Top five mental health podcasts (Wales) 2021

 

Over the last few months of lockdown here in Powys in Mid Wales I’ve listened in to a number of great podcasts – both at home and at work. I don’t have a TV – there was no reception where I live when we moved in and we learnt to love living without it. But I still need to get my fix of entertainment and information.

Most of the time I’m a dedicated BBC Radio 4 listener – yes, an Archers fan! But then I started looking further afield… I found that podcasts are flourishing in these times. So, whilst we await more details of the roadmap out of lockdown it seems the ideal time to share some top mental health podcasts with a wider audience.

I particularly enjoy listening to podcasts at home during these dark winter evenings, perhaps when I’m doing exercises or the washing up. Or even just stretched out full-length on the sofa with the cat!

Tune in and see what you think – this is just a small selection of some great podcasts out there currently on the theme of mental health, wellbeing and the workings of the mind generally…

We can get through this – mental health & wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic

Tan y Maen is a community wellbeing centre based in Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, North Wales. They offer support and resources to individuals, families, friends, carers and volunteers on any aspect of mental health and wellbeing all over North Wales.

During more normal times they offer all kinds of services, including individual and peer support, group support, Walking for Wellbeing, a variety of talking therapies and support for OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and addiction.

Since the start of the pandemic they have, like so many organisations, switched their support sessions online. And over the last few months they have also started a very popular podcast, which is now listened to far further afield than North Wales, with fans in the USA and Europe. The hosts are Eileen and Phil Griffiths – “Phil is the spotlight, he is the Chief Officer of Tan y Maen Community Wellbeing Centre.” The podcast features special guests from a range of professionals involved in supporting people.

“Our podcast is a bit of fun really, with a wellbeing theme around getting through the current issues with Covid and lockdown. It is aimed at providing a little interest and listening diversion, and much as we would in the wellbeing groups we usually run in South Gwynedd the content is informal, and puts across the message of wellbeing and improvement in mental health in an indirect way, using the personal experience of the hosts and the guests.” Link to podcast.

The Recovery Podcast – Hafal

Hafal is a member-led mental health charity based in Wales supporting people with mental health problems, particularly those who are really struggling with serious issues.

The Hafal podcast is brand new. In the first episode you can joins Hafal’s EIP (Early Intervention in Psychosis) staff Aaron Jenkins, David Jones and Aimee Williams discussing a range of topics on young people's mental health to mark Children's Mental Health Week and Time to Talk Day 2021. David also catches up with Hafal's Young People's Ambassador and Ospreys rugby player Lloyd Ash. Link to podcast.

Mental Health Foundation

The Mental Health Foundation podcast brings a range of mental health topics, real life stories, expert comments and mental health tips to listeners. Episodes have covered men talking about mental health, mental health and the economy, improving the lives of young parents and their children, suicide prevention, nutrition and mental health, and how a damaging work environment can affect mental health.

Bethan Buswell is both producer and host. She has her own lived experience of mental health problems and with this podcast she and the Mental Health Foundation want to raise awareness, get people talking and provide support and hope. Link to podcast.

Mad in America – Rethinking Mental Health

The Mad in America podcast is a weekly discussion that searches for the truth about psychiatric prescription drugs and mental health care worldwide.

There is a sister organisation called Mad in the UK with a mission to: “to serve as a catalyst for fundamentally re-thinking theory and practice in the field of mental health in the UK, and promoting positive change”.

Subjects which have been covered on the podcast in recent months include: Psychiatric drug withdrawal: setting the scene, Rethinking suicide prevention, Can we move towards Mindful medicine? and I found my lion’s roar: combining peer support & Open Dialogue. The back catalogue of episodes is immense – well worth checking out for anyone interested in finding out more about an alternative approach to supporting people in mental health distress. Link to podcast.

Mental – The Podcast to Destigmatise Mental Health

This podcast is brought to us by Bobby Temps and aims to break down mental health stigma and discrimination. Bobby speaks about how mental health distress can potentially affect anyone, so 4 in 4 not 1 in 4.

Each week Bobby is joined by a special guest. The podcast is a safe space to hear honest and insightful mental health interviews in the hope listeners will feel more empowered to continue the conversation, and debate the topics with others.

This podcast won The People’s Choice at the Podcast Awards in 2020. A new episode is published every Thursday, and as of today there are 179 episodes to choose from! Hours of really interesting listening covering topics from Stillness Meditation, to Trauma & Self Care, to Gender & Mental Health and so many more in between. Link to podcast.

