Postingan

Menampilkan postingan dari November, 2016

Boxing Shadows - The Welsh Mental Health Arts Festival 2016

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Boxing Shadows is an exhibition of over 30 artists made up of sculpture, paintings, drawings, films and ceramics in parallel with artist Stephen Park's Residency Exhibition at Celf o Gwmpas in Llandrindod Wells. It is on until 5 January 2017, and last week I attended a panel discussion and artist talks as part of the second annual  Welsh Mental Health Arts Festival . Other activities scheduled at Celf as part of the week long event in partnership with Disability Arts Cymru and Making Minds 'WALLS: MURIAU' included a Comedy Evening and a drop-in workshop with new arts group Celf-Able. Artist  Rachel Dunlop wrote about the year-long Learning and Practice project at Celf o Gwmpas back in the summer, taking an in-depth look at the sessional weekends for artists who have experience or knowledge of the arts and mental health. Artist in residence Stephen Park and Powys artist Blue MacAskill  have been engaging and working with artists "who have knowledge and experience...

Prevention & Early Intervention - the mental health conversation

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The mental health conversation; PAVO's CEO Carl Cooper; Jane & Jackie PAVO mental health team Last Tuesday 8 November I attended the PAVO AGM and Conference at Cefn Lea Conference Centre near Newtown along with colleagues and respresentatives from voluntary sector groups, the statutory sector, and numerous other individuals.  The theme this year was: Prevention & Early Intervention - the Third Sector role in Powys. The conference invitation stated: "It is widely acknowledged that Third Sector organisations and services have an essential role to play in prevention and early intervention. This conference will explore how these services could be an integral part of a common direction in Powys". Carl Cooper, our PAVO CEO, opened the conference by saying: "We are delighted to have this as our theme. It is important particularly in light of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act  which highlights that support and care should be provided at an early stage to...

The Blue Boy

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Our guest post this week is by a member of the new Llandrindod Autism Support Group which takes place monthly at  Mid Powys Mind's  Resource Centre in Llandrindod Wells. Llandrindod Autism Support Group is a place where people are accepted for who they are and can be themselves without being misunderstood or unfairly judged for being "different". We like to talk about what it's like to see the world in a different way from those around us and how we try to cope with the everyday world. At the next meeting, on 11 November, we shall be discussing anxiety and what we do to reduce or avoid it. I would encourage anyone who is on the autistic spectrum, or who thinks they may be, to come along and meet others like them. This is my story… When I delivered my son Mark on the first of July 1995, I had no idea of the incredible journey I would take in learning about Autism and how differently I’d see the world 21 years later. There was nothing particularly unusual about Mark’s ...

National Stress Awareness Day 2016

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The PAVO mental health team’s way of trying to reduce stress in the workplace –  “Havin’ A Laugh” whilst promoting the elephant in the room recently. One of the most popular posts on our blog over the past five years is from the very early days and simply called National Stress Awareness Day . In it we highlighted the sad fact that at that time in 2012 stress levels in the UK had doubled in the past four years, and outlined some of the well-known causes of stress. We also listed the Top 10 Tips for addressing stress, and, given the fact this is one of our most popular ever postings, hope these have proved helpful to many readers over the years. This year the theme for National Stress Awareness Day – Wednesday 2 November – is Workforce Wellness – Your Prime Investment. The International Stress Management Association , the charity which promotes this national day, has drawn up a new list of tips specifically related to the theme: 1. Start to put yourself first If you eat and drink ...