In the first of a series of posts from staff and service users for Dementia Awareness Week 2016, Touchstone's Arfan Hanif talks about the Dementia Champions group within the organisation. In 2015 Touchstone, as part of its ‘Working to become Dementia Friendly’ accreditation, set up the Dementia Champions group which represents staff from all of our sites. The Champions have started to play a critical role in terms of
To mark the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week, a user of Touchstone's services shares a poem that describes some of her experience of living with mental illness. I've written poetry for as long as I can remember, having my first poem published at the age of 14. Since then I've had a poem published by Oxford University Press during my University days where I studied English Literature and
What to expect at your first cognitive behavioural therapy appointment A lot of clients get nervous about their first CBT appointment and do not know what to expect. First appointments may vary a little from person to person, but here is an idea of the kind of things you might expect in your first CBT appointment. You will meet your therapist and they will introduce themselves, ask for your
The benefits of dancing has been well established, helping to improve not only our physical but also mental wellbeing. And dance holds a special place in the heart of one Touchstone IAPT clinician in particular therefore to coincide with International Day of Dance, Carlyn B, has chosen to share with you the following reflection. By Carlyn B I have always loved dance from when I was a small child and personally
I have been a carer for my mother, who was suffering from severe depression, for over 10 years. I came in contact with Touchstone during that time as a service user; my experience as a service user of Touchstone was exceptional. I found that they were very informative, helpful and understanding. Redundancy came up at my work place and I jumped at the opportunity. I wanted to do something in
Touchstone’s vision is to inspire communities and to transform lives. Over our 30 plus years of operating across West Yorkshire this aspiration has led us to focus on the hopes, experiences and outcomes of our most diverse communities, as experience shows that these communities are most often the most excluded, marginalised and overlooked. These reports will hopefully go some way to ensuring the rights and entitlements of Roma men and Black women born out
A client who recently attended a Stress Control Class has found the course so helpful that he wanted to share a poem about how he was feeling before accessing therapy. He has then provided a summary about his amazing success since engaging with Leeds IAPT. If you can relate to how he is feeling, please don't hesitate to call on 0113 8434388 to review whether Leeds IAPT can provide you with
In 2015, the Touchstone WY-FI BME team carried out a piece of research as part of WY-FI’s Action Learning Research project. You can see a copy of the report here which captures the investigation methodologies, findings and recommendations as well as other resources you may find valuable. The research looked at the experiences and challenges faced by BME communities and individuals across West Yorkshire when engaging with services around multiple and complex needs. In
To mark Trans Day of Visibility (31st March) we profile the life of a pioneering trans activist. Sylvia Rivera, who was of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent, was born in New York City and named Ray Rivera by her parents. She became an orphan at 3 years old and was then raised by her Venezuelan grandmother, who disapproved of Rivera's effeminate behaviour, particularly after Rivera began to wear makeup. As
By Sally P The one thing that we all strive for in our lives is to be happy. There are lots of ways that happiness impacts on how we feel; including our health, our levels of creativity and even how much we experience physical pain. One study found that happiness, optimism and life satisfaction are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. We also know that there is a