'I teach people at mental health hospitals to DJ'

Felix Coulton provides weekly group sessions for patients at four units in Nottinghamshire

"Hospital can be a difficult time in people's lives, but activities like this give them a sense of normality."

Felix Coulton works full-time as a professional DJ and now runs weekly sessions teaching patients the skill at mental health hospitals in Nottinghamshire.

The former occupational therapy assistant for the NHS said he wanted to combine his love for music with an activity that could help people.

The project has received Arts Council funding to run at four sites across the county, including Thorneywood Mount Rehabilitation Unit in Mapperley.

Rob Whitehead says the sessions bring him out of his comfort zone

The sessions are also taking place at Highbury Hospital, Bracken House Rehabilitation Unit and Sherwood Oaks.

Thorneywood is Mr Coulton's first stop and he says so far the workshops have been a hit with patients.

Rob Whitehead, who has been staying at Thorneywood for six months, says the sessions bring him out of his shell.

"Music transports you to a range of places, and the feeling it gives you is incredible, and that doesn't change when you are in a place like this," he said.

"I can play a bit of jungle and house music and relax. It's the highlight of my week.

"In the outside world, things can be really daunting, but when you are here, activities like this help you deal with life better."

Mr Coulton enjoys being able to share his skills

Peer support worker Heidi Jeffree says she has noticed the benefits of the sessions on patients.

"It is great to see how people have got involved on a variety of different levels," she said.

"Some people will DJ and others will listen to their favourite songs.

"Activities like this bring joy to Thorneywood. For people who have been in hospital for a while, they may not have access to the arts themselves.

"Everyone deserves to access things like this."

Mr Coulton, who runs SwingDash studios in Sneinton, has been DJing for the past 18 years.

Before making it his career, the 33-year-old studied psychology at university and began assisting with occupational therapy sessions at mental health hospitals.

He said: "We started out doing cooking and music classes, and the impact it had on people was great.

"So I thought, why not show people DJing? I trialled it a couple times and they loved it - so I wanted to turn these one-off sessions into something bigger."

'Everyone's a DJ'

Mr Coulton received about £25,000 worth of Arts Council funding to run the sessions over the next year.

He does one session per week for 12 weeks at each unit.

"It helps people who are dealing with tough times in their life. They get a sense of escapism and normality," he said.

"They learn new skills and get to chill out and listen to their favourite music - we've had all kinds of genres, from pop to Afrobeats and even heavy metal.

"People associate DJs with raves and events, but that isn't always the case.

"We're all DJs in our lives, whether you're streaming or putting a record on, that's a form of DJing, and that is the beautiful thing about it."

Adam Jackson, clinical lead for the Live Team at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: "These workshops bring people together and have such a positive impact on people.

"Mental health services are stretched and we want to look at creative ways of improving patient care, and changing the ways we invest in mental health."