Mind Matters The membership magazine from Oxfordshire Mind
Spring 2018
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Baking for Wellbeing
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#OxMindWMHD Relay
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R.E.D. January fundraising
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Workplace Wellbeing
Contents 3
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Housing News World Book Night
4 l Ann Hackman 1945-2017
Call us for information about services
Oxfordshire Mind Information Line
5 l The #OxMindWMHD Relay Our unique campaign for World Mental Health Day
11 l Wellbeing Service • A service user from Cherwell and West reviews the HeadSpace app
We can provide information & signposting to mental health services for anyone living in Oxfordshire.
01865 247788 Monday to Thursday: 9.30am – 4.30pm Friday: 9.30am – 4pm info@oxfordshiremind.org.uk or visit our online directory at www.oxmindguide.org.uk
All content was accurate at the time of going to print. If you have any queries about anything in Mind Matters, contact sarah.jordan@oxfordshiremind.org.uk Editor: Sarah Jordan Design: www.goodthinkingcommunications.net
• Baking for Wellbeing at The Mill • Workplace wellbeing programme at the newly opened Body Shop in the Westgate centre
16 Fundraising Stories R.E.D. January
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Housing News
Membership form
20 We love our fundraisers!
World Book Night World Book Night is a national celebration of reading and books which takes place on 23 April every year. Books are given out across the UK with a focus on reaching those who don’t regularly read. This year residents of Oxfordshire Mind’s Supported Housing units received copies of ‘The Recovery Letters’ (edited by James Withey and Olivia Sagan). William Lazenby, Housing Manager, explains more: “I’m really pleased that once again Oxfordshire Mind Housing are working with The Reading Agency to promote World Book Night. Reading can have a positive impact on mental wellbeing, allowing a reader to explore and connect with different ideas and viewpoints, while hopefully learning something about themselves and how they interact with the world. Books can also provide a release from the day-to-day routine of life and be a good way of distracting or focusing a busy mind. This year’s donated book ‘The Recovery Letters’ contains letters addressed to people experiencing depression from those who have lived through or with it. The letters explore personal experiences as well as offering some ideas that have helped the writers in their own lives. People can dip in and out of the book, and we hope our residents will find it helpful and relevant to their own experience. Various events were organised for World Book Night across our housing projects, including shared readings, group discussions of the letters, as well as the opportunity to explore creativity through resident’s own writing or art.” World Book Night is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that inspires people to become confident and enthusiastic readers.
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Ann Hackman 1945-2017 Oxfordshire Mind has a longstanding and strong partnership with Psychological Services. We owe this to the vision and commitment of Ann Hackmann, who died in December. Ann worked for many years as a clinical psychologist, pioneering the practice of CBT, especially in relation to anxiety. She provided teaching and training in CBT in many national and international settings and was a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. But in 1985, as part of her work, Ann was given one day a week to look at ways in which the Psychology Service could become more accessible and community based. This was just at the time when I was planning to set up a second day service, open to a wide range of people. Working together was a perfect opportunity. Ann’s colleagues, Joan Kirk and John Hall agreed and this was how Acorn and the partnership between Mind and Psychologists began. Ann and her colleagues not only provided expertise themselves, but enabled us to have training and support so that Mind workers could run groups to a high standard. Ann’s vision was of a professional psychological service delivered in an accessible and informal setting, and it worked. Ann believed in us, and taught us to see ourselves as part of a professional service.
The #OxMindWMHD Relay Last year, Oxfordshire Mind ran a unique World Mental Health “World Mental Day campaign. People across Health Day is observed the county openly shared on 10 October every year, contributions on what mental with the overall objective health means to them by of raising awareness of mental submitting contributions into health issues around the world the #OxMindWMHD Book. On and mobilising efforts in World Mental Health Day itself support of mental health” in October, a relay-style event World Health Organisation was held across the county to gather contributions from Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership colleagues, schools and workplaces.
