Kilrush group explores colours of their mind

A GROUP of mental health patients in Kilrush have taken the brave and imaginative step of writing their own material and performing regularly on stage.

 

The Creative Energies Group, who are facilitated by Kilrush-based community mental health clinical nurse specialist Breda Latham, performed in Belfast at the 21st National Conference in Arts and Care last May, while they are due to sing again and host a workshop in Clonmel on July 12.

 

However, before that they will tread the boards at the refurbished Kilkee library next Thursday, July 5 at 8pm.

All of the material in the production is written by the group, with the song Colours Of My Mind performed in unison by every group member.

“We thought wouldn’t it be great to bring it on and actually write about mental help. So we took the theme Colours of my Mind. The idea is it’s like the rainbow. You can have lots of different moods and moods can have different colours. That’s how our song, Colours Of My Mind, evolved,” Breda said.

“It has stimulated my senses and it lifts my spirits. I look forward to every Wednesday afternoon going down to the Orchard to practise. They’re all my friends and I enjoy social occasions with them,” Kilkee woman and group member Pauline Skehan told The Clare Champion.

Kilrush man Anthony Casey also enjoys the involvement. “It’s a great experience and I enjoy it very much. I write my own stories,” he revealed.

While Breda works with the group in a professional capacity, she doesn’t regard it as a job, given her love of drama and singing.

“I started with this group because most would have been on my own case load. I identified that they all have various talents and artistic leanings. Outside of being a nurse, I do a lot of drama and singing and I like painting. Singing and drama connects people. If you go into a pub, total strangers start singing a song and it connects people together,” Breda reflected.

“With enduring mental illness, people often keep very much to themselves so I thought if we could incorporate songs and poetry to start people talking together, it would be a great start. So we started using other people’s songs and we ended up going to Glór and doing other people’s songs and doing different pieces. As it evolved, I thought there could be more got out of this. This could be a very powerful way for the group to learn about themselves, their illness and sharing experiences,” she added, noting it was then the group started writing their own material in earnest.

Mary O’Malley is a group member who lives in Kilrush but is originally from New York.

“We’re usually on stage for an hour. It’s great fun being on stage with all our friends. There’s a bond between all of us that helps a lot both in real life and on the stage. Colours Of My Mind is my favourite song because we all sing it together” Mary said.

Aside from singing, Mary along with Anthony Smith has become a facilitator and hosts a meeting for mental health patients once a week in Kilrush.

“We meet from 6pm until 8pm on a Thursday night and we just chat about anything that’s bothering us. We’ve been meeting now about three years. It’s a great way to express yourself. If someone is bothered or troubled by something, we’re there for them,” she said.

In her experience working with people who have a mental illness, Breda believes patients are sometimes pigeon-holed, not just by the public but by themselves.

“You get people to a certain level but what happens then after that? Especially with enduring mental illness like schizophrenia, severe depression or severe anxiety, often that’s all the person knows or feels or the family identifies them with. This relates to family, society and the person’s own perception of themselves. They say ‘I wouldn’t be able to do that’. They knock themselves down. That’s a shame because medication and therapies are so good but the person’s own self-esteem or belief in themselves gets lost into the illness. So the illness wears them, as opposed to who they are. It should be no different from having diabetes, epilepsy or any other condition,” Breda said.

She admires the fact that the Creative Energies Group, through their own stage performances, have gone public with their mental illnesses.

“This is an extremely brave step for this group because so many people don’t want to let people know they are suffering from mental health problems. For this group to stand out and say ‘yes, I do suffer from mental health problems’ and to be able to share their journey with everyone else is an extremely brave step,” Breda stated.

Among additional group members are Maureen Garry, Maureen Maguire, Mary Collins and Angela Donovan.

Breda pointed out that the group has received help from the Clare Arts Office through The Embrace Scheme, while friends of Breda’s organised a collection to aid the Creative Energies Group at her recent 50th birthday party.