To coincide with refugee week our colleague, Morteza H at IAPT has written about his experiences of being a refugee. Happy refugee week Having come to this country as a refugee, I feel obliged to acknowledge the Refugee Week with extra care; or perhaps the prosperous life I have established makes me feel proud to celebrate this special occasion as a way of thanks giving. Regardless, I am very proud
Here’s some of the feedback we got from participants on our Sadee Smile diabetes awareness courses aimed at the South Asian communities in Leeds. All the clients referred to below are Pakistani adults, aged 45-60 with either Type II Diabetes or Prediabetes. The clients with Diabetes were either taking medication or aiming to control the condition through diet. People said that they chose to attend the course in order to
In the second of our blog posts for Dementia Awareness Week 2016, a carer talks about his family's experiences from the time of their father's diagnosis with dementia to the time of his death. My father was diagnosed with Dementia/Alzheimer in 2001, we as a family didn't really know what this meant. Our beloved father passed away 5 years ago. Before the diagnosis, both the doctors and us thought dad
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
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
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
To mark World Alzheimer's Day (21st September), Ripaljeet Kaur has provided this case study of one of the clients supported by Touchstone's BME Dementia Service Mrs B was referred into the service by another organisation. She lives with her daughter-in-law, who is her full time carer, as well as her son and grandson. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2005 and never accessed any support since then. She is very
The following is a written collaboration by one of our High Intensity CBT therapists Debbie R and a client who has recently completed treatment with Touchstone IAPT. Relapse prevention is a vital part of the therapeutic process. It serves many functions but one of the most important is to provide clients' with a powerful tool to reflect on themselves and their experiences in the months and years to come post-treatment. This
The following case study, written by Morteza H, outlines the collaborative nature of the work taking place at Touchstone IAPT. Working with other organisations, and with the client, to provide a package of care tailored to their individual circumstances. Client name has been changed for confidentiality. X is a refugee originally from Pakistan. X had been subjected to physical violence from her previous partner for a long time, which eventually led her to flee
Thank you to all Touchstone Volunteers and everyone who volunteers! Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK. Touchstone volunteers are an amazing group of people who are passionate friendly, engaged and dedicated in supporting Touchstone, and we thank them this week and beyond for their contributions. Volunteer Role: Group Facilitator at Touchstone Support Centre What is your volunteer role