The Alchemy Project is a co-production action research project between Dance United Yorkshire, Cultural Utilities and Enterprises, and several early intervention psychosis services within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The project uses contemporary dance training and performance over four weeks to help young adults accessing early psychosis services. It aims to improve patients' positive affect, functioning, and relationships by addressing isolation, low confidence, and lack of motivation. Evaluations found the dance intervention significantly improved mental well-being and quality of life scores. It is an effective treatment that challenges expectations through non-clinical focus, increases wellness through physical activity, and reduces isolation through social connection.

1. The Alchemy Project

2. CO-PRODUCTION
ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT IN 2015
The Alchemy Project:
•Dance United Yorkshire (DUY)
•Cultural Utilities and Enterprises (CUE)
•SLaM - Early Intervention Services in Psychosis:
STEP: Southwark Team for Early Intervention in Psychosis. LEO: Lambeth Early
Onset Service. LEIS: Lewisham Early Intervention Service. COAST: Early
Intervention Service for Croydon. OASIS: Outreach and Support South London
•SLaM - Head of Arts Strategy
•Optimity Matrix - independent evaluation organisation
•Dr Matthew Taylor of King’s College, London - Expert
Consultant

3. Contemporary dance as part of
an integrated recovery model
for young adults accessing early
intervention in psychosis
services within the South
London and Maudsley
Foundation Trust (SLaM)
Participants referred work
intensively on a full-time basis
over a period of four-weeks

4. PILOT PROJECT
SeaBreeze in 2013 worked with 16 individuals and
culminated in a series of performances that took
place in an informal studio setting at Jerwood
Space in London
ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
The Alchemy Project delivered two interventions
in 2015 each of which concluded with the
performance of the choreography ‘El Camino’
specially commissioned in 2014
Over two separate periods of 4-weeks the project
team involving healthcare professionals worked
with two different groups of 18 individuals
(including peer mentors) referred to early
intervention in psychosis services through SLaM
The final performances took place at The Shaw Theatre
in March 2015 and at the Lilian Baylis Studio,
Sadler’s Wells Theatre in July 2015 for an invited
audience of arts professionals, healthcare workers,
commissioners, students, and friends and families
of the participants

5. SLaM - Early Intervention in Psychosis Teams identified
three key problems
Patients:
(1)often feel isolated and struggle with interpersonal
relationships
(2) struggle with their body awareness and physical
fitness and this has a negative impact on their overall
levels of confidence
(3) find it hard to get up in the morning and to maintain
energy and optimism, with a liability to over-focus on
their condition and worry about the future

