The testimonials below are from participants, collaborators and supporters of Hope in the Heart/Mad Woman Talking, the Messages from the HeART exhibition and associated projects, and various zine-making events. (All received 2024 unless otherwise stated.)
From Professor Hel Spandler, School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire
“I’ve been researching madzines for the past 4 years, exploring their use in contesting mental health knowledge and practice. I’ve been especially impressed by the zines produced by Tam Martin Fowles and her colleagues in Mad Woman Talking and Hope in the HeART. I’ve used videos of these zines (such as Tam’s ‘Hey Mister Psychiatrist’) during presentations and can attest to their impact. I’ve witnessed the stories they tell touch students and professionals in ways I’ve not seen possible via more conventional teaching and training methods. Therefore, I’d like to see more people access these unique learning resources. As such, I’m keen to offer support and advice as part of my ongoing research in this area”.
From Jen Kilyon President Soteria Network UK and trustee ISPSUK:
“I first discovered Zine Making a year ago at the age of 74. I found it such an accessible and liberating way to explore complex issues and feelings. As the family member of someone who has had a very difficult time in the UK mental health system I can see its potential for groups and individuals from many different backgrounds to come together and help change this system.
From Miria Papasofroniou, Learning and Development Lead, Apax Housing and Support:
“Hope in the Heart gives opportunity to people with lived experiences to be seen, heard, raise their voice by using creativity to show case their talents beyond their mental health experiences…Hope in the Heart addresses the need for creative and personal approaches to mental health support (and) differentiates itself by leveraging the power of creative expression and personal experiences to promote mental health awareness. They emphasize relationship-building and community support rather than traditional, system-focused approaches”
From Caroline Blackler, Plymouth Octopus Project (Community network leader):
The collective voice of the artworks…was loud and it was clear: “Listen to us; hear our story”. And we did: we ‘heard’ and ‘felt’ the lived experiences of those artists, many of whom were depicting deeply moving circumstances of, for example, domestic abuse, eating disorders and homelessness. Together, the collected works raised their voice, and they were heard.
What gave (the event) greater power was that, among those taking part were some of the very people employed to make decisions about the types of services with which many of these artists might be familiar. On a day of workshops and reflection organised with POP and the Belong in Plymouth initiative (to reduce loneliness and social isolation across the city), we had commissioners from the city council and healthcare professionals from Livewell SW participating alongside the artists and service-users who were sharing their experiences.
Many of those who took part in the workshops welcomed the innovative and empathic way of working with each other. One of those deeply moved was City Councillor, Zoe Reilly… “Looking at the artworks was such an incredibly powerful experience for me: I’ve never felt emotion like it.” And she applauds each artist who took part: “Recognising their bravery, and knowing that each individual picture validated someone’s experience, was, honestly, like a lightbulb moment for me. I just know that, as a city leader, I feel bound to bring it to more people and give them the opportunity to create their vision for Plymouth and the area in which they live.”
From Professor Hel Spandler, School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire
“I’ve been researching madzines for the past 4 years, exploring their use in contesting mental health knowledge and practice. I’ve been especially impressed by the zines produced by Tam Martin Fowles and her colleagues in Mad Woman Talking and Hope in the HeART. I’ve used videos of these zines (such as Tam’s ‘Hey Mister Psychiatrist’) during presentations and can attest to their impact. I’ve witnessed the stories they tell touch students and professionals in ways I’ve not seen possible via more conventional teaching and training methods. Therefore, I’d like to see more people access these unique learning resources. As such, I’m keen to offer support and advice as part of my ongoing research in this area”.
From Jen Kilyon President Soteria Network UK and trustee ISPSUK:
“I first discovered Zine Making a year ago at the age of 74. I found it such an accessible and liberating way to explore complex issues and feelings. As the family member of someone who has had a very difficult time in the UK mental health system I can see its potential for groups and individuals from many different backgrounds to come together and help change this system.
From Miria Papasofroniou, Learning and Development Lead, Apax Housing and Support:
“Hope in the Heart gives opportunity to people with lived experiences to be seen, heard, raise their voice by using creativity to show case their talents beyond their mental health experiences…Hope in the Heart addresses the need for creative and personal approaches to mental health support (and) differentiates itself by leveraging the power of creative expression and personal experiences to promote mental health awareness. They emphasize relationship-building and community support rather than traditional, system-focused approaches”
From Caroline Blackler, Plymouth Octopus Project (Community network leader):
The collective voice of the artworks…was loud and it was clear: “Listen to us; hear our story”. And we did: we ‘heard’ and ‘felt’ the lived experiences of those artists, many of whom were depicting deeply moving circumstances of, for example, domestic abuse, eating disorders and homelessness. Together, the collected works raised their voice, and they were heard.
