Art for heart’s sake: five projects that use the arts to improve mental health
From comedy for elderly people to a reading group to help combat social isolation, our pick of five projects that use the arts to improve mental health
Who can be great mental health counsellors for refugees? Refugees
A project in Germany allows refugees who know the mother tongue of asylum seekers and have experienced their situation first-hand, to offer much-needed psychological support
Finding refuge in the ring: 4 inspiring boxing projects
Boxing is being used to improve mental as well as physical health – and to deal a knock-out blow to crime. Giselle Green squares up to four inspiring UK projects
From the brink of suicide to sharing the pain: why society must get used to talking about mental illness
Three years ago, writer Kevin Braddock hit rock bottom and tried to kill himself. At the last minute, he found the courage to ask for help and went on to turn his struggle into a way to help [...]
What if mental health first aid was as widespread as CPR?
One in every four Americans experiences mental illness, and a lack of police understanding can lead to tragedy. What if more of us were trained to deal with depression and anxiety? New York City [...]
Good food, good mood: can we eat ourselves happier?
After suffering debilitating bouts of depression, journalist and author Rachel Kelly began to investigate the links between nutrition and mental health
Mind how you go: 3 ways travel can help boost mental health
Meaningful travel is about more than being a responsible tourist; there are mental health benefits too
New school rules? Swotting up on ‘positive education’
With both youth depression and youth unemployment on the rise, calls are growing for a different kind of learning. Could ‘positive education’ enhance not just wellbeing, but academic performance too?
As links between literacy and depression become clear, why reading matters
Research reveals that England’s children have less positive attitudes to reading than other countries, while a third of adults don’t read for pleasure – and this could be affecting wellbeing. [...]
As the world watches Calais, how to build children’s resilience to trauma
As he embarks on a world tour to support young people traumatised by poverty and conflict, professor of child mental health, Panos Vostanis, explores how to help traumatised young people
Good Business: Michael Harris, The Integrate Movement
The Integrate Movement is helping facilities such as schools and housing associations take a mental health-led approach, so that excluded people get the help they need. Nicola Slawson talks to [...]
Tackling the psychological impact of earthquakes in Nepal
Call-in radio programme aims to reduce mental health problems caused by earthquakes
Young people are changing face of mental health in Lebanon
Tradition, corruption and political negligence continue to stigmatise mental illness, but the new generation is transforming old taboos
Ruby Wax: poster girl for mental health
Ruby Wax rose to fame making people laugh, but off-stage she spent years battling depression. Now, with a newly acquired master’s degree, she tells Nicola Slawson about her mission to get the [...]
Man enough to talk about depression?
As part of a nationwide effort to end stigma around mental health, an organisation that provides mentoring for vulnerable young men is using its unique experience to help end the silence on men’s [...]
Care farming: the natural health service
Fresh air, brown earth and human kindness. These are the seeds of a revolution in the way we care for society’s most vulnerable individuals, which is taking shape across Britain’s farms and fields
