Drinking can often seem like a quick and easy way to address problems of stress and nervousness. To mark April’s Alcohol Awareness Month, Touchstone’s IAPT team look at why this is and how it can actually make the problem worse. The IAPT service can help people to observe and understand their own behaviour and to replace unhealthy coping strategies, like drinking, with more effective long-term solutions. People with social
Following the loss of Germanwings flight 4U 9525, the media once again gluttonously feasts on the alleged mental ill-health of the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, - believed to have caused the death of 150 people- so putting back the campaign against stigma and discrimination by several years. These stories can have a big influence on the public. Research has shown that many people get their information about mental illness from the
Touchstone CEO Alison Lowe, one of Forward Ladies Women in Business Award Winners in 2014, asks is negative self-talk what holds women back in business? Whilst seven out of ten employees in the voluntary sector are women, only 43% of charities are led by female chief executives or chairs. Why is this? Do women still struggle with negative self-talk and is it possible to buck this trend? As Harriet Minter recently wrote
Touchstone's Housing Service is part of the Positive Pathways partnership, which helps people, who are having difficulties connected to their mental health, to either find a place to live or to better manage their current accommodation. Ultimately, the best measure of our success is the impact we have in the lives of people who use Touchstone Housing service, which is why we're delighted that one service user gave permission for
Seven Video Productions have created a short video talking to some of the delegates and presenters from this year's Women In Management conference for International Women's Day. Watch the video on YouTube to hear from speakers including Charlotte Sweeney, Alison Bunn (TwelvePeaks Management) and Touchstone's Alison Lowe. "It reminds people that, yes, we've come a long way, but we've still got a long way to go..." - Charlotte Sweeney "The
International happiness day is today and Touchstone's IAPT team want to offer you some top tips to enhance your life with a greater level of happiness. Firstly, are you happy enough? Click on the link below http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/AreYouHappy2.pdf If you are, that’s great! If your not as happy as you’d like to be then look at the following list. Researchers in Positive Psychology have identified 10 actions that we can all take to improve our
International Women’s Day events are held worldwide on March 8 to celebrate women and their global contribution. Various women, including political, community, and business leaders, as well as leading educators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and television personalities, are usually invited to speak at events on the day, highlighting their successes to illustrate how much progress has been made, and often how much further there is still yet to go. Many students in
Tuesday 27th January 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz. The liberation of the camp has become a date in the calendars of many communities at which we stop and reflect about the death, destruction and inhumanity in our recent past. For Julia Kinch, a member of Touchstone’s WY-FI Team, this date has a deeply personal meaning. This is her story. The
Touchstone’s Community Support Team (CST) works with people with severe and enduring mental health problems – many of whom have not been able to access support from other services. Using an assertive outreach approach, they meet with clients, helping them to recognise their own strengths and to use those strengths to set and achieve goals based on their own aspirations. The team provides 7 day a week support and seeks to develop a collaborative, trusting
Touchstone is passionate about involving service users in all aspects of service delivery and planning. We work together and we celebrate together. Roderic Morgan (Service User Consultant) reflects on the annual service user party in December last year. The Touchstone Christmas Party for 2014 was held at the Sheepscar Club in Chapeltown on the evening of 18th December 2014. When I arrived around 6.30pm, preparations were being made and