Minds Matter Islington

Minds Matter Islington delivers our successful and highly regarded mental health awareness work.

What we do

To put it simply, we talk about mental health!

We run informal, interactive and fun workshops with Islington organisations which explore mental health topics. Our sessions bust myths about mental health, increase understanding about common mental health problems and sometimes less common ones too! 

Our highly experienced facilitators create safe spaces which allow honest discussion and questions. We share useful information about where people can find free & low cost therapeutic support services. Sessions are designed bespoke, to best meet the needs of the different groups we work with. 

Creative Programmes

We run creative programmes such as spoken word, film and mural making which explore mental health themes in exciting and interesting ways. 

Staff Training

We run mental health awareness training for staff who work with parents/carers and young people.

Who do we work with?

Groups of young people (aged 11-24 years) and the parents/carers of both older and younger children. We also deliver training with  staff teams who work with these groups, for instance teachers, youth workers and child care staff. We work directly with organisations where young people and parents meet such as schools, youth clubs and children’s centres. All our work is Islington based. 

Resources & Support Information

Our Minds Matter booklet lists free and low cost sources of counselling and other support for adults and young people in Islington – download it here. We also have put together a few tips for navigating the mental health system which you can access here.

We have designed a range of free, downloadable resources to help encourage discussion about mental health, available on our resources page. 

Blogs

We write regular blogs on a wide variety of mental health topics. Find them on our News page (scroll down the list to find them all). 

Connect! 

For more information please contact the Project Manager Barb Jacobson via b.jacobson@peelinstitute.org.uk or Project Coordinator Kate Lovell via mindsmatter.isl@peelinstitute.org.uk / 020 7837 6082.  

Creativity examples

Take a look at some of the creative programmes we’ve delivered, in partnership with Islington organisations.

Stress on the Brain. Our biggest hitting creative partnership! This music video was a collaboration between ourselves, Islington CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service), New River College & SoapBox Youth Centre. The result is a powerful music video which explains how stress affects our brains. We challenge you to find a better way of explaining these complex messages to young people! 

The N-Factor. Created for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, this short video celebrates the importance of connecting with nature. Grab a cuppa, sit back and relax. 

Passion & Poetry. Our wonderful on-line poetry programme with young people from the Galbur Foundation & the brilliant poet Adisa the Verbalizer. Taking place in the middle of 2021’s long winter lockdown, young people explored the challenging themes of grief & equality. Their poetry, which reflects the programme’s discussions, is funny, moving and poignant. 

My Life Matters. Our first on-line creative programme saw young people from EYC youth club teaming up with the wonderfully talented poet & singer Miss Jacqui. Taking place during the first 2020 lockdown the young people explored wellbeing, what makes them happy and issues of identity. The result? Brilliantly performed & powerful poetry! 

Mental Health not Sihr. Brave and brilliant young people from Al Risala Mosque and the Galbur Foundation came together with community arts organisation All Change to create this high-impact video with a strong message. 

Mental Health, Arts & Culture. A visual arts programme where a group of Galbur Foundation young people came together with a Somali artist to explore emotions, stress, wellbeing and cultural identity, which resulted in the creation of a wonderful collage. This video, made by our friends at The Galbur Foundation, tells the tale of this 4-week programme.