6. Referred by frontline clinical
staff
Referred by frontline clinical
staff
Positive Affect:
raised motivation, energy and optimism
Positive Affect:
raised motivation, energy and optimism
Positive Functioning:
improved embodied confidence
Positive Functioning:
improved embodied confidence
Satisfying Interpersonal Relationships:
greater satisfaction in interpersonal
relationships
Satisfying Interpersonal Relationships:
greater satisfaction in interpersonal
relationships
Sharing a healthy lunch
and snacks
Sharing a healthy lunch
and snacks Trust exercisesTrust exercisesLearning a 15-minute
piece of choreography
Learning a 15-minute
piece of choreography
Young adults aged 18 – 35 with an
early diagnosis of a mental health
condition
Young adults aged 18 – 35 with an
early diagnosis of a mental health
condition
Inputting own material into
choreography via creative
tasks
Inputting own material into
choreography via creative
tasks
Learning dance
technique in daily
class
Learning dance
technique in daily
class
Resilience: having
energy for and
commitment to the
dance project and
being able to overcome
challenges and
obstacles along the way
Resilience: having
energy for and
commitment to the
dance project and
being able to overcome
challenges and
obstacles along the way
Stillness and bodily
control:
showing observable
moments of stillness, bodily
control and mastery of
movement
Stillness and bodily
control:
showing observable
moments of stillness, bodily
control and mastery of
movement
Communication skills:
communicating effectively
when interacting during
classes and rehearsals
Communication skills:
communicating effectively
when interacting during
classes and rehearsals
Being part of a performing dance company in
which all members learn and perform
choreography in order to produce a high-
quality artistic result
Being part of a performing dance company in
which all members learn and perform
choreography in order to produce a high-
quality artistic result
Taster sessionsTaster sessions
Three performances of a 15-minute dance piece to invited audiencesThree performances of a 15-minute dance piece to invited audiences
Being part of a performing dance
company in which all members must
interact effectively to produce a high-
quality artistic result.
Being part of a performing dance
company in which all members must
interact effectively to produce a high-
quality artistic result.
Being part of a performing dance company and
attending every day and overcoming obstacles
and challenges in order to produce a high-
quality artistic result.
Being part of a performing dance company and
attending every day and overcoming obstacles
and challenges in order to produce a high-
quality artistic result.
Level of trust : being
able to trust and be
trusted by others
Level of trust : being
able to trust and be
trusted by others
Symbolic expression:
expressing ideas and
feelings through expressive
movement
Symbolic expression:
expressing ideas and
feelings through expressive
movement
Level of
optimism:
believing in
their capacity to
achieve a high
quality dance
performance
Level of
optimism:
believing in
their capacity to
achieve a high
quality dance
performance
Working as part
of a team:
negotiating group
solutions to dance
challenges that
require co-operation
and timing
Working as part
of a team:
negotiating group
solutions to dance
challenges that
require co-operation
and timing
team-
building
activities
team-
building
activities

8. Care Coordinators noted the very high levels of
attendance, particularly given the full-time nature of
the commitment and the levels of engagement it
demanded
“There are so many other clients to whom I would like
to offer this project, so many people with whom we are
"stuck" that we don't quite know what will help them
take that next step towards recovery. Too often I feel
we go down the more coercive routes when this
happens, rather than seeing if projects like [The
Alchemy Project] could make a difference”
Ann Bessell, Social Worker STEP Team

9. The research has revealed that the dance
intervention acts as a powerful catalyst for the
recovery of mental health in service users

10. Intervention effectiveness
Key factor 1
It does not define participants by
their illness or their deficits and
instead provides a focus, structure
and process that enables them to
work beyond the typical lived
experience of this constituency
and challenge their expectations
of themselves

11. Intervention effectiveness
Key factor 2
The physical activity of dancing
addresses symptoms of mental
health illness and/or medication
such as apathy, lethargy, and
lack of motivation and
rebalances the mind-body
relationship

12. Intervention effectiveness
Key factor 3
It creates social and physical
connection between individuals
and counteracts the feelings of
isolation and fragmentation
characteristic of populations
with mental health problems

13. The research has demonstrated that the dance
methodology at the heart of the intervention in the
early stages of psychosis delivers clinically significant
results in the well-being of participants: increases in
their Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale
(WEMWBS) scores
In the words of Dr Matthew Taylor, “Very impressive”

14. Average: 46.7
53.4 (+6.7)

15. Averages:
Cohort 1
47.1 -> 55.0 (+7.9)
Cohort 2
51.3 -> 55.0 (+3.7)

16. Other measures: stars
Communication skills
Resilience
Concentration and Focus
Level of trust in others
Working with others
as part of a team

19. Other measures: quality of life
• EQ-5D:
– standard measure, NICE-recommended
• Cohort 1 0.82 -> 0.92
• Cohort 2 0.82 -> 0.85

20. • Substantial wellbeing improvements
– Three cohorts
• Improvements in other measures
– Communication skills, Resilience, Concentration
and Focus, Level of trust in others, Working with
others as part of a team
• Improvements in Quality of Life

21. For further information about The Alchemy Project please contact:
carly@duy.org.uk
gwenvs@thealchemyproject.co.uk
Dr Lauren Gavaghan Blog:
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/discoverpsychiatry/blogzone/thealchemyproject.aspx