The Working Together Forum was held on 15 May in Birmingham. Helen, our Volunteer Coordinator, took two of our peer supporters, Lisa and Peter.
The day started off with icebreakers and introductions, the group met up with the Leicester service and listened to recovery stories. Then it was time for morning workshops. Lisa and Helen ventured to meditative yoga, while Peter tried the value of volunteering. Journalist and author Rachael Kelly gave a talk on her own recovery journey, and the strategies and practical steps that we can all take towards happiness. After the talk the group went to the Positive Psychology workshop, run by our own Senior Practitioner Will Burton-Fisher and Leicester volunteer Kirstie Norman.
Lisa Says…
“I really enjoyed the day. It was inspiring and I learned new things. It was a friendly atmosphere and a lovely environment to be in.
The Meditative Yoga session was well presented. It was chair based and aimed at all abilities. The session was relaxing and I enjoyed it.
After this we had our lunch which was delicious. I had a vegetable lasagne. The afternoon session began with some Oomph, a demonstration of gentle exercise. Then we had the plenary speaker, Rachel Kelly, who was excellent. A really inspirational speaker. I particularly enjoyed learning practical techniques and new ways of looking at the world.
The afternoon workshop was on Positive Psychology. It was the workshop that I was most looking forward to. It didn’t disappoint. There were practical activities to make you look at your own experience and think about it in a more helpful way. It was great that it was co-presented by someone who had her own mental health experience. This helped the workshop to be more relevant. An idea that I will remember for a long time was also from this session. It encouraged us to “ruminate” on positive things instead of negative ones. I have been trying to practice this one ever since.”