What gave (the event) greater power was that, among those taking part were some of the very people employed to make decisions about the types of services with which many of these artists might be familiar. On a day of workshops and reflection organised with POP and the Belong in Plymouth initiative (to reduce loneliness and social isolation across the city), we had commissioners from the city council and healthcare professionals from Livewell SW participating alongside the artists and service-users who were sharing their experiences.
Many of those who took part in the workshops welcomed the innovative and empathic way of working with each other. One of those deeply moved was City Councillor, Zoe Reilly… “Looking at the artworks was such an incredibly powerful experience for me: I’ve never felt emotion like it.” And she applauds each artist who took part: “Recognising their bravery, and knowing that each individual picture validated someone’s experience, was, honestly, like a lightbulb moment for me. I just know that, as a city leader, I feel bound to bring it to more people and give them the opportunity to create their vision for Plymouth and the area in which they live.”
From Neelam Khawani-Connett, Director and Chair, Growing Better Lives (CIC), Peer Advisor, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Trustee The Consortium for Therapeutic Communities
“Hope in the Heart is a leading example of listening to the voices that come from a service user perspective. With lived experience at the helm of their leadership, Hope in the Heart implement creative workshops, commission art and sculpture, and share the unheard messages from disillusioned recipients of ‘broken’ mental health services to commissioners and policy makers, senior management within the NHS and other influencers. This can only help to bring about change where change is so desperately needed.
In line with our new Government, mental health services are looking to transform into better care facilities that can work relationally and more organically with their recipients. Hope in the Heart can really help radicalise the way in which public mental health services that are ‘broken’ recreate themselves to take on board the co-creativity of lived experience, dissatisfied and burnt-out clinicians and service delivery partners. They have embraced the Relational Practice Manifesto wholeheartedly, and delivered bespoke training, including to the senior managers and leadership of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust earlier this year. Hope in the Heart are carrying the Relational Practice Movement forward in South London. Unlike other mental health support groups, they work in a unique way to create lasting change that can count towards services working relationally with the recipient. Their innovative approach is progressive and invites autonomy, which is very different to the work of other support groups in mental health services and interventions…
… As a lived experience practitioner, I was thrilled to be invited to create a zine. This opportunity provided a thoughtful and sensitive platform for me to reflect on my mental health journey and examine my complex relationships with medication, systems, diagnoses, and the fragmented services I have encountered since the age of 9. Through this process, I was able to channel my justified anger into something constructive, articulating the harm I had experienced in a way that allowed my voice to reach those in positions of influence. This gave me hope that restorative practices could be implemented to prevent others from facing the same challenges I did, and that services might begin to adopt more relational approaches, empowering individuals to take greater agency in their treatment and recovery."
From Eamonn Flynn, Founder Soteria London and trustee ISPSUK:
“I have been astonished by how powerful zines are to give a voice to important issues and provide accessable stories and information to inspire change”.
From Rex Haigh, Consultant Psychiatrist Berkshire NHS (Retired). Honorory Professor School of Education, RCP, Co-founder Relational Practice Movement:
“I am writing to confirm the substantial value of Hope in the Heart’s work in the voluntary sector, and the contribution it is making to the future of mental health services.
With the widespread realisation that many statutory (and voluntary) services are not fit for purpose, HitH is pursuing an exactly targeted response that is bringing about real and meaningful change. We are involved in parallel work in the burgeoning fields of lived-experience leadership, and relational practice – both of which are central to HitH’s philosophy and the learning events and programmes they deliver.
Their use of artistic creations to communicate the message, with their professional standards of delivery and presentation in venues such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists is almost unique in my experience. It is an extremely powerful way of changing peoples’ minds about the experience and nature of mental suffering, in places it is most needed. HitH’s work goes much further than ‘service user support’ – it creates new understanding in senior clinicians, managers, commissioners and other influential individuals.”
From a student psychiatric nurse 2023:
“Reading Asylum magazine has been really eye-opening. I hope that one day I will see it available in community clinics and inpatient facilities”.
Artist-participant feedback 2024
“The voices of many people in society are often not heard or represented incertain spaces (academia, politics etc). Being able to create work that will be seen in some of these spaces goes some way to addressing this.”
“i would be totally lost if i didnt have the workshops to go to and would loose my sense of purpose if I wouldnt be able to continue showing my artwork.”
