MEETING REPORT: Time to Change Wales – Mental Health Awareness week: Relationships

Back in May there was an event hosted as part of the Mental Health Awareness week focusing awareness on the value of relationships in mental well being. The event also served as an opportunity to restate Cardiff Universities commitment to the Time to Change Wales charter (CU pledge) (to which the University pledged its support back in 2014).

Mental Health Awareness week: Relationships
Held on the 19 May 2016, 12:00-13:00  Lecture theatre 0.07, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road
The event was organised through Time to Change Wales – the national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination facing people with mental health problems in Wales. The session was led by Time to Change Wales champion Beverley Jones, who talked about her experience of mental health both through her work with the organisation (whose structure she set out), and through her own personal mental health journey.

The overarching intention of the session was to facilitate wider understanding around the impact of mental health stigma on people’s lives and what we as individuals and groups can do to support the campaign. Indeed, the theme for 2016 is ‘relationships’, relationships are essential to maintaining good mental health.

The audience were invited to stop and think about our relationships with colleagues.

• How much time do you actively commit to building and maintaining good relationships?
• Can you be more present in your relationships and listen more?
• Maybe you can make a relationship resolution?
• Did you know that having even one good relationship in the workplace can boost your resilience, and connecting with others is one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing?

Contact for the event was Keith Lynch from Staff Counselling – lynchka@cardiff.ac.uk
Keith is the author of many posts exploring aspects of mental health and wellbeing services over on the Staff Wellbeing blog.