We hope you enjoy dipping in and listening to some of these great podcasts. If you know any great mental health / wellbeing podcasts you would like to recommend, then we love to hear from you in the comments’ section below.

Happy listening!

Powys Dementia Network – a dementia diagnosis

The latest Powys Dementia Network event took place in late January 2021. As is the norm these days it was held online; the second time for this network due to the Covid pandemic. It was another great success, attracting a huge variety of organisations and individuals from across the county. These included people living with dementia and those caring for them, colleagues from Dementia Matters in Powys, Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, Powys Teaching Health Board and Dyfed Powys Police to name just a few.

The theme this time was “Diagnosing Dementia.” The event was organised by our colleague, Sue Newham, the Engagement Officer in our Health & Wellbeing team, in partnership with Dementia Matters in Powys. They worked with other voluntary and statutory sector colleagues to bring some excellent information and discussion around the theme of dementia diagnosis to the afternoon.

As always we will try to capture some of the spirit and information from the event here, but if you would like to find out more and / or attend future events then please get in touch.

The previous online event, which took place in August last year, was also captured for the blog in Powys Dementia Network – first online event.

Supporting people to attend a Zoom network meeting for the first time

We were particularly pleased to welcome Shirley Humphries (pictured above), as she couldn’t attend the first online event due to technical issues on the day. Shirley lives in North Powys, is nearly 87, and has previously spoken about her experience of assessment for dementia at a Powys Dementia Network face-to-face event. However, this was her first online experience of the network, and we decided to ask how it went for her this time.

Shirley told us that her daughter, Sue, had arranged for her to have a different tablet which was better suited to using the Zoom app. The tablet was donated by a member of staff at PAVO, after she heard of Shirley’s Zoom issues!

“When it comes to using Zoom, I’m not that way inclined,” Shirley said, however, with support from her daughter, she was able to follow the meeting link on the tablet, join and take part in the Dementia Network event. Shirley is also enjoying attending the ‘Wiggle with a Giggle’ sessions on Zoom which are run by Dementia Matters in Powys – and the more Zoom events she attends the easier it gets to use the technology. “It’s all about learning what to do, for example sticking your hand up if you want to speak.”

Here are just a few of the key points raised in the different discussions that were held in the various Zoom break-out rooms. If you would like the full notes please contact Sue Newham.

Q & A sessions with Memory Clinic staff across Powys

These sessions allowed people to find out more about the dementia diagnosis pathway in Powys. Heather Wenban, the Dementia Lead for PTHB, is working to improve dementia care across Powys, and spoke about the dementia steering group which works to implement the Dementia Action Plan in Powys. (You can read the Dementia Action Plan for Wales). Powys seems to be quite proactive compared to other areas.

Heather added: “I would like to see one dementia service where people can access a diagnosis. Currently the referral has to come through the GP to rule out physical reasons for someone’s symptoms. Trying to put the right pathways in place is difficult because people are all different. It can be the person themselves that needs support, or people caring for them.”

Janet Davies is the Dementia Advisor for North Powys. She works with patients and families to help them get the support they want. She said: “The person might go to the GP with concerns. The GP will give an initial test and then make a referral to the memory diagnostic clinic, if it reaches a certain level. Whilst they are waiting, they will go for a scan, blood test and ECG (electrocardiogram). The consultant reviews it all and makes a diagnosis. The consultant also assesses whether the patient or family needs support and may refer to the Dementia Advisor.”

Heather Wenban and Kerry Phelps (Alzheimer’s Society Cymru) agreed to work together to create a booklet and information pack around the dementia diagnosis journey in Powys.

Shirley listens to Inspector Brian Jones at the Powys Dementia Network event - 3rd row, 3rd from the left

How can the diagnosis process be improved?

• In general, it was felt that people still don’t know enough about dementia and so there is a stigma around it. Dementia is not just about memory loss. Sometimes people are not being diagnosed with dementia because of mental health and other issues masking the problem.
• It is important to recognise that no two patients are the same, and a one size fits all approach just doesn’t work. However, there does need to be a seamless process of diagnosis, and the process needs to be explained to people so that they know what is going to happen and what to expect at each stage.
• People should be made aware that people are entitled to have an advocate supporting them at appointments, either a family member, friend or professional advocate.
• More support is needed during and after diagnosis. It would be good to have an information pack or wellbeing pack that supports the person with their dementia journey.
• Support workers should be available who can provide tailored support. Follow-up is extremely important. People need aftercare and the opportunity to ask questions.
• People need to be able to talk to someone who has been through it. People living with dementia connect more with other people who are living with dementia. Support groups are very important.

