The Talking Therapies team joined in with a full day of family festival fun at the ‘Festival of Activity and Wellbeing’ at Holland Park. The event presented an opportunity for local residents to discuss wellbeing strategies and learn relaxation tips.

Residents were invited to complete a quiz based on the ‘5 ways to wellbeing’. The quiz acts as an engagement tool to expand on ways to improve wellbeing and offers something that is meaningful on an individual level.  

Once the quiz had been completed, residents received their prize of a plant that they could take home.

The plants were selected to symbolise this year’s national mental health campaign of Nature and Wellbeing.

As a service, we wanted to gift residents with a little bit of nature to take home with them, and also to offer an opportunity to instil concepts such as:

‘Every plant has their own needs in order to grow, so do people’

And

‘You need to make time for your plants for them to flourish, just as you should make time for your own personal wellbeing’

Along with Talking Therapies, we also took time to talk about the navigator service, which is a part of Community Living Well.  A local resident said,

“If debts are constantly calling and harassing you, and means you are so worried, can’t sleep or think straight, then getting help with sorting that out as well as help with your mental health makes so much sense”

Community Living Well provides a wraparound support service for residents registered with a GP in Kensington, Queens Park and Paddington.

Fellow community organisations were also available to share information and suggestions about the activities that they provide to support individuals who were struggling with social isolation and reaching out to connect.

The event presented an opportunity to provide instant signposting and support.

To make a referral to the Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapy (IAPT) service, you can complete this online form

To find out more about mental health and nature, via the Mental Health Foundation, visit this website: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/mental-health-awareness-week-2021-highlights