ARTY
Improving Mental Health through Art
COVID-19 cut young people off from mental health support. Can digital art therapy bridge that gap?
The pandemic has disrupted mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide, even as demand for support continues to rise. Isolation, bereavement, and uncertainty are triggering new mental health conditions and deepening existing ones, while youth workers, psychologists, and practitioners are too often left without the tools to respond. What's needed are approaches that meet young people where they are and art, explored through the digital world, offers a therapeutic strategy built for this moment. The project brings together professionals from different countries and sectors to develop a practical guide and toolkit, equipping youth workers, psychologists, social workers, and organisations with the skills and resources they need to support young people's mental well-being through art. By turning digital creativity into a therapeutic tool, ARTY helps professionals meet this moment with confidence, competence, and care
Visit project websiteOutcomes & Resources
Field-Tested Guide for Delivering Digital Art Therapy Sessions
A practical resource for youth workers, psychologists, and social workers, giving them a concrete framework for using digital art therapy with young people with mental health conditions, online and at scale.
Capacity-Building Programme for Professionals Supporting Vulnerable Youth
A training programme that strengthens the skills of practitioners working at the intersection of youth work and mental health, equipping them to use creative practice as a sustained support tool.
Awareness-Raising Toolkit on COVID-19 and Youth Mental Health
A resource for civil society organisations to lead public conversations about the pandemic's impact on young people with mental health conditions and to advocate for art-based approaches in youth policy.
Project Outcomes & News
The Signs Were There. Nobody Knew to Look.
What it takes to notice something is wrong before it turns into a crisis
Where Do You Even Start?
The right order to learn a skill you suddenly have to use before you've had time to learn it
Loneliness Doesn't Always Speak in Words
What happens when you hand someone a paintbrush, a camera, or a lump of clay instead of a question?
The Room Disappeared at the Worst Possible Time
What happens when the one thing keeping someone steady is taken away exactly when they need it most
Project Partners
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
