Izzey Clark, Sofi Melvin and Tanya Harrison, therapists in our Bassetlaw service, have been getting out in the community and attending local groups for older people to talk about mental health and the support on offer.
Our therapists are raising awareness about mental health, giving top tips for taking good care of our wellbeing and helping people recognise the signs of poor mental health so they know when to get more support.
Izzey, explains:
“We’ve been focussing on increasing general awareness about mental health and challenging the assumption that worsening mental health is just a ‘normal’ part of aging or ‘just one of those things’.
We’re encouraging older people to get support if they’re feeling low, stressed or anxious, by reinforcing the message that they’re entitled to our support.
Over the course of our visits, we’ve often noticed that older people feel as though they shouldn’t ask for help because they think they’re ‘wasting someone’s time’ or that there are other people who are ‘worse off’ than them. We’re helping those people understand that it’s important to get support as soon as possible, they don’t need to wait until they’ve reached rock bottom.”
The team is also letting people know that they don’t need to go through their GP to access our support, they can self-refer online or over the phone.
We’re so proud of Izzey, Sofi and Tanya, who, by getting out in the community and getting involved in these groups, are helping typically unreached communities to get support to make sure no one struggles alone.