Mind - The Chat

Mark Williamson is the CEO of Action for Happiness , a mass participation movement with a huge membership and  wide range of activities promoting happiness and well-being . Mark is passionate about creating a more balanced, collaborative society that focuses less on consumption and material wealth and more on helping people and communities thrive.

Bassam Mahfouz is the director of Refugee Action Kingston, which has supported and advocated for refugees and asylum seekers locally for the past thirty years.

In this podcast Bassam talks about the challenges that refugees face when coming to this country and how people can get involved to support the charity.

With a background in teaching music, Sarah Clay founded Voices of Hope in 2019, a free community choir which encourages people, including those recovering from violence and abuse, to sing together to improve their mental and physical health. 

Kingston University alumni, Tim Barker is the CEO of Kooth , a digital mental health service, founded in 2001. Partnered with local authorities and the NHS, Kooth provides a free service to over 15.9 million users worldwide. 

In this podcast, recorded with WMHD 2022 in mind, Tim talks about the lasting effects of the recent pandemic on mental health and the global reach of a digital platform. 

Dr Francesca Cappelluto is a GP and mum of three ,whose personal experience of  anxiety has resulted in an interest in mental health and the way it can be impacted by the menopause .

In this podcast Fran talks about setting up Menopause Mondays, a free support group offering advice to woman who want to make informed decisions regarding possible lifestyle changes and treatment options and why this formerly taboo topic really needs to be part of everyday conversations between both women and men. 

In our latest podcast, our reporter Finn Cotter chats to members of the Kingstonian Mind Football Team, along with John Bangs (OBE), from Kingstonian FC  and Alan Sellars from AFC Wimbledon about how the team works and what it means to them. 

Also featuring is Rachel Dykins, (Interim Community Inclusion Manager) who explains how people can get involved and why she’s keen to start a women’s football team.

Shannon Hayes is an actor who has appeared in big name TV dramas ( Ted Lasso, Years and Years and Cold Feet) as well as many stage productions including a recent run at The Rose in Kingston. She spoke to Vicky Bourne about her challenges at school and university where she struggled with anxiety, bereavement and body dysmorphic disorder.

Matt Hatton, former CEO of Kingston Churches action on Homelessness talks to Vicky Bourne from Mind in Kingston about the link between mental health and homelessness, the challenges of supporting people through the corona virus pandemic and his decision to take a break after 18 years with the charity.

Emma Merrick is the former Service Manager for the Kingston chapter of Refuge, the charity that provides specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. She talks to Mind in Kingston's counselling manager Vicky Bourne about how to identify victims of domestic abuse and how to help them.

Dr Kate Kenyon, a retired GP, talks to Mind in Kingston's counselling manager Vicky Bourne, about the mental health tragedy in her family that pushed her to set up Sewing for Kingston and later RBKares. Both are volunteer groups that have helped support Kingston Hospital staff and others through the coronavirus pandemic.