What stops people going to their doctor when they first notice symptoms of memory loss?

• Personal fears and attitudes, including fear of the unknown, of change, of perhaps moving to a care home, or of changes to relationships / friendships. Also the stigma relating to dementia can be a barrier.
• People may be in denial or scared that it is something other than dementia.
• Families may be worried about mentioning to their parents / relatives that they need to seek help, or to other family members that they have concerns about that person.
• Fear of losing independence, such as losing their driving licence in an isolated rural area.
• A lack of awareness that it is possible to live well at home with dementia.
• Access to GPs is perceived as being difficult, especially at this time, and the quality of the relationship with the GP may not be good.
• People may have differing viewpoints about dementia to the professional care service and may wish for a non-medicalised approach.

How can we make it easier for people?

• Raise awareness with a collaborative approach that involves statutory bodies, private sector, third sector and communities to provide support, remove stigma and raise awareness. We need to show that it’s alright to talk about memory loss and dementia.
• People need to be aware that memory problems may be associated with other conditions other than dementia. Putting off going to the GP can mean you don’t receive help with other illnesses.
• A wider campaign showing people in the early stages of dementia to alter people’s perception of what dementia is. Individuals living with dementia telling their story is one of the most powerful ways of reducing stigma around dementia. People can and do live well with dementia.
• Encourage and develop Dementia Friendly Communities.
• Provide information about where to seek help, diagnosis, and support through a wide variety of channels.
• A single point of contact would be good.
• Develop an online self-assessment checklist that people can run through which can tell them if they should seek further help.
• Zoom meetings / telephone conversations can be quicker for getting in contact with people because there is less travelling. With Zoom meetings, more people are able to attend. This option is not possible for everyone, however.
• Increase awareness of the Herbert Protocol to inform emergency services.

All in all this Powys Dementia Network event was an excellent afternoon of information sharing and discussions, and Shirley was able to take part throughout.

Heather Wenban added: “The information that you’ve gathered today, will feed into the next consultation for the Dementia Action Plan which is due to finish in 2022.”

The next Powys Dementia Network event is planned for Thursday 15th July, 2pm - 4pm. Sign up for Dementia Network emails and find out about future events by contacting Sue Newham, Engagement Officer at PAVO, by emailing sue.newham@pavo.org.uk or ringing 07739 984 233.

Brecon & District Mind - Introduction to a new Pilot Crisis Prevention Service

by guest author Val Walker
Chief Executive Officer at Brecon & District Mind

What is the service? – The purpose

This new service, from Brecon & District Mind in South Powys, will provide a place of safety when an individual is in mental health crisis but does not need a medical intervention or the support of inpatient services.

The service, which launches on Wednesday 3 February 2021, will provide support from suitably experienced and qualified crisis support staff in a safe, warm, and welcoming environment. Crisis support workers will be available in the centre to take initial calls from either the person in crisis or another agency wishing to refer into the service. Advice and support will either be conducted over the phone or in accordance with all current Coronavirus regulations, support may take place face to face in the centre.

Val Walker, CEO at Brecon & District Mind

Crisis support staff will carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment and a personal risk assessment with the person in crisis or their representative before agreement to attend the centre in person. The person in crisis will need to be able to make their own way in to the centre wherever possible.

When?

The service will operate 5 nights per week initially - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sundays from 7:30 - 10:30pm. Crisis workers will be available to take calls from 7pm via the crisis line – 01874 793118.

Where?

The service will operate at Brecon and District Mind’s Wellbeing centre in Brecon – Ty Croeso.

What can I expect?

• To be treated as an individual.
• To be listened to non-judgmentally to understand what matters to you.
• To be supported either by phone or face to face in the centre.
• To look at coping mechanisms and tools that will help you deal with your situation and the feelings leading to the crisis.
• To be signposted to a range of other services to support you following the moment of crisis.
• To be referred to the appropriate agencies should you need medical intervention or should you become a risk to yourself or to others.
• To find a place of safety where you can talk about your feelings and experience with staff and or peers who may have had/are having similar experiences.

Why are we doing this?