It was one of the few goals I had whilst an inpatient to attend the Hope In The Heart exhibition and I worked towards that goal with the MDT mental health team and my therapist to be able to go and had the first day in months where I felt like myself. I would not have many opportunities to show my artwork, or be able to have it seen by people in positions of power, without Hope In The Heart. The work I have seen in the exhibitions has also been inspiring, and I have learnt a lot about different adverse life experiences to my own."
Making zines has shown me how to tell parts of my story in short bursts and express ways that I’ve been harmed in ways I have not been able to express in any other way. It felt scared to show them at first but then I felt comfortable because they were part of a whole exhibition and I felt part of this community with an important story to tell individually and collectively. It was amazing to see the way people responded especially psychiatrists who talked to me and were really interested in my story and seemed to care.
"There are lots of people with difficult stories who manage to translate their hardships into amazing artwork. I used to be afraid to show my artwork and now I love being a part of the events. It’s exciting to see people looking at my work and gives me a chance to talk about my story and what I’ve made."
"I found a group of people where I was always welcome…It is a space I have been able to go to even when struggling severely with my mental health. The exhibitions organised by Hope In The Heart have given me a sense of purpose and improved my self esteem, I even managed to be a part of an exhibition whilst in hospital due to their huge effort in supporting me and other group members. It was one of the few goals I had whilst an inpatient to attend the Hope In The Heart exhibition…(I) had the first day in months where I felt like myself. I would not have many opportunities to show my artwork, or be able to have it seen by people in positions of power, without Hope In The Heart…The ability to be open...and the comfortable atmosphere are unique and not something I have found in any other health/charity/organisational setting. The work I have seen in the exhibitions has also been inspiring, and I have learnt a lot..."
"Everyone feels held, welcomed, safe. We can also find agency, and add to the ideas. We feel HEARD. SEEN. Recognised.”
“As a person of an ethnic minority background I feel HITH caters to everyone both demographically but also in the activities provided which anyone of any ability can participate in”
“It’s a welcoming art group for people with lived experience of various adverse life experiences, from mental illness to abuse to seeking asylum. It is a place where there is no judgement, no requirement to be an artist, no pressure or expectations beyond respect and kindness. It is run by some incredibly devoted people and has changed my life, I would and have recommended attending the groups to everyone I know who would benefit from it."
"I used to be afraid to show my artwork and now I love being a part of the events. It’s exciting to see people looking at my work and gives me a chance to talk about my story and what I’ve made…There are lots of people with difficult stories who manage to translate their hardships into amazing artwork…I want to be involved in more exhibitions and hopefully start to work as an artist."
"As an artist (and) an asylum seeker, I was just now in UK and feeling very lonely and depressed. I found a new life in Hope in the Heart activities. I felt like I am building my missed family here…Hope in the Heart just gave me the great opportunities to express myself and to show my art in the exhibitions and events…these workshops are the most exciting and creative activity I can do to help myself and my mental health and also to help others with my knowledge in art (I am a volunteer now too). I am diagnosed by the PTSD and these workshops are a great opportunity for me to heal and feel good."
“Hope in the Heart is a leading example of listening to the voices that come from a service user perspective. With lived experience at the helm of their leadership, Hope in the Heart implement creative workshops, commission art and sculpture, and share the unheard messages from disillusioned recipients of ‘broken’ mental health services to commissioners and policy makers, senior management within the NHS and other influencers. This can only help to bring about change where change is so desperately needed.
In line with our new Government, mental health services are looking to transform into better care facilities that can work relationally and more organically with their recipients. Hope in the Heart can really help radicalise the way in which public mental health services that are ‘broken’ recreate themselves to take on board the co-creativity of lived experience, dissatisfied and burnt-out clinicians and service delivery partners. They have embraced the Relational Practice Manifesto wholeheartedly, and delivered bespoke training, including to the senior managers and leadership of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust earlier this year. Hope in the Heart are carrying the Relational Practice Movement forward in South London. Unlike other mental health support groups, they work in a unique way to create lasting change that can count towards services working relationally with the recipient. Their innovative approach is progressive and invites autonomy, which is very different to the work of other support groups in mental health services and interventions…
… As a lived experience practitioner, I was thrilled to be invited to create a zine. This opportunity provided a thoughtful and sensitive platform for me to reflect on my mental health journey and examine my complex relationships with medication, systems, diagnoses, and the fragmented services I have encountered since the age of 9. Through this process, I was able to channel my justified anger into something constructive, articulating the harm I had experienced in a way that allowed my voice to reach those in positions of influence. This gave me hope that restorative practices could be implemented to prevent others from facing the same challenges I did, and that services might begin to adopt more relational approaches, empowering individuals to take greater agency in their treatment and recovery."
