'More in tune with yourself' Understanding University Students' Perceptions of Arts for the Blues Workshops When Delivered as an Online Intervention for Anxiety and Depression: A Qualitative Study

Anxiety and depression have high prevalence in the general student population, but many Student Counselling Services (SCS) in universities face increasing waiting lists and limited funding. SCS predominantly offer students one-to-one talking therapy as a psychotherapeutic intervention, but delivery can be costly and time-consuming. We piloted Arts for the Blues (A4B), a creative group psychological therapy, in a large UK university. Full-time university students (n=8) self-reporting with anxiety and/or depression were recruited campus-wide from a range of degree subjects/years. Students attended six 90-minute online, multi-modal group A4B workshops that included movement, drawing, and writing exercises. Student perceptions of helpful and unhelpful aspects of the workshops were collected in a focus group halfway through the workshops and through an individual semi-structured interview at the end of the workshops. Additional qualitative data, in the form of chat messages, field notes, and creative work, were collected. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes in the data. Helpful aspects of the workshops included: enhanced well-being, a non-judgemental space, self-exploration, a sense of community, strengthened motivation and deepened self-understanding. Unhelpful aspects of the workshops included uneven pacing and a need for more sessions. Some participants found it harder to engage online, although some experienced the screen as a safety net. We found that A4B workshops may be a valuable intervention for students with anxiety and depression and are of particular utility for socially anxious students.