Healing Arts in Times of War: Roundtable at the UK Parliament

On 9 March 2026, the House of Commons of the UK Parliament hosted the roundtable Healing Arts in Times of War. Researchers, practitioners, Members of the UK Parliament, and representatives of Ukrainian organisations gathered to examine the arts as a vital, scalable tool for veteran recovery, civilian resilience, and supporting children experiencing trauma in conflict zones, highlighting emerging evidence and frontline case studies from Ukraine.

Participants presented research findings and practical examples of how the arts are used in trauma-informed work, including the rehabilitation of veterans and support for communities experiencing the consequences of war.

As of early 2026, 239 million people worldwide require urgent humanitarian assistance. In Ukraine, 2025 saw a 20% increase in attacks on healthcare infrastructure, the arts have emerged as a “forgotten pillar of health” providing low-cost psychological support where traditional medical facilities are inaccessible.

While 93% of the Ukrainian population reports symptoms of PTSD or stress, only 25% of those seeking help have successfully accessed it. The roundtable focused on bridging this gap through frontline case studies from practitioners including Iryna Holubetska, Ostap Ukrainets, and Veronika Skliarova.

Academic evidence was presented by Dr. Henry Redwood (King’s College London) and Dr. Angela Kennedy, alongside reflections from UK war artist David Cotterrell. Chaired by John Slinger MP, Christopher Bailey (UCL), and Stephen Stapleton (Jameel Arts & Health Lab), the session called for arts-health strategies to be prioritized within international humanitarian and reconstruction frameworks and featured closing remarks from George Richards (Community Jameel).

“As someone who is a musician, I appreciate the positive effects that creative arts can have
on the individual, community, country and even the world. I believe they can provide much more than just pure
entertainment value, roundtables such as the one today show that they are effective in treating mental health
conditions including depression and anxiety. This could become a crucial avenue of support to veterans and the
wider public in an increasingly hostile global environment. I am glad different researchers, organisations,
defence and culture officials attended the meeting and witnessed the powerful impact that the creative arts
can have”, said John Slinger.

Iryna Holubetska, a psychologist at the Unbroken Rehabilitation Centre in Lviv, spoke about the use of creative practices in working with patients.

“In Ukraine, we see every day how war affects the mind, the body, and the social fabric. Arts-based approaches allow people to process trauma in ways that words often cannot. Integrating the arts into health systems is not a luxury in wartime – it is an essential part of recovery and resilience,” she said.

Writer and serviceman of the Cultural Forces, Ostap Ukrainets, spoke about the potential of using the arts for recovery within the military: “The healing power of Art during wartime may be set back with many ethical and logistical issues. Art, and it’s potential for rehabilitation, becomes a resource and requires constant and delicate balancing between frontline and homefront experiences.”

Veronika Skliarova, Head of the Art Therapy Force project, added:

“In the wake of mass displacement and war-related trauma, art therapy has become a crucial instrument for recovery, offering communities a non-verbal pathway to process experiences of loss with resilience and participatory tools.”

Healing Arts Ukraine

The event signals the start of Healing Arts Ukraine, a national campaign aimed at raising awareness of the significant contribution made by arts and health practitioners and organisations to support resilience and recovery across the country. Healing Arts Ukraine is part of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab’s global outreach campaign in collaboration with the World Health Organization and is supported by European Union funding as part of a programme implemented by WHO Europe looking to improve resilience in its Eastern Partnership countries.

The roundtable aligns with the APPG on Creative Health’s 2026 mandate to embed arts-based interventions within the UK Government’s 10-Year Health Plan and supports the £50 million VALOUR programme for holistic veteran mental health.

The United Kingdom is one of the leading countries where artistic practices are increasingly used as tools to support mental health, social integration, and patient rehabilitation. Within the National Health Service (NHS), approaches such as social prescribing are widely used, allowing doctors to “prescribe” participation in creative activities—from music and theatre to community art workshops.

At the same time, the scientific evidence base continues to grow: British universities and research centres actively study the impact of the arts on mental health, trauma recovery, and long-term health conditions. As a result, Creative Health is increasingly recognised as an important component of a comprehensive approach to care at the intersection of medicine, culture, and social policy.

The event was organised on the initiative of Jameel Arts & Health Lab, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and Art Therapy Force, in collaboration with King’s College London, the Unbroken Rehabilitation Centre, and the Cultural Forces.