Postingan

Menampilkan postingan dari April, 2015

Tonic: surfing for mental health

Gambar
Every now and again in our team we are lucky enough to meet up with our counterparts in other parts of Wales. Two weeks ago we travelled down to Carmarthen to the office of West Wales Action for Mental Health . We spent an enjoyable and extremely interesting day finding out about the many diverse and innovative projects the staff and volunteers are currently working on. Check out The Recovery Wall project on the organisation’s website, which is using digital media to promote recovery and wellbeing, and Mind Your Heart – a health promotion programme for people living with mental health problems…. not to mention the excellent work with veterans over the past couple of years, which should probably have a separate blog post all of its own – just keep watching this space! And then there is Tonic – the surfing therapy project ….  Shôn Devey, the Development Worker leading on Tonic, told us more. He started from a very personal viewpoint. Ton is Welsh for wave. Staff here realised...

Shakespeare and mental health

Gambar
Our guest author Philip Bowen runs Shakespeare Link, a highly praised theatre company specialising in the Great Bard’s works which provides a valuable community resource. It is based at the Willow Globe near Llandrindod Wells in Powys – a scaled down living version of The Globe in London. During 2014 – 2015 Philip also took on the voluntary role of High Sheriff of Powys , and contributed hugely to the work of various voluntary sector mental health organisations. He worked with Powys Patients’ Council to open the Wellness & Recovery Room at Bronllys Hospital in the summer of 2014 , presented an award to Ponthafren Association for ‘Recognition of Great & Valuable Services to the Community’ in October 2014 and spoke at the Winter 2014 Powys Mental Health Alliance Open Day in Llandrindod Wells . As next week (April 23 to be precise) is the anniversary of the playwright’s birth (and death) we decided to catch up with Philip for his take on Shakespeare’s depiction of mental distre...

Mental Health & Missing Person Support Officer - Dyfed-Powys Police

Gambar
Carina Giannuzzi is the Mental Health & Missing Person Support Officer for Dyfed-Powys Police .  We recently worked with Carina, and colleagues at West Wales Action for Mental Health , to produce some mental health information cards for use by police officers who come into contact with people experiencing mental distress. We caught up with Carina recently to find out more about this project and other vital work she is doing in Powys and Ceredigion. Tell us more about the work you do I started in my current role as Dyfed-Powys Police’s Mental Health & Missing Person Support Officer on the 1st September 2014, and from the start have been involved in two major projects which are ongoing. One is the Mental Health Triage Team run in conjunction with Hywel Dda University Health Board and although the project does not cover the county of Powys, it does cover Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The other is the Time to Change Wales anti-stigma campaign to tackle the d...