Bev Clarke - award-winning volunteer counsellor Ystradgynlais Mind

Bev receiving her Outstanding Contribution Award from the
High Sheriff of Powys, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Lewis DL

Bev Clarke has been volunteering at Ystradgynlais Mind for the past 4 years as a Level 6 counsellor / supervisor, enabling the mental health charity to provide a free counselling service to the community. She volunteers 3 days a week. She has enabled the recruitment of 7 further student counsellors, who benefit from her supervision and guidance. Her input both into clients and students is life changing.

In October 2015 Bev was winner of an Outstanding Contribution Award at the Powys Volunteer of the Year Awards. Her nominator said: “Bev has experienced her own difficulties throughout her life and she demonstrates you can overcome anything and give so much to the community despite those difficulties. She inspires all at Ystradgynlais and is loved and respected.”

Carol Stephens, Chief Executive at Ystradgynlais Mind, said: “We are thrilled about Bev's award, it is so well deserved. She's a diamond.”

We talked to Bev to find out more about her invaluable contribution at Ystradgynlais Mind.

What originally motivated you to start volunteering at Ystradgynlais Mind?

I graduated from the University of South Wales at Pontypridd in 2009 (Bachelor of Science (BSc) Hons, Systemic Counselling) and was looking for a counselling placement. I needed 450 hours of supervised counselling for my accreditation. I have 1050 now, 800 of these from counselling sessions at Ystradgynlais Mind.

I first came over to Ystradgynlais looking for plants and saw that there was a Mind centre here. I set up my own counselling practice in Port Talbot with a friend from university and volunteered my services to Ystrad Mind. Carol interviewed me and it went really well. She said – can you start next Wednesday?!

I have bipolar and Carol said “we’re looking for people like you”. It’s been a wonderful experience. I didn’t have to hide my mental health issues, it was like the start of a new beginning.

Carol and I share the same vision – which is to do the best for our clients and also to provide good packages for our student counsellors.

Tell us more about your role as a counsellor at Ystradgynlais Mind

A lot of men come to us for counselling which is unusual. It stands out at about 55%. They have moderate issues as they almost leave it too late to seek help. Women are not afraid to access the service, so their issues are often mild to moderate.

Most of our clients are middle-aged – in their 40s and 50s, with various issues. Often they might be waiting for treatment from the statutory mental health teams so they seek support from the voluntary sector instead. They usually have about 7 – 8 one hour counselling sessions, weekly or fortnightly depending on the complexity of the issues.

How does counselling make people’s lives better?

It is a forum where people can be heard. They take their issues away from their families and share them with someone else who is prepared to listen. They have more clarity with the help of a counsellor and so see things that they couldn’t before.

Who is eligible to receive the counselling service, and for how long can they access support?

The service is available to people 17 +. They can self-refer – some people walk in off the street - or they are referred by the GPs in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board cluster area.

If your role didn’t exist, what would happen to people who needed support with their mental health in Ystradgynlais and district?

I’ve seen mental health care decrease unbelievably in the past 4 – 5 years. There is no help there for people. Mental health isn’t a “sexy” health condition, so there is no investment or focus as with other ailments. It feels as if mental health is the poor relation. This is really obvious when working in the Third Sector.

Tell us more about your work supporting 7 student counsellors

I provide support for them, which includes 1½ hour supervision once a month where we’ll talk about the issues that have been raised with clients and signposting options for people. I also make sure that the counsellors are safe, and don’t take home any issues that could impact on their lives.

We source new student counsellors when we need them from the universities. The students are supposed to complete 100 hours of supervised counselling here, but some have already done 300. We give them an excellent level of support, their insurance is covered and they enjoy the experience here so they stay.

I believe you also provide counselling for GP patients in a neighbouring health board?

Our counselling services have now been taken on by GPs in the Ponterdawe and Neath Valley area so it has been well worth it.

Tell us some of the hardest things about being a volunteer counsellor

Watching how hard it is for those working and volunteering in the Third Sector to apply for grants and funding just to make ends meet. I’m here 2 – 3 days a week, but Carol is here for 5. I know how hard she works and how little she takes. I’ve got a bigger picture as a volunteer.

What is the most rewarding aspect of volunteering at Ystradgynlais Mind?

To see how the clients improve. And most of them give back – for example they give talks on their own mental health which is so enlightening for the student counsellors. It’s great the way that they find it good to say what they’ve been through. Clients also feedback to counsellors in supervision sessions.

