Essex counselling charity launches community emotional literacy programme for Mental Health Awareness Week

Renew Counselling and Training, a leading Essex charity dedicated to improving mental health and wellbeing, has marked Mental Health Awareness Week by announcing their new Empower Your Emotions programme.

Designed to help people from all walks of life develop their emotional literacy, the free programme will enable participants to talk about their feelings in a calm and productive way, while also providing them with tools to listen to and support others. The programme consists of three workshops, one held at each of the three Renew centres in Chelmsford, Brentwood and Basildon, and is open to all members of the community. The sessions will see participants learning how to be open about feelings, providing them with practical advice on how to communicate effectively with everyone from family members and

friends to colleagues and neighbours.

According to recent research, mental health continues to be a growing concern in the UK. Around 1 in 6 adults in the UK are experiencing depression (ONS), while 1 in 14 UK adults (7%) report feeling stressed every single day (CIPHR). But despite the growing demand for mental health services, there is less and less funding available for this important work, highlighting the need for increased support for mental health services.

With this in mind, Renew has developed the Empower Your Emotions programme, inspired by the observations of the charity’s counsellors in the wake of the pandemic and cost of living crisis. Empower Your Emotions is part of Renew Counselling and Training’s ongoing mission to improve mental wellbeing in the communities it serves. This year, the charity carried out 14%

more counselling sessions than it did in the previous year, highlighting the growing demand for mental health support in the local area.

“We believe that talking openly about your emotions should be as natural as commenting on the weather or mentioning that you have a headache,” says Nikki Schuster, Chief Executive at Renew Counselling and Training. “Sadly, not everyone can access counselling due to the rising cost of living and cuts in mental health services. But we know from experience that even just talking about how you’re feeling with a friend or colleague can improve your mental health exponentially. We hope that this programme will help members of our community to develop the skills they need to communicate effectively about their emotions, and to support others who may be struggling.”

The first session of the Empower Your Emotions programme will be held during the summer at Renew’s Chelmsford centre. To register your interest or for more information, please visit www.renew.org.uk, email [email protected] or call 01245 359353.