this training made me feel I matter. It revitalised me.”
Healthcare professional, Older People Staff Training Programme
“It opened my eyes to how art, music and dance are vital to the patients I care for.”
Staff training participant
Hands-on, artist-led workshops help healthcare professionals and students apply creative skills in real clinical and community settings—building confidence, compassion, and communication.
Whether on a busy hospital ward or in a calm group setting, training is tailored to real care scenarios. Staff can observe, participate, and eventually lead activities with confidence.
From third-year medical students to senior nursing staff, our training spans every stage of the healthcare journey - connecting creativity to care across the system.
Professional creatives receive specialist mentoring to adapt their skills to diverse care environments - learning how to design inclusive, trauma-informed, and accessible sessions.
From movement and music to storytelling and visual arts, over 1,500 healthcare workers gained creative tools to enhance care delivery and support their own wellbeing.
Arts Care has delivered its Arts in Health Module at Queen’s University since 2014 - immersing students in arts practice to support empathy, stress relief, and better patient care.
Dance & movement, visual arts, music/singing, and creative writing are offered across staff training, student modules, and artist development programmes.
All trainers are experienced professionals trained in infection control, safeguarding, dementia awareness, and inclusive arts practice - ensuring safety, quality, and care.
