Case Study: Chalkhill Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit

Chalkhill is a Children and Adolescent Hospital in West Sussex for Young People with severe Mental Health needs including trauma, self-harm, multiple personality and severe eating disorders. A tutor engages with young people on music projects once a week and has become a focused part of the team, allowing young people to express themselves through music, lyrics and music tech. Read about the project and listen to some of the tracks created by the Young People currently funded by Comic Relief.

Chalkhill Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit , Haywards Heath, West Sussex

‘You can forget your problems when you’re playing music because you have to focus so much on what you’re doing’ Participant

Chalkhill is a Children and Adolescent Hospital in West Sussex for Young People with severe Mental Health needs including trauma, self-harm, multiple personality and severe eating disorders. A tutor engages with young people on music projects once a week and has become a focused part of the team, allowing young people to express themselves through music, lyrics and music tech.

‘I wasn’t going to join in but I’m glad I did, it was a laugh, I’ll definitely be back here next week if I’m still here’ Participant

“Young people felt it gave them a bit of space to think about something other than their problems.” Staff Feedback

The work at Chalkhill represents some of the most intense CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service) work currently being delivered by Rhythmix, notable by its requirement to be delivered within a clinical setting.

‘I’ve been looking forward to Rhythmix and I’ve been practicing in the week’ Participant

“The patients here really look forward to their Rhythmix sessions. A lot of them write lyrics in between and practice their songs so they’re ready to record and play them in the session. It’s one of the most successful activities we do here and it’s always been popular…I think the approach that has evolved works really well." Staff Feedback

The sessions have been popular with many of the patients at Chalkhill, many of whom have spent their free time over the week preparing lyrics and ideas to develop during the sessions. The sessions have given the in patients and outpatients an opportunity to work together and form bonds based on the music making activity. There has been an environment of mutual support within the sessions which has really helped them to run smoothly. There has also been a great deal of high quality music made during these sessions.

“I have continued to be hugely impressed with the level of talent and creativity amongst this group, and their willingness to try things out and collaborate with each other. Many of the young people have said that the sessions have helped them to rekindle a love of making music, singing and writing, claiming that the sessions have given them the confidence to sing or play again, after a period of not doing so.” Jack Kingslake, Tutor

Young Person ‘A’

‘A’ was 17 when she started with us and her schooling had been affected by her condition. She attempted to work as part of the group, but her extreme anxiety prevented her from doing so. She clearly loved singing and song writing, but she would have panic attacks if she thought she had to sing in front of people.

One-to-One Confidence Building and Song Writing

Jack put some time aside to working with her on her songs on her own, which she responded well to and she had the confidence to sing in front of him and took advice on chord progression and editing / restructuring her songs.

Jack and ‘A’ recorded two of her songs as basic acoustic tracks during the sessions, and she built up the confidence to record and play her song with the wider group at Chalkhill. The song writing gave her a very powerful means to express herself about the issues she was facing and the feelings and emotions she was experiencing.

SoundCloud

‘A’ gave permission to put her recordings on the Rhythmix Soundcloud, and she was very happy that they had been selected.

Just Don’t Know - http://tinyurl.com/ChalkhillRhythmix1

The End - http://tinyurl.com/ChalkhillRhythmix2

Power of love - http://tinyurl.com/ChalkhillRhythmix3

Leaving Chalkhill

As ‘A’ was coming close to her discharge date, (approximately three months after Jack began working with her) she was concerned that she would lose the support she was getting from Rhythmix. Jack was running a YM funded program in Brighton through AudioActive and it was agreed that OTs at Chalkhill would refer her onto this programme so that I would be able to continue working with her on her music. The project was based at the YOS studio fully equipped recording studio in Brighton. Jack was able to continue to worked with her there on her own, supported by a trainee music leader producing three further tracks to a very high standard.

These along with the tracks recorded at Chalkhill gave her the portfolio and the confidence to go onto successfully apply to an Access to Music performance and production course. She is continuing to study there, performing regularly to audiences and developing as an Artist.

Young Person ‘C ‘

“I really didn’t think I’d be able to make songs this good, but I really like how the recordings turned out, I listen to them all the time…I really like that we are aloud to just do our own music and no-one tells us what to do” Feedback from ‘C’

‘C’ was 14 when Jack started working with her and she was not able to attend school because of her mental health issues. ‘C’ came to sessions with lyrics she'd written independently and rough ideas for melodies and Jack worked to help her structure her lyrics, refine melodies, decided on chords and work with the other young people to play the instruments and record backing tracks for her to sing to.

For ‘C’ recording the songs and hearing them back and liking how they sounded was the most important thing. ‘C’ ended up developing an interesting jazzy style of singing that Jack worked to  respond to with the backing music that others in the group made for her. The other young people were really supportive of her and enjoyed working on the music for her to sing to. ‘C’ she wrote mostly about themes of mental health, death, drugs drinking, using very mature imagery to evoke quite dark emotions, but was also quite tongue in cheek about some of it, using humour alongside very dark imagery - her lyrics are below.

Young persons ‘C’ Lyrics - Down in the Forest

“My back is wet, there’s mud on my clothes

Down in the forest where nobody goes

Surrounded by silence, surrounded by lies

Hiding away from prying eyes

 

And I’ve got a question to ask you

Yes I’ve got a question to ask

What would it be like to be real people

Who are we under our masks

 

Powers an illusion, we’re not in control

Who can save our dirty souls

Shying away from the rest of humanity

I’m the epitome of insanity

And I’ve got a question…….”

 

Soundcloud:  You can listen to the song here - http://tinyurl.com/ChalkhillRhythmix4