We're joined by guest speaker and founder of Westmeria Counselling Sue Doughty. Westmeria Counselling, was established in 2003, with the view of helping those experiencing depression, in the local community. Sue talks to us about how to cope with anxiety, giving us some amazing techniques to help ease the feelings and what effects working from home and work pressures can have on our mental health. Westmeria Counselling have some incredible blogs that cover some key topics, you can access them here.

In our latest podcast, we explore anxiety as part of Mental Health Awareness Month with guest speaker Debs Sheppard. Debs is a Mental Health First Aider (MHFA England) trainer for the Charity and is the founder of Mindful Butterfly. We're so excited to be joined by Debs for this special edition episode. Everyone experiences anxiety, and how it manifests itself, is different for everyone. We explore what the symptoms are, some possible triggers, and coping mechanisms.

In this episode Grace from the Welfare team discusses Mental Health Matter with a fellow pioneer of mental health. Fran works for international law firms as well as large corporate clients. Her experience involves driving a culture of change and building bespoke solutions for clients. She does this through understanding the behaviours, needs and learning methods of the people within and clients of each organisation before implementing any change.

She is an ally in the corporate world to increase aware­ness around well­be­ing and mental health through storytelling. She champions the impor­tance of emo­tion­al open­ness and bring­ing our whole selves to work and the important role of leaders to achieve this.

She is a co-trustee of ‘The Ben Raemers Foundation’, in memory of her 28 year old cousin and professional skateboarder, Ben Raemers, who took his own life in May 2019. The foundation aims to support and actively encourage positive wellbeing and suicide prevention within the wider skateboarding community and across the world. She also has lived experience of the suicide ripple effect. She is a certified person listener at The Listening Place, a charity that offers free on going face-to-face support for people with chronic suicidal feelings who no longer want to live.

SAMARITANS - 116 123

HELPLINE - 0800 652 1618

MIND - www.mind.org.uk

Ross began his journey of recovery in 1993 which led him to a career in psychotherapy.

Over the years Ross has worked in pry and secondary school working alongside children who have struggled with anxiety. He has also delivered solution focused intervention with teens affected directly by substance misuse.

He has worked in rehabilitation centres for alcohol and drug misuse and laterally has developed his own course model of Recovery – to Recovery that which has been lost within you….

A great passion within Ross is hill walking which led him to launch his company “Scout and About”…a green space approach to counselling and coaching offering walk and talk retreats working with individuals and groups to help bring connection back into your life.

This month we are exploring Autism in true World Autism Awareness Month fashion. We are joined by Simon Docker of SMD Counselling and Psychotherapy (Counselling in Newport - SMD Counselling) to provide insight and understanding of Autism and those with diagnosis. Being different is absolutely okay - but refraining from interacting with someone because they are different is absolutely not! Autism Awareness Month strives to override the stigma that surrounds ASD diagnoses and presents the opportunity to learn more about Autism, as well as to embrace our differences. Autism is not an illness or a disease, nor is it a medical condition that has a 'cure' - it just means that a person with Autism will think differently to someone without it!

The EIC want to encourage a culture of acceptance and understanding, assisting to break the stigma that surrounds the topic by providing awareness with this podcast.

Counselling in Newport - SMD Counselling

counselling newport stress, anxiety, depression, anger, low self-esteem, addictions, relationships, parenting issues, bereavement,

For our listeners – Kyle works for MSP (Merseyside Sports Partnership)MSP is an Active Partnership for Liverpool City Region. Active Partnerships are a national network of organisations working locally as a Physical Activity System Partner to Sport England. MSP is a strategic organisation which helps to make physical activity more accessible and inclusive. His role includes leading on Mental Health work - making physical activity more accessible for people with mental health problems, and supporting the health sector to use physical activity as a tool for improved mental health. Kyle also work closely with Mind to lead Minds North West Regional Network.

In this episode we will be exploring the connection between mental health and physical activity.

Rachel has worked for JTL for several years in her role as a Diversity, Safeguarding & Inclusion Advisor, an especially important role for our discussion today about Apprentice mental health. JTL is one of the largest work-based learning providers in England and Wales working with over 3,800 businesses from large corporations to small local suppliers. They currently work with 8,000 learners and train more apprentices than anyone else in the building services engineering sector. JTL invests in the health of their apprentices taking a holistic approach to care with consideration for the multifaceted human experience valuing mind, body and socio-economic influences and their respective impacts on individual experience. I have asked Rachel to join me on this month’s podcast episode engaging with the topic of ‘The Apprentice Mental Health Landscape’ to discuss some of her experience working with Apprentices, what she has learned, what needs to change and how the EIC can help.

Today we engage with the often missed and forgotten family members experience of supporting someone with mental illness. Steph is the daughter of John who we heard from in Episode 3, and we have asked her to join us in sharing some of the challenges, learnings, and changes that she experienced having to support her dad through his illness.

John has worked in the electrical and IT industry since his teenage years, he worked in several organisations before starting his own electrical business. John has experienced emotional and financial hardship throughout the years, and I asked him to join me today on this month’s podcast episode engaging with the topic of ‘suffering in silence and financial distress’ to discuss some of his experience, what he has learned, what needs to change and how the EIC can help.

This month we discuss how companies can help the Electrical Industries Charity support more industry members in need by signing up to a Commercial Agreement (CA).

CA is an agreement between a business and the Electrical Industries Charity which gives a portion of the sales from a product or product range as a donation to the Charity to support sector colleagues.

The goal of the programme isn’t to increase the cost to the end users (your customers), the goal is for the organisations to take part in giving back to the industry through the entire supply chain. This supports your customers, the suppliers and the wholesalers.