Stop 1 The North Wall Arts Centre Oxfordshire Mind collected contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book during a performance of ‘My Beautiful Black Dog’, a poetically wild musical exploring the difficult and beauteous complexity of our fragile minds.
Ann was gracious, gentle, and fun, and combined this with a sharp and penetrating mind. She was both challenging and a great delight. We owe her so much. Jane Hope April 2018
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Stop 2 Cherwell District Council Next up was a stop to Cherwell District Council to meet with Lydia, Healthy Lifestyles Officer, and the Wellbeing and Rural team. Here we collected key pledges for the #OxMindWMHD Book based around workplace wellbeing.
Stop 3 Oxfordshire Mind Housing in Cholsey Oxfordshire Mind CEO, Dan Knowles, cooked breakfast for clients in Cholsey, whilst collecting artistic contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
Stop 4 Oxfordshire Mind
Banbury Wellbeing Hub
Oxfordshire Mind PR and Communications Officer, Sarah Jordan, joined a Women’s Only Peer Support Group whilst collecting contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
Stop 5 South Oxfordshire District Council A South Oxfordshire District Council coffee morning with UNISON and Restore, where Oxfordshire Mind and Restore delivered sample courses whilst discussing workplace wellbeing and collecting #OxMindWMHD contributions.
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Stop 6 Gosford High School Staff met with sixth form pupils and teachers to discuss the new Peer Listening Service.This innovative service is being led by sixth form pupils who provide younger pupils with wellbeing support.
Stop 7 TalkingSpace Plus TalkingSpace Plus submitted a variety of contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.TalkingSpace Plus is a free service which offers you the chance to help yourself to cope with life’s ups and downs, feel better and learn your own strategies for keeping well. The service is provided by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust in Partnership with Principal Medical Limited (PML) and Oxfordshire Mind.
Stop 8 Witney Corn Exchange Together with our OMHP Colleagues, Oxfordshire Recovery College, Restore, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Response Organisation,Connection Support and Elmore we collected contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book on the Cherwell District Council Health Bus.
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Stop 9 Peer Support Silversmithing Group in Cowley
Oxfordshire Mind CEO, Dan Knowles, joined in with the group’s activities whilst collecting contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
Stop 13 Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Our CEO, Dan Knowles, met with service users, clinicians and OMHP colleagues to collect contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book in a very special car!
Stop 10 Restore and the
Oxfordshire Recovery College Our CEO, Dan Knowles, joined in with staff and service users activities whilst collecting contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
Stop 11
Connection Support
Our CEO, Dan Knowles, met with staff and service users to discuss World Mental Health Day and collect contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
Stop 12 Elmore Community Services Our CEO, Dan Knowles, met with Charlotte Hicks, Elmore Service Manager, to discuss the campaign and collect a contribution for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
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Stop 14
Pitt Rivers Museum Our Information Coordinator, Kate Wilson, met with Cllr Marie Tidball and TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) to collect contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book during a ‘Hidden Beneath the Surface’ #WMHD talk.
Stop 15 Oxford Town Hall Oxfordshire Mind Information Coordinator, Kate Wilson, met with Cllr Marie Tidball, Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Christine Simm and Tom Hayes, Head of External Relations at Restore to collect contributions for the #OxMindWMHD Book.
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Stop 16 Oxford Computers Stop 16 was Oxford Computers to meet with Ami and Team Oxford. Lois Muddiman and Ruth Stavris are both involved in Ami, their aim is to reduce loneliness and isolation in Oxfordshire.
Final stop Oxfordshire County Council Final stop of the #OxMindWMHD Relay was to Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall – Council Chamber. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Connection Support, Restore, Response Organisation, Oxfordshire Recovery College, Elmore Community Services, TalkingSpace Plus, OSARCC, Oxford City Council, Cherwell District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, UNISON, Oxfordshire County Council and more joined in to celebrate the final stop on the #OxMindWMHD relay. Over 80 people joined Oxfordshire Mind at County Hall to end the relay event. #OxMindWMHD book contributions were shared with all and a variety of different foods from different cultures were shared, all made by service users!
