Mind in Taunton
and West Somerset
PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date
31/03/2017
The Taunton Hearing Voices Support Group Saved from
Closure
Mental
Health Charity Mind TWS are pleased to announce that their Hearing Voices Group
has been saved from closure due to generous funding from Somerset Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust.
The
group, which has been running since October 2016, was facing closure without
further funding. Thankfully, due to a lot of campaigning within the charity and
a grant from Somerset Partnership, they were able to secure support for people
who hear voices and see visions for the next 12 months.
Group
facilitator and founder, Marc Lewis, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that
Somerset Partnership NHS Trust has been able to come through for us and provide
us with this funding. Having had a family history of people who experience
voices and visions I know how isolating those experiences can be due to how
stigmatized mental health issues are in society. This funding means we can
continue to provide social support and a listening ear to the people that need
us.”
Neil
Jackson, Head of Mental Health Inpatient Crisis and Specialist Care Division at
Somerset Partnership, was pleased to be able to confirm the funding and said:
“Hearing
Voices Groups can be very positive and effective ways of overcoming frightening
experiences such as voices and visions. For many people the sharing of these
experiences in a supportive group, and being able to learn coping strategies
from each other are an important part of recovery.
“We
have agreed to fund Taunton Hearing Voices Group for the next 12 months to give
Mind in Taunton and West Somerset time to fundraise to support the group and
this service in the long term.”
The
Taunton Hearing Voices Group takes place every Thursday 2pm till 4pm at the Chamberlains
Café at the back of North Street Church. It is a support group that aims to
provide a safe and encouraging space for people who see visions and Hear
voices.
More
information about hearing voices can be found here- http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/hearing-voices/living-with-voices
Facts about hearing voices:
- Between
70 and 90 cent of people who hear voices do so following traumatic events.
- Voices
can be male, female, without gender, child, adult, human or non-human.
- People
may hear one voice or many. Some people report hearing hundreds, although
in almost all reported cases, one dominates above the others.
- Voices
can be experienced in the head, in the ears, outside the head, in some
other part of the body, or in the environment.
- Voices
often reflect important aspects of the hearer’s emotional state – emotions
that are often unexpressed by the hearer.
Contact –Marc Lewis, Mind in Taunton and West
Somerset
Phone:
01823 334 906
Email:
MarcLewis@mindtws.org.uk
Notes to editors
·
More information about the hearing voices
group can be found on our webpage here: http://mindtws.org.uk/hearing-voices-support-group/
·
A Promotional video for the Hearing Voices
Group can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_Toc9flUzM
·
More information about the services Mind in
Taunton and West Somerset offer in the community can be found on our website at www.mindtws.org.uk
·
Mind in Taunton and West Somerset is a local
mental health charity which supports people throughout Somerset and South Devon
& Torbay. We provide high quality support services and information and
signposting to local people experiencing mental and emotional distress.
·
Mind In Taunton & West Somerset operate
two out of hours helplines under the names Mindline Somerset (01823 276 892)
and Mindline South Devon & Torbay (0300 330 5464) who support people with
mental health issues in their respective areas. Both lines are open from 8-11
on Tues,Wed,Fri,Sat,Sun.
·
More information about the services Mind in
Taunton and West Somerset offer in the community can be found on our website at www.mindtws.org.uk
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