Taking to the stage to help keep minds healthy

The Healthy Minds team

A team of health professionals from Healthy Minds stepped out of the clinic and into the spotlight to raise awareness of some of the pressures young people can face that affect their emotional well being.

The staff from Healthy Minds, a service that supports people over the age of 16 with mental and emotional wellbeing issues such as stress, low mood and worry, have created a play that highlights how issues from daily life can affect a person’s well being.

Saiqa Naz, a therapist from Healthy Minds Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to raise awareness of emotional health issues and remind people that there is support available. The play has proved to be a very effective way of getting the message across.

“The play is about Imran, a young man who is facing various pressures and dilemmas, which are building up and causing him to feel low and withdraw from those around him. While our acting skills may not be worthy of an award, the play does seem to work on getting the audience to relate to Imran and think about how those around them may need support.”

The Healthy Minds team have performed the play for various community groups across the Rochdale borough, as well as performing to a large crowd at an event to mark World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10 October.

The staff can also deliver the play in Urdu, which has helped them explain the service to community groups in Rochdale whose first language is not English.

Saiqa said: “There are many Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) community groups in Rochdale and having the ability to deliver the play in Urdu has helped us reach some of these communities. This is so important, especially considering that statistics show BME groups living in the UK are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems and may not fully understand the range of support available.”

Healthy Minds is delivered by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and provides a range of treatment and support options to anyone aged 16 or over, living in Heywood, Middleton or Rochdale.

Anyone experiencing a common mental or emotional health problem such as low mood, stress or anxiety, can contact the service directly by filling in a short questionnaire at www.penninecare.nhs.uk/healthyminds, or calling the team on 01706 261940.