Wellbeing Service Cherwell and West
My HeadSpace Journey Having spent a long period of time suffering from an unshakeable disorder of anxiety, I was pleased to discover an app for my phone called HeadSpace. It was recommended to me by Oxfordshire Mind, and I’ve never looked back. My experience of HeadSpace has been extremely positive… I’m always looking forward to my next session, and I only need to put aside 20 minutes each day. The idea of the app is that you work your way through different subject packs, focusing on areas of particular interest – for example, I spent thirty days specifically on anxiety. I also found the pack on acceptance really helpful in allowing me to be completely honest with myself. You are guided through a meditation technique which is used throughout the app. There
are also a selection of shorter or longer meditations if you feel you need more or less time. The HeadSpace interface is easy to use and is organised logically. The packs can be downloaded to be listened to on the go, for example on the the way to work. I have used HeadSpace every day for around six months, and I feel that my anxiety has significantly reduced. It puts me in a good frame of mind for the day ahead, and has given me techniques to help deal with challenging thoughts and situations. This whole experience has allowed me to move forward, and has given me direction. HeadSpace improves your outlook on life, and relationships with family and friends. I would recommend HeadSpace to anyone with a mental health condition – it has become as important as medication for me. By an anonymous service user
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Wellbeing service
Some of the sessions have been structured, led by myself and following a recipe step-by-step, and other sessions have been led by service users. This has provided an opportunity for people to lead a group, which has helped build confidence. I’m looking to take a dynamic and flexible approach to sessions, depending on what people want, and on their learning styles.The group is open to all abilities, and those that have never baked before will be supported to build confidence and skills in the kitchen.
City The Mill are proud to host a Baking for Wellbeing group. The group was originally run as a pilot short series by two visiting Occupational Therapists, on placement in our central Oxford Wellbeing Centres. There was lots of enthusiasm from the service users for baking, who found it both therapeutic and fun. Max explains more… I was approached by some of our service users, and asked to continue running the baking group after the pilot sessions finished. After some trial sessions, we discovered that people were interested in making bread as well as cake. As bread-making is a hobby of mine, and my brother does some professional baking, I was happy to share those skills with our service users. We’ve now run a number of sessions with groups of people of mixed ability and knowledge, and this has proved successful so far. As is the case in all our peer support groups, people are invited to engage at a level at which they feel comfortable. The group members support one another, and work as team to make something that tastes good, for everyone to then enjoy.
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“The group members support one another, and work as a team to make something that tasted good, for everyone to then enjoy”
We’ve made breads from around the world, so far including cornbread from the United States, pretzels from Germany, lussekatter (saffron bread) from Sweden, and a Brazilian-influenced cake. We’ve got Irish potato bread, and Tibetan baked goods lined up for future sessions, and we’re very open to people’s projects and ideas that they may wish to undertake.
“It’s been a rewarding experience for everyone involved.”
It’s been nice to see the service users getting positive feedback after people have tasted their baking, and it’s been a rewarding experience for everyone involved. For more information on Oxfordshire Mind’s Peer Support Groups contact the Information Service on: 01865 247788 Monday – Thursday: 9.30am – 4.30pm Friday: 9.30am – 4pm (closed bank holidays)
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Wellbeing service South and Vale Oxfordshire Mind were delighted to open the new Westgate Body Shop. At the heart of this opening is a desire for The Body Shop Oxford team to embrace an open culture on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Service Manager, Sara Keppie, Locality Manager, Beth Brown-Reid and Wellbeing Worker, Evelina Savickaite, delivered an open workplace wellbeing talk looking at the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, managing stress, and Positive Work Practices, Stigma and Discrimination. l
More than half (56%) of workers find work very or fairly stressful
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Despite this high prevalence, 95% of people who took time off sick for stress cited a different reason for their absence, often a physical health problem
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Mental health issues accounted for 19% of all individual protection claims last year, more so than cancer which made up 12%.