What was it like winning the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Powys Volunteer of the Awards ceremony?

Well, at the end when I knew it was me who had won – my first thought was – don’t fall down the steps! There were fifty to get down!

I’m so proud of myself. My daughter was with me and she said – “you’ve set the bar even higher now!” To hear the words Carol had written when she put me forward for the award was wonderful.

The narrative of my own mental health issues was a guilty secret for so many years, it is almost a relief to talk about it now.

It was just a wonderful experience.

What would you say to encourage other people to volunteer to support people experiencing mental distress?

Don’t be afraid. We seek help from a psychiatrist in the same way as someone who is diabetic would go to a medical ward. It’s not like “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. We’re working with wonderful people who just have unfortunate mental health issues.

I have enjoyed every minute that I’ve given to Ystradgynlais Mind.

Many thanks to Bev for telling us about her role at Ystradgynlais Mind. You can contact the charity by emailing info@minditv.org.uk or ringing 01597 824411, or visit the Ystradgynlais Mind website.

You can read more about the Powys Volunteer of the Year Awards on the PAVO website.
Outstanding Contribution category: These awards are in recognition of the outstanding contribution and commitment made to voluntary activity. The volunteering undertaken is selfless, a response to local need coming out of the community and is carried out willingly.

The Judges’ Panel was made up of PAVO trustees - Gloria Jones Powell, Ian Charlesworth and Keith Rollinson. The panel felt that Bev stood out because of:

• Her willingness to support others achieve their goals.
• She has overcome huge personal adversity in order to help others.
• Her unyielding commitment to the organisation she volunteers for.
• The difference she has made to the organisation on many levels.
• The difference she has made to the local community.

Claire Sterry, County Development Officer for PAVO, who helped organised the 2015 awards, said: “Bev is truly inspiring, it was an honour to meet her - she is a very special lady, and so unassuming!”

What’s on your plate?

What indeed! Well, I could get started here because my car failed its MOT for the second time in a fortnight yesterday, we’re temporarily short-staffed in the team for a number of reasons and the damp problem in my living room is showing no signs of going away anytime soon…

Michelle Longhurst

But less on the current lows in my life, and back to the meat of this post. What’s on your plate? is the brilliant name given to a relatively new support service run by the mental health charity Ponthafren Association. There are weekly Wednesday sessions at Welshpool (5 - 6pm), whilst in Newtown they are on Mondays (6 - 7.30pm). Earlier today I spoke to Michelle Longhurst, who is the Welshpool Outreach Resource Facilitator, to find out more.

Michelle explained that members of Ponthafren Association now have an opportunity to take time out and talk about specific areas of their lives that they may be struggling with. Tracy Fletcher, a counsellor at Ponthafren, set up What’s on your plate? during the summer months. Michelle has been helping her and will soon be running some of the sessions herself. 

It’s an intriguing mix of group and individual sessions that seems to be working well. 

Participants use the Wheel of Life tool during group sessions to look at any of the following 12 areas: physical wellbeing, achievements & successes, contentment, work & school, friendship, emotional health, energy & enthusiasm, self-esteem, fun & recreation, home & family, relationships and money & finances.

According to the paperwork accompanying the Wheel of Life, it is: “a tool that many life coaches use to help their clients see how balanced the various areas of their life are. Life’s activities are always shifting and so perfect balance cannot be achieved and maintained, but there are times when one area of your life may be requiring so much energy and time that other areas are suffering, and you feel your life is out of balance or even out of control. At these times, it helps to take a look at the big picture and to get some perspective.”

Tracy Fletcher

Each person is asked to mark themselves on a scale of 1 – 10 on how they see themselves doing in each area of their lives. If they have given themselves a low score for any particular area, then this is further discussed within the group. If required participants can then take advantage of a 10 minute session with a counsellor to follow this up in more detail.

Michelle went on to explain that during the first few weeks the What’s on your plate? sessions have focused specifically on work and education. Participants have discussed resitting GCSEs, writing CVs and looking for employment. They then invited staff from the Job Centre to join them at a later session and chat about CV and interview skills. Michelle said: “There is no pressure to join in, but people find the group setting really helpful for sharing ideas and tips.”

