Students create innovative
mental health resources for NHS

To coincide with Mental Health Week, students from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) have shared some visual resources they created in collaboration with Kent and Medway Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS), to engage with young people accessing its mental health services.

14 May 2025

Through a unique collaboration, final-year BA (Hons) Visual Communication students worked closely with the CYPMHS team – a service provided by North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) – to bring real mental health stories to life.

With guidance on accessibility and branding, students developed engaging short films and thoughtfully designed booklets to make mental health support more relatable and accessible for children and young people across Kent and Medway.

This project not only allowed students to use their creative skills to make a real impact, but it also helped CYPMHS create tools that will be used to better support young people's mental health journeys.

UCA Senior Lecturer, John Dargan, added: “Through this unique collaboration, our students not only managed to bring real mental health stories to life through animations and visuals, but helped to nurture their talent and professional curiosity.”

The students worked over 4 weeks to create the posters, videos, and booklets on the NEFLT website, with feedback from Sara halfway through and marketing input to help students fine-tune the work, particularly around readability and inclusivity.

Julia Hart, one of the students working on the project, explained: “Our team was thrilled to be chosen to participate in this project and tried to think about it from a slightly older perspective, perhaps a parent looking for help for their child.”

“We explored ways to illustrate the journey that someone might take while feeling the pressures of life and also examined how printable resources are accessible to all, which was more difficult than we thought, but a valuable skill that we learnt through this project.”

Visit the NELFT NHS website to explore the mental health resources created by the students.