Guildhall School launches Welfare & Wellbeing Appeal

Today, we launch our Welfare & Wellbeing Appeal at Guildhall School. We recognise that our students cannot succeed as world-class artistic citizens without the ability to care for their mental health and the resilience to keep going when faced with challenges. Wellbeing is central not only to student life at Guildhall but to the School’s contribution to society: we are proud that our work has led to innovative uses of the arts to support wellbeing, in our research output and community outreach work. Our support for local communities is focused on arts and wellbeing, including arts therapy and wellbeing-enhancing workshops in a London prison. This specialist work is underpinned by our extensive research activity in the field.

We are already doing a huge amount to support our students. Our fantastic team of counsellors offer 1:1 support to our students, alongside facilitating group sessions to share their experiences with each other. Wellbeing is a key part of our curriculum, helping students to manage issues that are often experienced by performers. This includes coaching to deal with performance anxiety, as well as classes in Mindfulness and Alexander Technique (a technique aimed at achieving a balanced, more naturally aligned body).

But demand for welfare support, particularly our counselling service, is increasing. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many to struggle with the effects of social isolation, health anxieties and financial worries. While we are now managing COVID differently, many students are still dealing with its consequences.

We also know that the cost-of-living crisis and financial anxieties are likely to affect people across the UK. Demand for counselling at the School is on the increase, putting pressure on an already stretched service. In January 2022, the number of students requesting counselling was 21% higher than in January 2021. Given the problems facing many people in the UK in the coming months, demand is likely to continue to increase. It is vital that we anticipate this growing demand and ensure we are equipped to provide timely support to every student who needs it.

Our existing services have been brilliant in their response, but, with your help, we can bolster our support even further and ensure we can continue to help all students have the resources they need to tackle challenges as quickly as possible. Over the next month, we will be sharing stories from three areas of work: our Counselling team, staff promoting wellbeing in the curriculum and our research and outreach departments.

How you can help

Visit our appeal webpage and social media channels to find out more about our work and how you can support us.

If you would like to sign up to receive emails about the appeal, contact our Development team at development@gsmd.ac.uk to be added to our mailing list.