Over the next few weeks the main topic will switch to relationships including friendships. A walking group is also planned, plus a focus too on issues around food. People are often signposted to other courses or groups that can provide support, or ideas are generated for new activities altogether. Ponthafren Association has been quick to respond. Whats on your plate? participants recently identified a need for cooking classes and these are currently in the process of being organised.

A new singing group is also a possibility. Joining in this activity would meet many of the aspirations of the Wheel of Life, including "feeling full of energy and experiencing life to the fullest", and "sharing common interests, experiences and feelings". With luck those involved will also learn enough Christmas carols in the lead-up to the festive season to be able to fundraise for Ponthafren with their singing events!

Feedback for ‘What’s on your plate?’ September 2015

“I found what’s on your plate helpful because it was good getting tips from everyone and sharing advice in a group. The advice was really helpful; the conversation about self-confidence gave me more tools to use and helped me feel better about myself. I found it very interesting and I feel we should continue doing it as there are a lot more things we can discuss and learn from each other."  GL

“Since I have attended the sessions, I have benefited from them as they have helped me enquire to the Job Centre about relevant courses to help me find employment and GCSE resits.To be honest I think the sessions are great and helpful.”  MC

“My experience of the course was that it helped me to understand what to concentrate on to improve on, and being aware of the improvement with the use of the wheel of inventory. It was also valuable that we had the lady from the job centre for advice when you have been out of employment for a long time and on what to put down on the CV for this.”  AP

What’s on your plate? sessions are held every Wednesday, 5 – 6pm, at Ponthafren’s Outreach Centre in Welshpool, and also at the Newtown Centre, Mondays 6 - 7.30pm. If you would like to find out more about joining Ponthafren Association (it’s only £2 a year) and taking part, check out the charity’s website.

Psychological therapies - what's happening about waiting lists in Mid & South Powys?

Jane Cooke of our mental health team recently supported the organisation of a meeting in Llandrindod Wells to look at the long waiting lists for psychological therapies in Mid and South Powys. She reports now on what happened on the day.

The Psychology Services in Mid and South Powys have very long waiting lists. There are also waiting lists, but not so long, to see a counsellor based at GP surgeries. (Psychology Services in Mid and South Powys are provide by Aneurin Bevan Health Board and in the North of Powys are provided by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board).

In response to this the Psychology Services, some counsellors who work in GP practices, Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO), people on the waiting lists and Public Health Wales worked together to plan and put on an event to talk with people who are on the waiting lists.

Around 30 people who are waiting for psychology services or counselling came on the 3rd February to a meeting in Llandrindod Wells to give their views about what it is like to be on the waiting list, what information people get, or don’t get, and what is it like receiving letters asking if you still want to be on the list.

People also had a chance to find out more about what else is on offer from, for example, Mind groups and other voluntary and third sector groups.

Mr Foxxman and Anna

There was a strong commitment from the Psychology Services to respond quickly to issues raised where possible, for example by changing the wording on letters, thinking through how to better keep in touch and demonstrate that there is concern for people. There were other ideas that will take longer to develop and find funding for around peer and buddying possibilities for support. There is a commitment from PAVO to continue to work with Psychology Services, supporting the participation of people who use services where required and considering the options for developing joint or partnership work. Public Health Wales also stated its support for this process as it develops.

This event is going to be of interest to other services across Wales. The simple act of getting people together and asking their views is not as widespread in the NHS as may be imagined. The fact that this was a positive experience for those who organised the event and those who attended, with some significant improvements resulting, will encourage others to adopt a similar approach.

We will continue to report developments!

What do you think about the waiting lists? Have they affected you? Let us know in the comments box below.

Power and participation Part 1

by Jane Cooke

I have been thinking a lot about power recently. Often my trains of thought are prompted by consideration of personal power. Some people assume that they have personal power and that seems to prompt a response in others that confirms this; other people defer, give away their own power. I am not sure that this is good for anyone, but I see a lot of it. Then I wander off into thinking about structural power. Who, as a result of the position that they hold in an organisation, has the power to require or demand certain actions and responses from others?

My experiences over the years have ranged from working with groups and networks of people who use/have used mental health services to working as a counsellor for a year in a prison, to being involved in reviews of NHS mental health trusts. Throughout all of these experiences there has been a theme; that many people, no matter what their position, feel that ‘The Power’ lies elsewhere. Someone else, some other group of people or some structural body, such as a Committee somewhere has ‘power over’ services, chief executives, service users, or the ‘power to’ concede or deny, for example, a place on a joint committee or board, or to close a service or to require that changes to working practices are made, to give or withhold funding or services.

