Another incredible mural to add to the list!
Recent studies show that Ireland has one of the highest percentages of mental health illness in Europe, with 42% of adults reporting some type of mental health disorder. A whopping 55% of women and 40% of men in Ireland, aged between 20 and 22, were classified as depressed as a result of the pandemic.
In light of these studies, and reflecting Ireland’s artistic culture and community, three Irish street artists have painted murals depicting their artistic interpretation of mental wellbeing in Dublin, Galway, and Sullivans Quay in Cork. The art aims to brighten the streets and acts as a creative reminder to passers-by that mental health support is available via the SilverCloud® digital mental health platform.
SilverCloud® by Amwell® is a clinically proven digital mental health and wellbeing platform, providing the HSE-funded national Guided Digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) service. It is available nationwide to individuals free of charge with referral from Ireland-based GPs, Primary Care Psychologists, Counselling in Primary Care, Jigsaw, and select health insurers and universities.
The aim of the installations is to raise awareness of the services in Ireland and to destigmatise the barriers surrounding accessing mental health care using positive messages through the medium of street art. The three locations of the artwork (Dublin, Galway and Cork) reflect the top referring counties, with GPs and therapists utilising the evidence-based mental health programmes for their patients; more than 10,000 people in Ireland have already been referred to the platform.
Alison Tyrrell, Head of Marketing at Amwell, reflects on the inspiration behind the installation: “We are passionate about supporting greater access to mental health support in Ireland. The SilverCloud platform was founded and developed in Dublin, so it fills us with pride to bring art installations here and drive awareness of free mental health tools. Ireland is rich with artistic history and self-expression; it was important for us to reflect this culture within our efforts. The art itself communicates a message of hope to highlight the support that’s available to people across the country via the platform.“
The aim of digital mental health solutions – such as the SilverCloud platform – is to provide an ease of access and use for mental health supports nationwide. The digital platform is not designed to replace therapy, rather to address a need for better and faster access to mental health support; it can be used whilst you await a therapy session, used in-between sessions or used to maintain recovery after therapy.
More on how to gain access to SilverCloud programmes can be found here: https://www.silvercloudhealth.com/uk/get-access-to-silvercloud-programmes