Talking therapies support reinvented
Providing one-to-one support for someone at their lowest is a vital part of the service provided by West Kent Mind. But with increased demand and fluctuating funding the charity opted to innovate and reinvent this critical service – earning a nomination for the 2024 Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards. Neive Wright from the awards team investigated.
The Counselling Team at West Kent Mind has received a nomination for the Kent Mental Wellbeing Award for their innovative counselling service.
Life presents us with painful situations, tough decisions, and overwhelming moments. Unfortunately, across the UK, the demand for therapy through the NHS often leads to long waiting times, leaving charities stretched thin as they cope with growing caseloads and extended waiting lists for affordable counselling.
Led by Georgia Clark (pictured below), the Counselling Team at West Kent Mind, through initiative and hard work has come together to develop an expansion programme to reinvent their counselling services.
As a result of strong attention to detail and engagement with clients and counsellors, the team have been able to deliver more services and evidence more impactful results cost-effectively.
This has been achieved by reinventing how their service is provided: changing payment systems, introducing data monitoring metrics, and reducing the overheads of the service. An exemplary project for West Kent Mind that could not have been achieved without the collective support and dedication of the team.
West Kent Mind has recognised the value of counselling in improving and maintaining mental health and wellbeing. A service that provides support for the challenges of everyday life and beyond. A particular highlight of the programme is delivering specialist counselling for those experiencing domestic abuse. A ‘fast track’ counselling system has been implemented to ensure that those suffering from domestic abuse receive the support they need without waiting—a crucial addition to the service.
Counsellors working with the charity have praised the changes saying: “It’s a whole new chapter, I can see and hear how much work, thought and time has gone into these changes” and “Thank you West Kent Mind team for all your efforts to determine and implement the changes that are deemed necessary to be sustainable and continue to offer the wonderful service it provides.”
To find out more about West Kent Mind’s counselling service visit https://westkentmind.org.uk/i-want-help/counselling/
The Kent Mental Wellbeing awards is an annual event designed to showcase the people, organisations and initiatives that help us cope with life. The event’s three themes are: kindness and compassion; wellbeing; mental health.
Whether it is in school, business, community or family, so many of us have been lucky to have people and organisations with ideas, tips and tactics to help us cope. It is time to celebrate those mental health and well-being champions in our community and share this best practice.
The awards will be staged in October by the mental health charity Mind in Bexley and East Kent in collaboration with a range of wellbeing and mental health organisations.
Nominations can be linked to a simple act of kindness that lifted the spirits, a business that has improved staff wellbeing, through to a targeted initiative delivered by a charity or statutory organisation to support a mental health issue.
The event is sponsored by Kent County Council, Kent Community Foundation, ADM Computing, GrainLNG – National Grid, Medway Council, Optyma Security, Wave Community Bank, Cactus Graphics and CommunityAid.
Submit nominations at www.kentmentalwellbeingawards.org.uk For awards news follow @KentMWAwards on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