The ‘power to’ sense that individuals and groups of people can take on board themselves seems to be dimmed right now. People working in services who would like to question views and cultures in their services can feel as if they had better not stick their head above the parapet. Organisations can feel limited in their capacity to explore and support challenging ideas (and people!) if they feel that a funder ‘won’t like it’. People who might coalesce around some form of collective action, identity or pressure group can feel that such actions might jeopardise their chances of making progress in the situations where they are involved, or participate.

This feeling that some OTHER has ‘power over’ or ‘power to '(do unto us)’ both stems from and leads to fear – fear of censure, or public criticism, of withdrawal of something valued, of negative comparisons. We live in an age that generates and feeds on fear. Our many forms of communication can spread and heighten fear. Much advertising is based on promoting fear, if you don’t buy this product whether it’s insurance or some sort of ‘germ’ killer, you will be endangering yourself or those you love. Much news coverage is based on fear and a lot of political policies and promotion major on fear; capturing media interest as they do so.

But what if we moved toward a conception of ‘power with’? As far as I know these ideas of power over, power to and power with originated in the peace and non-violent direct action movements. I find them very helpful. So; power with, what would that look and feel like? I wonder if people who are involved as citizens or service users in formal situations, committees and boards, feel as if they are in a ‘power with’ situation? I’d be inclined to imagine that often they don’t. It would be really interesting to hear from those of you in such situations. Do you feel as if you are truly sharing power and if so, what leads to and supports that? In my own experience, which goes back nearly 30 years, people in these situations have been asking for parity in one form or another for at least as long as that: receiving minutes in time, important paperwork circulated in a timely manner, acceptance that agenda items can be added, access to administrative facilities as a right, recognition of the representational time-frame required if people are to be ‘representatives’, meetings at a time and place accessible to all who want to and maybe have been elected to, attend, out of pocket expenses met in cash, broadband and Information Technology (IT) costs met. I would be very interested to hear of examples where there has been ‘up-front’ thinking around these issues before people are invited to the table, before it has been brought up by those ‘reps’, or equally current examples of representatives still finding themselves in these situations.

‘Power with’ requires a shift of mind-set. Power over might appease an ego, I would venture to say that it doesn’t do much good for the soul.

Look out for Part 2 of Jane's piece on Power and participation soon. What are your thoughts? We would like to hear from you. If you have any comments or questions just add them below.

Written by Jane Cooke in her capacity as a counsellor and psychotherapist, trainer and facilitator. All views are entirely her own. Email jane.cooke@heartfeltwork.co.uk

White Rabbit Number Six: John Drake's Mental Health Blog - 3

3. One Flew over the Benefits' Trap

A friend who was involved with Mind first told me about DIY Futures at a crucial juncture: the back-to-work programme in which I had been enrolled had come to an end and I was missing the support my advisor had given me. His view was that, given my anxiety levels, my best hope for work was to negotiate a gradual increase in my hours with my employer (who, to be fair, had stuck by me throughout these years); I would find it too stressful, he felt, to try alternative employment. But now I was faced with another Work Capability Assessment, at a time when I could barely manage the three-hours-a-week employment that I had already.

Fortunately it was very easy to enroll with DIY Futures and my mind was immediately put at rest when my DIY Futures advisor offered to accompany me to my WCA and take notes of the proceedings. She also spent several sessions helping me to prepare beforehand (something I would advise anyone facing a WCA to do): making notes of all the things about my health which I felt were relevant in case the doctor failed to ask (which is what happened the first time).

Consequently, when I went for my WCA this time things were very different. The examining doctor (a different one, fortunately) said that my advisor could take notes as long as they were only shared by the two of us; and I can’t help thinking that the difference between the two sessions can be explained to a great extent by the fact that someone was monitoring exactly what took place. I was able to tell the doctor how I felt about my previous experience and he certainly seemed to ask more relevant questions (no mention, for example, of my viewing habits)! At the end, he asked if there was anything else I felt was important and my DIY Futures advisor mentioned a couple of things that I had discussed with her but which I had forgotten because, after an hour, I was feeling overwhelmed by it all.

