World Mental Health Day 2023

The raffle has now ended and the draw will take place on 20th October.
Good luck!

The 10th October is World Mental Health Day and the theme for 2023
(set by the World Foundation of Mental Health) is ‘Mental health is a universal human right’.

North Kent Mind are hosting a stall at Bluewater from the 8th—10th October to raise awareness around this important day.

We will be on hand to engage in conversations with the local community about what support we can offer
those who feel they are struggling.

It is important to talk about your mental health and everyone should know that they are not alone.

We will also be holding a raffle.

Tickets start from as little as £2 and we have some amazing prizes to be won, just in time for Christmas!

Tickets can be purchased in person at our stall in Bluewater or through our website at the link below.

All money received goes back into our charity and towards running our services for our local community.

We hope to see you at our Bluewater event and thank you for your continued support.

Kent & Medway Partnership Domestic Abuse Strategy 2024-2029

The new Kent & Medway Partnership Domestic Abuse Strategy 2024-2029 is now out for consultation. The strategy represents the work and ambitions of 20 partners across Kent & Medway and has been written based on detailed feedback from people who have experienced abuse.

The Strategy aims to: ‘reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse, and ensure that where domestic abuse takes place, all those affected get the right support, quickly’.

The commitments in the strategy are presented in three key priorities informed by people with lived experience of abuse:

1.        Early intervention and prevention – identify domestic abuse as early as possible and get support in place.

2.       Immediate needs – services, interventions, and support during episodes and immediately after.

3.       Recovery – support to recover from harm, heal and become resilient.

Help shape our Domestic Abuse Services in Kent and Medway. Share your views on the #Kent and #Medway Domestic Abuse Strategy which sets out the new five-year plan to develop and improve our services?

Visit www.kent.gov.uk/domesticabusestrategy to complete the online questionnaire.

Wellbeing Workshops

Wellbeing Workshops Poster

North Kent Mind have partnered with Imago to deliver group wellbeing workshops over the summer holidays for children and young people aged 6-16.

The sessions will be fun and interactive, covering various topics such as understanding mental health, anxiety and self-help strategies, exploring friendships and bulling as well as self-esteem and resilience.

Participants are required to be patients registered under the following GP surgeries:

Stonecross & West Drive Surgery

King George Road Surgery

Reach Healthcare

Churchill Clinic

Matrix Medical Practice.

If you, or anyone you know could benefit from these sessions, please get in touch with the GP!

Easyfundraising – North Kent Mind

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online – from your weekly shop to your annual holiday – you could be raising free donations for North Kent Mind with easyfundraising?

There are over 7,000 brands on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.

All you need to do is:

  1. Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mindnorthkent/?utm_campaign=raise-more and join for free.
  2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.
  3. After you’ve checked out, the brand will make a donation to Mind – North Kent at no extra cost to you whatsoever!

There are no catches or hidden charges and North Kent Mind will be really grateful for your donations.

Psychedelic clinical trial for Treatment-Resistant Depression

For further information see HMR Leaflet
HMR (TRD)Trials Leaflet

HMR is looking for people with a diagnosis of Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) i.e depression that has not responded to two or more
medications, aged 18 to 75 to take part in a trial using 5-MEO-DMT.

5-MEO-DMT is a controlled and ‘psychedelic’ drug, used both recreationally and in ceremonial settings. We are testing whether 5-MEO-DMT given together with psychological support is safe in patients with TRD to determine whether it is useful to investigate further as a treatment for this condition.

If you are someone with TRD and are willing/able to discontinue your antidepressant medication, you might be eligible for this study. You could also be eligible if you are not taking any antidepressants currently, but have tried two or more within this episode.

TO TAKE PART YOU MUST:

Have Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD)

Be aged 18 to 75

TO TAKE PART YOU MUST NOT:

Have taken any psychedelic substances in the last 6 months

Plan to take any psychedelic substances (other than the study drug) during the study

Be addicted to drugs or alcohol

Have an important mental disorder (other than TRD)

THE STUDY INVOLVES:

1 night’s residence on our wards

11 outpatient visits

(4 of them can be video calls)

STUDY PAYMENT:

In return, you’ll receive a full medical

check-up and, if you complete the study,

a payment of £300 + reasonable travel expenses.

Contact Information


Phone Number 0800 783 87 92

E-mail Address recruit@hmrlondon.com


Our Location
Cumberland Avenue,
Park Royal,
London, NW10 7EW

North Kent Minds Service User Conference!

North Kent Mind are hosting a Service User Conference later this month!

We’ve got a jam-packed agenda consisting of workshops, talks, and the space to give feedback on our services!

10am – 4pm

 Friday 24th February 2023

St Anselm’s Church, 89 West Hill, Dartford DA1 2HJ

Lunch provided!

Interested in attending? There are 30 spaces available, so it is first come first served!

Drop an email to loishasivarajakulendran@northkentmind.co.uk to register your interest!

We can’t wait to hold the conference and see you there.

Have you ever heard of a breathing wand?

Over the half-term period our Children and Young Persons Service hosted some sessions, including a creative activity for our attendees!

They made some breathing wands as a useful tool for mindfulness.

The focus being to visibly breathe in and blow out onto their wand and to watch it below, to regulate their breaths.

Interested in creating a breathing wand? They can be easily put together using household items. Give it a go!

Things you’ll need:

  • A toilet paper towel roll
  • Anything you’d like to use to decorate
  • Thin ribbon, or anything that is light enough to be moved by breath

How to put together:

  1. Cut a small strip off the top of one toilet paper roll
  2. Stick it to the top of another, shaped like an arch
  3. Attach your ribbons to the arch
  4. Decorate!
  5. Then you can start to use

World Mental Health Day – October 10th!

Next Monday is World Mental Health Day.

1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem each year. But many of us don’t know where to reach out for support. Or how to share what we’re going through.

Sometimes, finding the words to say how we feel is tough. You can feel like you’re talking another language – one no one else understands. But we do.

If this speaks to you, speak to us.