It’s a startling fact. Most people I’ve trained, or spoken to, during my work with the Luna Foundation assume that young people bereaved as teenagers are at a greater risk. We’ve certainly seen situations where the focus is on supporting older bereaved children and really just ensuring the basic needs of the younger child are…
I’m very pleased to report that Luna Foundation’s project in Kent and Medway has been highly commended in the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards. The panel was ‘extremely impressed’ at the work Luna has delivered in Kent and Medway to improve the support for children and young people bereaved by suicide and ‘the amount of hard…
Would you like to play a key role in improving support for young children bereaved by parental suicide? Losing a parent or carer to suicide during childhood can have a devastating and long-term impact on a young person’s mental health. Research has shown that children who are bereaved by parental suicide when aged between two…
Samaritans have been building a hub of online safety resources for everyone who might use the internet to seek support or talk about suicide, suicidal feelings and self-harm. The most recent addition is guidance for parents on talking to your child about self-harm and suicide content online. I wrote this for them earlier this year….
I’m really chuffed to be able to share that both Mind and the Miscarriage Association received awards at the British Medical Association Patient Information Awards 2017 for information and that I researched and wrote. The awards aim to ‘encourage excellence in the production and dissemination of accessible, well-designed and clinically balanced patient information’. They look for…
“People said it was lucky really. I don’t know how to deal with that” This quote was one of many we gathered from young women we spoke to during the youth project consultation process I ran for the Miscarriage Association. It highlighted the need for additional support resources that reflected the experiences of younger people….
Stage 1 – Online and face to face workshops with young people “I’ve honestly literally never spoken about my experience with anyone since I left sixth form, this is the first (and possibly last) time – but I’m happy that I’m using it to hopefully help others” I was recently approached by the Miscarriage Association to…
A review of Crazy by Amy Reed – published by Simon and Schuster It’s hard to truly imagine what depression or bipolar disorder is actually like. The language of mental health is woefully inadequate. The word ‘depression’ has become part of the spectrum of everyday language used to describe feeling sad. We’ve all said or…
Representing online volunteering in the Guardian Just before Christmas I wrote a piece for the Guardian on why I volunteer at Christmas. It was a personal explanation of my motivation to volunteer, why I’ve continued to do so since leaving YouthNet and why it’s particularly important at Christmas. It was one of a series on Christmas…
What does moderating real time support chat online for 10 – 25 young community members involve? Support chat Every other Sunday I moderate support chat on TheSite.org. TheSite runs a number of types of chat – I’ve also been an expert for their recent Mindfulness chat. I used to do moderation as part of my role…
Earlier this month I found myself back at YouthNet Towers, this time as an expert for one of their expert chats. The Engagement and Support team at YouthNet oversee the running of a number of types of online chat. These include support chat (I also moderate support chats as a volunteer), general chat, film and…
Information on recent mental health support writing for young people I recently completed two articles for TheSite’s new Anxiety and Depression section. Trouble getting help for mental health and Online Counselling. Writing for young people The aim of The Site.org content is to provide clear, straight talking and supportive information for young people. Articles respond to…
Helping you get help from your GP “NHS services think that they are a series of entrances – but actually they are a series of barriers“ Yesterday, I went down to Brighton for the launch of Doc Ready – a new digital tool (a website and soon to be app) that helps young people get…
The power of language Language is a powerful tool. I’ve written before about the value of metaphor in mental health support and how it can reframe and change perception as well as helping people understand subjective experience. Language is also a tricky thing – the way we frame things in words can influence how we…