A couple of weeks later I heard that I could stay in the work-focused group. Now that the pressure of the WCA was off my shoulders, I felt able to work with my DIY Futures advisor on developing a more positive approach to my situation. This included her referring me to a free counselling service with a trainee, arranged through Mind. As a result of this help I was able, over the next year, to increase my working hours to the extent that, when I was told I had to attend another WCA, I felt strong enough to say...no thanks!

It’s not easy to manage financially without Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), but working part-time means I get help with my rent and Council Tax and the loss of income is more than compensated for, I feel, by the gain in peace-of-mind that comes from escaping the destructive, blame-the-victim culture that has infected the way we treat people who have, through no fault of their own, a limited capability for work.

The recovery I have achieved so far has been won with the help of the primary care services – the continuous and consistent support of my GP and NHS counsellor, always there when I needed them – who showed me that the rabbit hole was not bottomless; with the help of my back-to-work advisor, who explained the system to me so that I could negotiate the strange bureaucratic Wonderland that is ESA; with the help of a sympathetic and supportive employer who repaid my twenty years’ service with their own loyalty to me; and last, but not least, with the help of DIY Futures and the Mind trainee counselling programme which have together enabled me, for now at least, to fly over the benefits trap!

PS: I know everyone does not get such good and consistent support – as I said at the beginning of my first blog, this is just one man’s experience of what happened when I fell down the well of depression – but I do know that we all need and deserve it. What we neither need nor deserve is the constant pressure of the Work Capability Assessments, accompanied by the sound-track of a media giving out the message that every application for help is written by a ‘benefit-scrounger.’

I accept that we need a fair system of assessing people’s needs and helping them back to work, if possible; but my own experience is that the current ‘reforms’ are not helping. I have what I hope are some constructive criticisms of the system and some suggestions for improving it – but they must await a future blog.

In the counsellor's chair

Sorelle White, a Powys based counsellor, talks to us at Powys Mental Health about what therapy is like from the other side of the room – the counsellor’s chair.

Where do you work at the moment?

I work one day a week at Ponthafren Association in Newtown. There’s a fantastic team of counsellors there and it’s a free and accessible service. I also offer sessions for individuals at my private practice in Newtown. Previously I’ve worked at Mid Powys Mind and Wrexham Mind.

Where did you train?

I studied here in Newtown at Coleg Powys. There is a series of courses from Level 1 – 4, with Level 4 qualifying you to practice. I know a lot of people who have studied the Levels 1 & 2 counselling skills and found it really useful both in personal and professional life. I would definitely recommend it.

We mentioned the counsellor’s chair, actually what’s your chair like?

Aha! Joking apart, that’s a really good question because I’m sure people worry that behind that closed door the counsellor might sit towering over them in an enormous chair or even make them lie on a couch. I really don’t know of anywhere that that happens. In reality the counsellor’s chair and the clients chair are usually exactly the same deliberately, so you are meeting the client on equal terms. If they want to lie down and have a nap though, it would be fine by me but that hasn’t happened to me yet!

So what can you tell us about the counselling experience?

Well overall it’s incredibly humbling. It’s a huge step for a lot of people to come and meet a stranger and talk about their personal thoughts and feelings. I feel that my job, when I first meet them is to put them at their ease as best I can. It’s ironic that some people see going to counselling as a sign of weakness because in my experience when the person first walks through that door, it’s an act of intense bravery.

So what actually happens in a session?

There are many different types of counselling available. I work in a Person-Centred way which is a general approach that can address a wide range of problems. It involves listening to each client and understanding and accepting them for who they are. Also gently reflecting back to them the verbal and non verbal signals you’re picking up. For many clients this may be the first time they have felt truly heard without judgement or criticism. As a result, they start to see their situation from a wider perspective and explore their own ideas for moving forward. That’s the magic bit, when you see that shift start to happen.

It sounds very simplistic but it takes discipline to stay right with the client in their unique world and not let your own opinions interfere. At the same time you need to be aware of any practical or ethical issues and bring the session to a safe close on time.

Different people suit different types of therapy. Some may want more focus on goal setting for example. I would recommend the Itsgoodtotalk website if people want to find out more. If you don’t get on with one individual therapist or type of therapy, do try something or someone else.

Thank you Sorelle for talking to us!

Sorelle White (Dip Couns. / MBACP) runs Blue Skies Therapy, offering one-to-one counselling sessions in Newtown.

You can link to Ponthafren Association here.