The Therapy Shed

In the final episode of series 3 we reflect on another series of brilliant and interesting guests that have joined us for a chat in the Therapy Shed. We discuss the various services available across the city, and reflect on the personal challenges often experienced, and overcome, by people when accessing support. Also, Brian shares his plans for Hypnotising Mark in a future episode... best of luck Mark! 

This episode we invited the very lovely Debbie Rogers, from Sean's Place, into the Therapy Shed. Sean's Place is a charity based in the Sefton area of Liverpool, that aims to support and improve men's mental health across the Sefton and Liverpool city region. Debbie shares her personal journey about the loss of her brother to suicide, which motivated her to founder Sean's Place charity service. Very quickly Sean's Place became an invaluable support service for men of all age ranges, and by 2021 was awarded "Charity of the Year". Debbie shares the various reasons why men often access support, from acknowledging feeling lonely, experiencing suicidal thoughts or a lack of opportunity to socialise in a welcoming and relaxed environment. 

Sean's Place encourages positive discussions around mental health, in a non judgemental setting through a variety of practical and proactive support programmes, including Counselling, CBT therapy, Coffee and Connect Drop In groups, as well as Guitar sessions and Sean's Place Fishing Club! They support adult males, aged 18 plus.

To access Sean's Place you can complete a self-referral, via their website or in person at the centre. Alternatively, someone can refer on a person's behalf, providing the person has given consent for the referral.

Further information about all the services and support available at Sean's Place can be found at www.seansplace.org.uk

We also named the Therapy Shed gnome in this episode... If you know, you know! Hope you enjoy

We are back in the shed for a catch up on the past few weeks of talking with various support services and mental health organisations. We reply to some questions and suggestions sent in from listeners, including pics of a trek to Hong Kong (sadly not involving ourselves!). We also discuss our favourite and most helpful books, ranging from mental health and "self help" books to more social psychology related books that explore various cultures and how we understand each other and the mind.

In this episode we were kindly welcomed into RASA (Rape and Sexual Abuse) Support Service to chat with Vicky Green, a Counsellor and Clinical Lead at RASA. Vicky shared her backstory and interesting journey into the world of mental health, along with the specialist work RASA offers. We discussed some of the causes and consequences of rape and sexual abuse, whilst hoping to break down some common myths often attached to both perpetrators and victims. RASA are a vital and brilliant charity, supporting victims of rape, sexual assault and/or abuse. RASA offer independent advocacy, Counselling, help and information to anyone affected by rape and/or sexual assault. People can contact the RASA helpline (0151 666 1392) to share concerns and/or report an incident, and also remain anonymous if they wish.  

Further information is available at www.rasamerseyside.org  

In this episode we welcome special guest Andy Milner, from men's mental health organisation Andy's Man Club, into the Therapy Shed for chat. Andy kindly shares his experiences of fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming a professional footballer, along with the mental health challenges he experienced following his football career ending prematurely. Andy speaks openly and honestly about his own journey, which led to him becoming a participant of Andy's Man Club; a men's mental health charity offering free to attend men's talking groups across the UK and helping to breakdown the stigma around men's mental health and emotional wellbeing. Andy's Man Club is available to all males aged 18 and over, now in more than 100 groups across the UK. Andy's Man Club is free to attend and attendees are not required to involuntarily share any personal information. For further information please visit www.andysmanclub.co.uk

The first episode of Series 3 is a poignant and compelling conversation with Kathy Lapsley, co-founder of Liverpool based charity service Love Jasmine. Kathy shares her heartbreaking experience of losing their young child (Jasmine), along with the consequential challenges of accessing support, which led to Kathy and her family eventually founding Love Jasmine. We talked about the unimaginable pain of losing a child, and the subsequent challenges families often face when trying to cope in the aftermath of child loss. Kathy talks with great honesty and openness about her families experience, along with the inspiration and motivation for Kathy and her partner Rob to ultimately founder Love Jasmine. We discuss the amazing work at Love Jasmine, along with the various support available at the service, including Talking Therapy, Parent Support Groups, Grandparent Support Groups, Sibling Support and Coffee Morning Events.  

It was a real honour to talk with Kathy in the Therapy Shed. If you would like further information or support in relation to any of the issues discussed, Love Jasmine offers support to bereaved parents and families, and is accessible via telephone, email and online self-referral at https://www.lovejasmine.org.uk/contact-us  

Xx

Listen in to the Therapy Shed for the final episode of the year, as we wish all our listeners a kind and peaceful festive period with a Therapy Shed Christmas special. We are joined by special guest Jack Rhodes; experienced podcaster, the "Epiphany Coach" and all round charming, warm soul. We talk with Jack about our favourites and least favourite Christmas songs/movies/foods, with some interesting festive preferences! We also scratch the surface of Christmas and explore the emotional impact many of us can experience at Christmas time; and the impact of personal relationships, reflections, loss and self-expectations at this time of year. We sign off the season with a joke off contest of our favourite Christmas cracker jokes... Ho Ho Ho! 

Merry Christmas everyone; kindness begins with you

In the final episode of the series, we reflect on all the brilliant guests that have joined us across Series 2. Talking about the learning, and the homework tasks, we reflect on the knowledge shared from each of our special guests around Trauma, OCD, Children, Suicide Prevention and ADHD. We share our favourite conversations from the series, how we apply the theory into clinical practice, and answer more listener's questions. That's a wrap for Series 2... Thanks for listening!

Episode 5 is a great conversation, with special guest Sarah Templeton, about all things ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Sarah runs 2 services that specialise in supporting people presenting with traits of ADHD; Headstuff ADHD Therapy, providing a team of over 40 therapists specialising in ADHD and supporting people across the UK, and Headstuff ADHD Liberty service, which targets support for people "fighting for freedom from addiction and crime". Sarah was diagnosed with ADHD at 51 and has been sharing her personal story and expertise about all things ADHD ever since. Sarah offers insights to what ADHD actually is, how it can be recognised, the assessment process, and importantly Sarah shares coping strategies and ways to use ADHD traits as superpowers! Sarah has extensive experience working in prison systems across the UK, and we talk about her work with prisoners, highlighting the correlation between ADHD and convicted offenders. Sarah highlights how ADHD is still a grossly misunderstood area of mental health, and we discuss the huge impact of people being misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. We learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed talking with a leading light in a vital area of mental health. For more info, check out Sarah's book "How NOT to murder your ADHD kid, instead learn how to be your child's ADHD coach".