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Local Update, 22 November 2021
Barnet Voice for Mental Health
020 3475 1314
[email protected]
Welcome to our weekly newsletter about mental health services and support available in Barnet and beyond. Also bringing you updates on Inclusion Barnet mental health news. Produced by Ed Peston, Communications Assistant.
What’s it like to live with ADHD?
by Samantha Earle, User Voice, Project Officer, Inclusion Barnet
Last week, Great British Bake Off star, Lizzie Acker dedicated her show-stopping cake creation to her ADHD “as a celebration of being different”.
ADHD is underdiagnosed in women, and its traits are often stigmatised. So, to honour Lizzie’s courage in publicly discussing and celebrating her own neurodivergence, we decided to delve into the experience of women and non-binary people living with ADHD.
We called on the lived experience of five wonderful members of the Inclusion Barnet team – Eve, Claire, Laura, Melissa and Alicia, all of whom were diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood.
Barnet Voice Forum, Thursday 25 November, 5.30 - 7.00pm
An opportunity for people in Barnet with lived experience of mental health issues to share their views and influence positive change
Join us for the November 2021 meeting of the Barnet Voice forum!
At this meeting we will be looking at the results of our recent survey on and gathering input on an initial draft of the position paper tentatively titled 'Mental Health Services in Barnet: Not Fit for Purpose?'
This is a collaborative project, and we are committed to making it as accessible and useful to members as possible.
If you require BSL interpretation, live captioning or have any other access needs in relation to this event, please let us know at [email protected].
Inclusion Barnet Annual General Meeting (AGM), Monday 29 November, 2.00 - 3.30pm
We are pleased to invite you to attend the Inclusion Barnet Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2021
We are delighted that our former colleague, Aman Ahluwalia, now Head of Lived Experience at national Mind, will be our guest speaker this year, talking about The Power of Lived Experience Today.
The meeting will comprise of:
- Introduction and welcome from our Co-Chairs, Jennifer Pearl and Elsie Lyons
- Update from the CEO, Caroline Collier
- Update on our latest research project from Banos Alexandrou, our Policy and Research Manager
- The formal aspect of the AGM
- Guest speaker, Aman Ahluwalia: The Power of Lived Experience Today
If you will not have internet access on the day, or have any questions about reserving your place or joining via Zoom, please call Patricia Salem on 020 3475 1314 or email us at [email protected].
You can access all the AGM documents, including the agenda and accounts here. Or, if you would like them to be posted to you, please get in touch to let us know.
If you have any specific access requirements (e.g. large print, captions, BSL interpreter) please let us know at the time of booking, and no later than 1 week before the event to ensure we can effectively meet your requirements.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Barnet Service User and Carer Forum
Date: 16th December 2021
Runs on the third Thursday of every month
Time: 14:00 – 15:30
Barnet Mental Health services want to hear what you have to say about Adult Mental Health services. They are setting up a regular forum and need you to get involved to feedback your experiences and share your ideas. The forum encourages and promotes service users and carers working alongside staff to coproduce services.
More information to follow nearer the above date.
Community Barnet Addressing Digital Poverty
If you have an unused digital device you no longer need, why not donate it to Community Barnet to help others? Or do you or someone you know not have the digital device they need? See the below website for more information:-
Medication in Mental Health, Wednesday 24 November 9.30am - Thursday 25 November 4.30pm
Medication in Mental Health (MMH) will bring together the UK’s leading experts to discuss how medication is used; from diagnosis, to GP involvement to treatment and medication. MMH will discuss the effects of treatment, what holistic options and methods are there and how do they work, what does the Private Healthcare have to offer and how effective is it. MMH will also take a look at the effects and liabilities of using medication through an open discussion.
Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic using Mindfulness | Research Spotlight, Thursday 25 November, 12.00 - 1.00pm
In this online talk, Dr Elena Antonova will share insights from theory and research on how the practice of mindfulness could help us to protect our mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. She will outline mindfulness skills that might be particularly relevant in the context of the ongoing pandemic, share some preliminary results from the Protect Mental Health COVID-19 Study, and give some practical tips on how to get started on a mindfulness practice.
You inspire me podcast
The goal of this show is to spread joy, positivity, and encouragement through sharing the thoughts and perspectives of inspiring individuals.
Inside Schizophrenia Podcast: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Schizophrenia
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a proven treatment for a wide range of mental health conditions and emotional struggles, but many times is not used for treating schizophrenia. Schizophrenia’s symptoms of hallucinations and psychosis are assumed to be too complex for this type of therapy.
