Religion and Mental Health: CDS interview on Fever FM
Recording of live radio interview of Stephanie L. and Nazia H. on Fever FM to promote positive mental health among Muslim communities in Leeds on World Religion Day 2016.
Harvey Milk – vision, courage and passion
To celebrate LGBT History Month in February 2016, Touchstone will profile a significant figure from LGBT history each week. Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk began his tenure by sponsoring a civil rights bill that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Thinking of friends on World Cancer Day – 4th February 2016
Thursday 4th February marks World Cancer Day, our Business Development Director Jess shares some of her thoughts and experiences of cancer and the support we can all offer: On the 4th February we mark World Cancer Day and I wanted to write about some people I know who have been affected by the illness. Firstly, my hike club friend, who I met through a neighbour. She was in her
Writing for Wellbeing – National Story Telling Week
To coincide with National Story Telling Week (30 Jan - 6 Feb) one of our therapists Louise A has written a piece on the therapeutic benefits of writing for wellbeing: Writing for wellbeing When we feel upset, low or anxious we can often feel the urge to talk about it, whether that is with someone close to us or within a talking therapy. Sometimes though, we may not be able
Kirklees Advocacy Service – annual review
2014–2015 has been a busy and exciting year for Touchstone in Kirklees. We have continued our community mental health advocacy work and have now integrated the new Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) service into our existing team. We have taken on new staff, embarked on specialised training and increased our service activity by almost 300%. Our staff and volunteers have really embraced these changes and we are proud of the
Dissociation – The Hidden Mental Health Issue
The tagline isn’t entirely correct – so I’ll start by apologising for that. Very quickly, something about me. I’ve been a housing support worker here at Touchstone for less than a year but I’ve worked with people in crisis for about five years. It amazes me how commonplace dissociative issues seem to be, yet there’s so little awareness of them. So I thought I’d write something about them here. I
The Last “Bhoolee Bisree Yaadein” (Forgotten Memories) of 2015
Bhoolee Bisree Yaadein (BBY) is a monthly musical event for 55+ years old service users and their friends organised by the Sikh Elders Service. The event is held on the last Thursday of the month at Apna Day Centre where the community gathers to hear local musical talent. The group also play popular Indian singing games remembering songs from the golden era of Indian film and share a vegetarian meal.
IAPT Recommendations for 10 Ways to Look After Your Mental Health This Christmas
10 Ways to Look After Your Mental Health at Christmas The festive season is a time of joy and spending time with loved ones, but it can also be one of the most stressful and lonely periods of the year. During the December rush - frantic present buying and New Year party preparations - followed by the sudden ‘lull’ of January, it is important to try and remember how
Tips for Winter Wellbeing
I work as part of the Touchstone Housing Team, and as such I tend to work with people who have a housing need as well as a mental health issue. I enjoy this because I feel it takes a holistic approach to helping people’s lives, on the understanding that without stability and security it is difficult to heal our minds, and that without our psychological needs being met it is
2015 Service User Satisfaction Results
On an annual basis questionnaires are sent out to service users in order to ascertain their views and opinions about Touchstone and the service they have received. The feedback and views of service users play a key role in identifying best practice, areas for improvement and informing our approach to delivering quality outcomes and continuous improvement. This year our service users highlighted the following: Overall opinion of Touchstone – 94%