Coram has been assisting children in London since 1739, when it was established as the Foundling Hospital, an institution that counted Handel and Hogarth among its early supporters. Today, those supporters include SNF, which is supporting Coram to pilot a trauma-informed mental health program in UK schools based in creative therapy.
Coram has been providing clinical psychology-backed art and music therapy on its premises for children experiencing difficulties with mental health, relationships, and school, including with prior support from SNF.
The new project takes this same therapeutic approach out into the world, proactively and preventatively deploying it in schools. The pilot seeks to foster kinder school communities and strengthen student health by equipping teachers with training and guidance to take into account individual students’ histories of trauma, mental health struggles, and neurodivergence.
The goal is to create what Coram terms a “therapeutic learning environment” that will, over the course of the two-year pilot, reach an estimated 300 young people between the ages of 5 and 18. The skills and resources imparted will enable teachers to continue using its methodologies to serve students beyond the period of direct intervention by Coram, sustaining its impact within the school community.