Creativity and connection: How a Craft Club led to a reduction in mental health crises
The Safe Haven Crisis & Recovery Centre is a safe space for people in acute emotional distress. Based in Weston-super-Mare town centre, it offers a mix of face-to-face and remote support. With coproduction at its heart, it was co-designed with clinicians and people with lived experience and is the first service of its kind in North Somerset.
Clients at Safe Haven are experiencing fewer mental health crisis episodes thanks to a simple but powerful idea: Craft Club.
The weekly group session, introduced and led by Recovery Navigator Charlotte Ross, offers more than just a creative outlet – it’s a space for connection, emotional safety, and confidence-building.
Staff at Safe Haven report a “significant reduction” in the number of crisis episodes among people who regularly attend the sessions. This is reflected both in clients’ records and in how they describe their own day-to-day experiences.
Several clients have used Craft Club as a stepping stone to explore other group and peer support options, helping them feel less isolated and more empowered in their recovery.
Charlotte explains:
“We’ve observed that clients attending Craft Club consistently experience a significant reduction in their need for one-to-one crisis support sessions. Those same clients also generally experience fewer crisis episodes, according to their records and lived experience recollection of life day-to-day outside the group.
“Several clients have used this group as a stepping stone to try out group support before exploring other peer support resources and services in the area. Witnessing this positive change for our clients has been a massively motivating and successful piece of feedback for the team.”
A low-pressure space for reflection and connection
The sessions are deliberately low-pressure and inclusive, with a focus on peer support, and confidence-building. Each Craft Club meeting is supported by one-to-one check-ins with a Recovery Navigator before and after, helping to ensure emotional safety for clients.
Charlotte was inspired to bring the idea to Safe Haven after seeing the positive impact of creative group work in a previous role:
“[In my previous role] Clients who engaged with peer support and groups focused on emotional literacy, coping skills, and creative expression were more engaged with services overall and less likely to disengage. I wanted to replicate that success at Safe Haven.”
A growing group and a growing sense of hope
Safe Haven supports many people who are considered “high impact clients” due to a cycle of emotional distress. Charlotte and the team recognised a gap in preventative, accessible wellbeing support.
Initially, the team had planned to alternate Craft Club with a wellbeing skills group, but interest in the craft sessions was so high that they quickly became a weekly fixture.
The first group ran in April 2025. Now, every Tuesday afternoon, up to five people attend the popular sessions, and the benefits continue to grow.
“As a service, we felt we may be able to offer an alternative wellbeing-based support option that promotes peer support, creativity and emotional safety all at once, in the hopes that those attending can begin to adopt some emotional regulation skills and self-confidence into their own lives outside of Safe Haven.”
There is increasing evidence that creative activities can improve mood, build emotional resilience, and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Engaging in crafts or art-making can help people feel calmer, more focused, and more connected – both to themselves and to others. A recent 2024 scoping review of needlecrafts (including knitting, crocheting, embroidery, quilting) concluded that these practices have “an overwhelmingly positive effect on mental health and general well-being,” citing themes like relaxation, social connection, sense of achievement, and identity.