From Eamonn Flynn, Founder Soteria London and trustee ISPSUK:
“I have been astonished by how powerful zines are to give a voice to important issues and provide accessable stories and information to inspire change”.
From Rex Haigh, Consultant Psychiatrist Berkshire NHS (Retired). Honorory Professor School of Education, RCP, Co-founder Relational Practice Movement:
“I am writing to confirm the substantial value of Hope in the Heart’s work in the voluntary sector, and the contribution it is making to the future of mental health services.
With the widespread realisation that many statutory (and voluntary) services are not fit for purpose, HitH is pursuing an exactly targeted response that is bringing about real and meaningful change. We are involved in parallel work in the burgeoning fields of lived-experience leadership, and relational practice – both of which are central to HitH’s philosophy and the learning events and programmes they deliver.
Their use of artistic creations to communicate the message, with their professional standards of delivery and presentation in venues such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists is almost unique in my experience. It is an extremely powerful way of changing peoples’ minds about the experience and nature of mental suffering, in places it is most needed. HitH’s work goes much further than ‘service user support’ – it creates new understanding in senior clinicians, managers, commissioners and other influential individuals.”
From a student psychiatric nurse 2023:
“Reading Asylum magazine has been really eye-opening. I hope that one day I will see it available in community clinics and inpatient facilities”.
Artist-participant feedback 2024
“The voices of many people in society are often not heard or represented incertain spaces (academia, politics etc). Being able to create work that will be seen in some of these spaces goes some way to addressing this.”
“i would be totally lost if i didnt have the workshops to go to and would loose my sense of purpose if I wouldnt be able to continue showing my artwork.”
It was one of the few goals I had whilst an inpatient to attend the Hope In The Heart exhibition and I worked towards that goal with the MDT mental health team and my therapist to be able to go and had the first day in months where I felt like myself. I would not have many opportunities to show my artwork, or be able to have it seen by people in positions of power, without Hope In The Heart. The work I have seen in the exhibitions has also been inspiring, and I have learnt a lot about different adverse life experiences to my own."
Making zines has shown me how to tell parts of my story in short bursts and express ways that I’ve been harmed in ways I have not been able to express in any other way. It felt scared to show them at first but then I felt comfortable because they were part of a whole exhibition and I felt part of this community with an important story to tell individually and collectively. It was amazing to see the way people responded especially psychiatrists who talked to me and were really interested in my story and seemed to care.
"There are lots of people with difficult stories who manage to translate their hardships into amazing artwork. I used to be afraid to show my artwork and now I love being a part of the events. It’s exciting to see people looking at my work and gives me a chance to talk about my story and what I’ve made."
"I found a group of people where I was always welcome…It is a space I have been able to go to even when struggling severely with my mental health. The exhibitions organised by Hope In The Heart have given me a sense of purpose and improved my self esteem, I even managed to be a part of an exhibition whilst in hospital due to their huge effort in supporting me and other group members. It was one of the few goals I had whilst an inpatient to attend the Hope In The Heart exhibition…(I) had the first day in months where I felt like myself. I would not have many opportunities to show my artwork, or be able to have it seen by people in positions of power, without Hope In The Heart…The ability to be open...and the comfortable atmosphere are unique and not something I have found in any other health/charity/organisational setting. The work I have seen in the exhibitions has also been inspiring, and I have learnt a lot..."
"Everyone feels held, welcomed, safe. We can also find agency, and add to the ideas. We feel HEARD. SEEN. Recognised.”
“As a person of an ethnic minority background I feel HITH caters to everyone both demographically but also in the activities provided which anyone of any ability can participate in”
“It’s a welcoming art group for people with lived experience of various adverse life experiences, from mental illness to abuse to seeking asylum. It is a place where there is no judgement, no requirement to be an artist, no pressure or expectations beyond respect and kindness. It is run by some incredibly devoted people and has changed my life, I would and have recommended attending the groups to everyone I know who would benefit from it."
"I used to be afraid to show my artwork and now I love being a part of the events. It’s exciting to see people looking at my work and gives me a chance to talk about my story and what I’ve made…There are lots of people with difficult stories who manage to translate their hardships into amazing artwork…I want to be involved in more exhibitions and hopefully start to work as an artist."
"As an artist (and) an asylum seeker, I was just now in UK and feeling very lonely and depressed. I found a new life in Hope in the Heart activities. I felt like I am building my missed family here…Hope in the Heart just gave me the great opportunities to express myself and to show my art in the exhibitions and events…these workshops are the most exciting and creative activity I can do to help myself and my mental health and also to help others with my knowledge in art (I am a volunteer now too). I am diagnosed by the PTSD and these workshops are a great opportunity for me to heal and feel good."
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