The Body Shop are creating a strong workplace culture which focuses on mental and physical wellbeing
It is good to hear that the Body Shop are creating a strong workplace culture which focuses on mental and physical wellbeing. It is so important that employers create an environment where staff can openly talk about stress and poor mental health at work, including any issues they’re facing – whether personal, professional, or a combination of both.
Oxfordshire Mind want employers to see promoting good mental health as more than a legal obligation
Oxfordshire Mind want employers to see promoting good mental health as more than a legal obligation. It’s part of being a responsible employer and sending a message to staff that they are valued and appreciated. Changing the negative culture around mental health and tackling the causes of stress and poor mental health at work will benefit all staff at work and home. The Body Shop will also be receiving workplace wellbeing talks, over the coming months, hosted by Oxfordshire Mind, as part of their extended workplace wellbeing programme. Find out more about training and work place wellbeing online at: oxfordshiremind.org.uk/training
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Fundraising stories R.E.D. January As part of the National Mind Network Oxfordshire Mind was proud to take part in the Local Mind fundraising programme Run Every Day January (RED January) in 2018. 53 people signed up to raise money for Oxfordshire Mind and ‘Beat the January Blues’ one step at a time. In total, £1690.78 was raised over the month-long fundraising campaign for Oxfordshire Mind. We would like to say a big thank you to all of those who fundraised!
post every performance result from each run to prove the distance, time and to show a hilarious photo of me and my red face at the end. I came across horrendous shin splints during my time running, but this didn’t stop me from maintaining my pace to reach my end-of-month goal.
An amazing £1690.78 was raised for Oxfordshire Mind in ‘RED January’!
Oxfordshire Mind REDer Anthony Deal told us about his experience: “My name is Anthony Deal and I’m a 25-year-old Graphic Designer working at a marketing agency in Wallingford Oxfordshire. I consider myself to be of average fitness and I enjoy running occasionally on weekends. For RED January I set my personal fitness goal to complete a 5km run each day. The overall challenge would result in a distance run of 155km (3.5 marathons) over the month of January. I made my personal goal clear on my fundraising page and I also set up my own personal Facebook page for the month to generate interest through daily updates after each run. I took advice from the Oxfordshire Mind Fundraising Guide which helped me with tips on promoting my challenge via social media. I think the key was just to keep posting each day, and I tracked each run using my Map My FitnessTM app along with my FitbitTM tracker as a backup. I would
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“Some people have family and friends to talk to, but it’s scary to think of the number of people who just have nobody to turn to”
So why did I personally decide to do this challenge? 2017 showed me just how many of my friends suffered from mental issues and I began to realise just how important it was to have the support there when it’s needed. Some people have family and friends to talk to, but it’s scary to think of the number of people who just have nobody to turn to in desperate times. While raising money for Oxfordshire Mind, my main goal is to raise awareness of their service that can support those who are alone during this difficult time in the year. I want to say a massive thank you to all my colleagues for their support and their generosity throughout the month. They even created a finishing line outside the office and posted a video of me finishing the challenge on the last day which accumulated 800+ likes on Facebook and raised more money as a result. Overall, I managed to help Oxfordshire Mind reach their fundraising goal along with other fellow REDers dedicated to the cause. I’ll be sure to take part next year because the challenge has help me to remember how rewarding running can be.”
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We love our fundraisers! Every penny you fundraise for us will help us to support even more people who are affected by mental health problems.
• £5 can buy more materials for our art and
craft groups,helping people express their creativity and make connections with others.
• £25 helps us recruit and train volunteers to work on our
Information Line and Benefits Hotline – last year more than 2000 people rang us to ask for information, signposting and support.
• £100 will help us support more people on a one-to-one basis
through their recovery – last year we worked with over 600 people to set goals and develop plans to get back on track.
You can find our full fundraising resources on the Oxfordshire Mind website or email fundraising@oxfordshiremind.org.uk for more information.
2 Kings Meadow, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0DP 01865 263730 office@oxfordshiremind.org.uk www.oxfordshiremind.org.uk
Registered Charity Number: 261476. Registered Company Number: 4343625