Host Rachel Star Withers, a diagnosed schizophrenic, and co-host Gabe Howard, explore the types of CBT that best work for schizophrenia. Rachel breaks down her “Monster Technique” that she uses daily to help her deal with her visual hallucinations.
Mental health forums and peer support
In my experience, recovering from mental ill health or coping with any condition can often be aided by hearing from others who can understand what you are going through as they have experienced something similar themselves.
I have recently been using an online forum for people with a physical health condition which is currently being investigated in my case. Although not a mental health condition, there are many parallels in terms of sharing problems with others that could be applied to mental health forums. I have found the above forum made me feel less alone and more able to understand my own current issues.
In this spirit, I did a search for mental health forums, and the following one looks promising:-
https://www.mentalhealthforum.net/
It was originally set up by the Mental Health Foundation and is now run by volunteers with the support of the non-profit organisation, Together 4 Change.
It is a well used site, and there are different discussion boards for different conditions, as well as other specialist boards such as ones on therapy, self help and medication. The fact that it is moderated should keep everyone feeling safe and supported. It is free to use. On the site, there are also a series of mental health articles written by forum members.
Just reading messages and hearing about what others are going through helped me. If you post, you should do so anonymously. The fact that the site has a large membership perhaps increases the chances of someone providing an insight you hadn’t thought of.
As being with others has recently been restricted, and isolation levels have increased, using forums like this could be a good way to feel not so alone, and potentially to learn from how others are tackling similar mental health issues to your own.
Whilst not replacing face-to-face contact, it is still peer support, and in my experience there can be benefits to it when in-person support is difficult to access, or if you find meeting in person difficult for any reason.
You can also find an interesting research study into the potential benefits of mental health forums below. It also offers some ideas about how to get the best out of them:-
Building Friendship
Building Friendship is a free weekly drop in every Friday for those with mental health difficulties.
Meet at East Barnet Baptist Church hall, EN4 8PS. Come along for a cup of coffee and a friendly chat between 10am and 12noon.
For more information email: [email protected]. Or leave a message with your name and contact number on 020 8449 5320.
The following online workshops are available to all adults anywhere.
Mind and Mood Support Group
Mind & Mood Support Group has returned to face to face meetings at 55 Christchurch Avenue, London N12 0DG. To enquire about becoming a new member, please contact either Peter or Sandra below.
Peter Sartori e: [email protected]
Sandra Turner e:[email protected]
Both Peter Sartori and Sandra Turner have extensive experience of the mental health system.
We are an independent support group, run by ex service users, for service users, their carers and supporters.
About Inclusion Barnet
We are a Peer-Led Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisation (DDPO).
Nearly all of our directors and staff have lived experience of disability, including mental health issues and/or long-term health conditions.
We believe that learning to use our lived experience for social change is a skill. We have become experts in harnessing the lived experience of our staff, members, volunteers and the people who use our services to design and deliver higher quality, more person-centred services.
Other services run by Inclusion Barnet that you might be interested in are:
Benefits Advice Service (supporting disabled people in Barnet to access the benefits they are entitled to).
Touchpoint (supports people experiencing any form of disability in Barnet to access the services and resources they need).
Healthwatch Barnet (an independent, statutory organisation dedicated to improving health and social care services in Barnet).
For more information about the wider range of other work we do please visit our website www.inclusionbarnet.org.uk
Useful links for mental health and wellbeing
Click on the title to go to the individual websites.
LOCAL
- Mind in Barnet - counselling
- Mind in Barnet Sanctuary - find calm, make space, move forward
- Barnet Wellbeing Service
- BEH-MHT* crisis helpline 0800 151 0023 24/7, 365 days a year.
(*BEH-MHT = Barnet, Enfield Haringay - Mental Health Trust)
LONDON & NATIONAL
- The Help Hub - free online emotional support sessions
- Good Thinking - free online Mental Wellbeing for London
- Kooth - free, safe and anonymous online support for young people
- Qwell - free online safe and confidential space to share & support
Shout - free, 24/7 text messaging support - text SHOUT to 85258 - Samaritans - free phone & email support in a crisis
- Turn2Me - free online Support Groups
- Useful links from Sussex University - lots of useful links to MH resources
Independent Living Centre, c/o Barnet & Southgate College,
7 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4BR
Inclusion Barnet is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Registered Charity Number: 1158632
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