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About ERA

About ERA

The ERA study started in September 2018 and is funded by the National Institute for Health Research. The study is a collaboration between academic institutions, NHS Trusts, service users and commissioners. It is co-ordinated by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) in the Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Service Development, which is supported by Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) and the Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit (PCTU). The Chief Investigator of the project is Dr Catherine Carr and the Co-Chief Investigator is Professor Stefan Priebe. 

Study within a trial (SWAT)
The study compares group arts therapies with group talking therapy to see if group arts therapies are effective for people with different types of mental illness. Arts therapies describe therapies that make use of an art form. Within ERA these consist of art therapy, music therapy and dance movement therapy.

Arts therapies use different art forms and creative activities to help people living with mental illness. We would like service users to try out either arts or talking therapy, both of which include regular meetings in groups. Arts therapies may help group members to express emotions and to have experiences that might not be possible in talking therapies alone.

While arts therapies are popular with many service users, they are not always provided in NHS services. So far, there has been little research to conclusively show that they are helpful and existing research has involved people with the same diagnosis (such as schizophrenia). The ERA study will involve people with a range of different diagnoses to reflect more closely on what would happen in practice. 

The arts therapies are a form of psychotherapy that utilise active participation in an art form to facilitate the therapeutic process. These include art, dance movement, music and dramatherapy, using movement in dance-movement therapy, making music in music therarapy, using storytelling and movement in dramatherapy,  and making art in art therapy. 

Inclusion of an active and creative arts-based process provides opportunities for self-expression, creativity and a nonverbal means of relating with other people. The arts therapies included in the ERA study are art therapy, dance-movement therapy and music therapy.

In line with advice from our sponsor NOCLOR, the ERA study took a pause on research activities in March 2020. As of March 2021, we restarted the study prioritising the start of our therapy groups for participants enrolled prior to March 2020.

Since then, we have successfully recruited to target and delivered 43 Art, Music, Dance and Counselling groups in East London, Bedford, Bath, Central and North West London and Northumberland. For further information or updates on the study, please contact ERA trial manager Emma at emma.medlicott1@nhs.net.

The study is now closed to recruitment. For any questions, please contact Emma Medlicott, ERA Trial Manager: Emma.Medlicott1@nhs.net.  

Patient and public involvement

The involvement of service users and carers is crucial in ensuring that the voices of those who have experienced mental health issues either directly or indirectly, are central to the study.

Summary

The aim of the ERA study is to see if art therapy, dance movement therapy and music therapy groups are effective in reducing distress from common symptoms of mental illness

Timeline

The ERA study started in September 2018. We have two key phases: an internal pilot and then the full trial.

Group therapies

In the ERA study, we are comparing group therapies that use the arts with a group therapy that uses talking.

Related studies

Learn about related studies as part of the ERA trial.