COMPANIES
MENTAL HEALTH.
Why talk for health.
Talk for Health is a social enterprise working to improve mental health. It was set up by Nicky Forsythe, a psychotherapist, to teach the skills and attitudes that allow for more deeply connective talk between people. This in turn leads to greater personal and social wellbeing.
The skills we teach are ‘talk-based’ – this means that they are drawn from talking therapies, and we distill them into basic principles that anyone can use.
Who is it for?
Talk for Health is for anyone who wants to understand themselves better, enjoy greater emotional wellbeing, support others and build community bonds.
The Talk for Health training can be adapted for individuals, organisations and corporate clients. Find out more on the links below:
Talk for Health offers a means to wellbeing which is:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco.
What does it involve.
The heart of our service is the Talk for Health Programme. This is run with groups of up to 12 and teaches:
- How to understand and talk about your own experience and feelings
- How to listen effectively and respond empathically to others
- How to set up an ongoing Talk for Health group
The initial training is 4.5 days over 4 – 6 weeks, during the course of which participants gain a raft of communication skills and instantly improved wellbeing.
The Programme isn’t the end of things: Following the training, participants can set up and attend ongoing Talk for Health peer support groups, and we offer help to do this. Participants find that these groups build their wellbeing and become an invaluable resource for self-reflection, support and achieving life goals.
We also offer a Train the Trainer programme where people can become licensed to lead the Programme inside organisations or companies, and further advanced learning for individuals once they have graduated from the Programme.
What effect does it have?
The short answer is that it increases psychological wellbeing.
To read more about the science, click HERE.
Anonymous evaluations of pre and post programme mental wellbeing have been carried out across seven groups of Talk for Health participants: three amongst the general public and four amongst amongst people with mental health diagnoses (n = 50). We used the ‘Outcomes Rating Scale’ (Miller 2010) developed for measuring therapy outcomes.
In all Talk for Health groups, mean wellbeing scores increased as shown below.
Wellbeing Outcomes (using ORS) from 7 Programmes. N = 50/July 2013
Nicky Forsythe – Founder.
Nicky is Founder of the Talk for Health Social Enterprise and developed the Talk for Health Programme. She is a Psychotherapist, researcher and innovator in the area of emotional health, and believes that techniques from psychotherapy can be used by anybody to lead a satisfying and beneficial life.
Nicky is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy MBACP (Accred.), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs.
She is 54, has been with her husband Roy for 25 years and has a son aged 15. Read more here.
Meet our team.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco.
Philippa Perry
Philippa is a Psychotherapist and Author, committed to demystifying psychotherapy.Her acclaimed graphic novel Couch Fiction of 2010 did just that, and was followed by her 2012 book How To Stay Sane, both published by Pan MacMillan.
Philippa is an eminent UK spokesperson on Psychotherapy and writes widely in the media.
She lives in London and Sussex with her husband, the artist Grayson Perry, and enjoys gardening, cooking, parties, walking, tweeting and watching telly.
Harriet Spicer
Harriet is an expert in governance, strategy, process, and the personal behaviours and relationships that inform these things.She was a Founding Director of Virago Press, the feminist publishing company, and worked there for over twenty five years. Later, she served on the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Lottery Commission.
She is currently a Founding Partner of Working Edge Coaching and Mentoring, a Council Member of the London School of Economics, an advisor to youth charity Uprisers, and has two grown-up children.
Lionel Joyce OBE CBE
Lionel is a former NHS Chief Executive, and pioneer of the Service User Empowerment movement. He has won both an OBE and CBE for his services to Mental HealthHe was CEO of Newcastle City Health – a large Mental Health teaching trust – where he created service user based services and advocacy, brought CBT to the UK, and actively promoted alternatives to hospital and Psychiatric care.
As one of the UK’s leading experts in mental health, he has served as a Legal Services Commissioner, a member of the Public Guardian Board, a Mental Health Act Commissioner, the Chairman of Turning Point, and Founder of the Mental Health Providers’ Forum.
He is currently Chair of the Road to Recovery Trust and spends much of his time helping people in 12-step recovery to discover their vocation and escape from benefits
Michael Mueller MBA
Michael Mueller is a Managing Director at Barclays Corporate Banking Division and is passionate about social entrepreneurship.He is interested in the opportunities and challenges that social enterprises face when applying business models to create social value in areas where governments, markets and charities have failed.
Prior to joining Barclays in London, Michael worked in senior positions for international banks in Europe, Asia and Australia. Michael holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Diploma in Organisational Psychology (INSEAD).
Originally from Germany, he lives in Richmond with his wife Carola and 3 daughters and enjoys mountain biking, running, windsurfing and sailing.
Hugh Thornberry CBE
Hugh worked in children’s services in the statutory and voluntary sectors for over 40 years retiring from his last role of Chief Executive at Adoption UK in early 2017.Prior to joining Adoption UK Hugh held a range of senior director roles at Action for Children.
Hugh is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees for Chance UK, a mentoring charity for primary age children and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Become, the national charity for children in care. Hugh represented the charity nationally through serving on the Board of Compact Voice and the NCVO Advisory Group.
Hugh is currently a professional advisor to the National Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board.
Hugh is a qualified social worker and youth and community worker and has an MBA in Public Services Administration.
Hugh was awarded a CBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours for services to children and families.
Hugh Thornberry CBE
Hugh worked in children’s services in the statutory and voluntary sectors for over 40 years retiring from his last role of Chief Executive at Adoption UK in early 2017.Prior to joining Adoption UK Hugh held a range of senior director roles at Action for Children.
Hugh is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees for Chance UK, a mentoring charity for primary age children and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Become, the national charity for children in care. Hugh represented the charity nationally through serving on the Board of Compact Voice and the NCVO Advisory Group.
Hugh is currently a professional advisor to the National Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board.
Hugh is a qualified social worker and youth and community worker and has an MBA in Public Services Administration.
Hugh was awarded a CBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours for services to children and families.
Sighn up to our newsletter.
Keep updated with our latest news by signing up to our newsletter!