We are aware that many more people than ever are struggling with life’s difficulties and pressures. When life gets too difficult it can be hard to contain feelings and emotions that arise, which can lead to thoughts of self-harm and suicide. 

We want to provide a safe space where people can talk openly to skilled and experienced staff who understand to prevent situations escalating. Talking about how you feel without being judged, and feeling that you are being listened to,, is the first step to getting the support you need to help you through a difficult time.

Contact numbers 

Crisis Prevention Service: 01874 793118 

Brecon & District Mind office: 01874 611529 

Email: info@breconmind.org.uk

New Eating Disorders' Services for Powys

A Happy New Year to all our readers! 

Just over a year ago one of our Powys citizen reps, Helen Missen, (pictured above) a passionate advocate for improved Eating Disorders' services, wrote about the Eating Disorders’ Service review in Wales which had just taken place.

Roll on twelve months, and so much has developed in Powys as a result of this review (you can read the Executive Summary). At our mental health partnership board meeting just before Christmas we were very pleased to find out more about the new services from our colleagues at Powys Teaching Health Board along with Dr Jacinta Tan (Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at Aneurin Bevan Health Board) who led the Review Team, Menna Jones (newly appointed National Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders) and Helen.

The underlying principles which people wanted

• Early detection and intervention. Helping people, like teachers and parents, to identify people who might have an eating disorder to have access to support and help.
• Inclusivity. Never turn people away. Anyone in distress who thinks they are, or a loved one who might have an eating disorder, deserves a response.
• To be person-centred. To have prompt expert help for those who might have eating disorders. Giving people what they need and trying as far as possible to deliver it to them where they are. To provide person-centred and holistic care for the person and the whole family.
• Relationship based.
• Recovery focussed
• Trauma informed.

In total there were 22 recommendations made by Jacinta which the government took on board. 

Where we go from here

Eating Disorders’ services were highlighted, as one of five key areas, for additional funding from the Welsh Government’s Mental Health Improvement Fund. There was a specific focus on Early Intervention as an area which the government wanted to prioritise. The first funding stream came through in Summer 2019 and coincided with a large consultation with clinicians across Wales looking at the response to the recommendations as well as some of the barriers that might come up.

In January 2019 it was announced that there would be a dedicated post created to take some of this work forward – a National Eating Disorders’ Lead in NHS Wales. Menna Jones officially started in this full-time role, the first of its kind for Eating Disorders, on 1 January this year, with the placement due to continue until March 2022. Menna’s role will be to work with clinicians, and those using services, to set up an Implementation Plan which sets long-term goals for improving services based on the Review’s recommendations and also facilitating changes to happen.

Some of the key areas include: early intervention, moving to increased delivery of eating disorder services by specialist teams, creation of physical health clinics within Community Mental Health teams, and to join up Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and adult services – looking at transitions but also at what can be learned from each of these services around models used and approaches to work.

The vision of the service review

Jacinta emphasized that the plan will focus on equity of access to specialist and high quality care across Wales, including in rurally isolated areas of large parts of Mid Wales such as Powys. There will also be joined-up working with other teams – patients are complex, they have many needs, they have comorbidities (the presence of one or more conditions at once) and it is important to interface with other services such as Autism services. In promoting specialism Eating Disorders Services will not be pulling away from the rest of the system.

The lived experience view from Helen

"From all mental health conditions eating disorders still have the highest mortality rate of any and that needs to be at the forefront of people’s thinking. I started advocating for families because I just didn’t want them to go through what we went through 11 years ago. I now sit on the Executive Committee for the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Eating Disorders faculty and the European Board for the Academy of Eating Disorders. I really believe in change. I believe we can get it right in Powys. And I know (from my daughter’s experience) that recovery is possible." 

Plans for Powys 

Sam Shore – Head of CAMHS

Currently CAMHS has an eating disorder element to the service already, including specialist practitioner support and our own CAMHS dietician as well as support from psychology. Each CMHT does have a link eating disorder worker who will give advice to anyone open to adult mental health services and support any new referrals into the service.

Practitioners link with GPs for support in the first instance if someone’s physical health is deteriorating.

Following receipt of additional funds, however, we now are going to develop a specialist Eating Disorder Service, which is going to be an age-less service. We want to address issues such as transition and early intervention. We will be working more closely with GPs in Powys, and looking at our referrals into the service.

Following receipt of funding the following new posts have been created and we will be recruiting very soon:

• Team leader.
• Specialist practitioner.
• Dietician.
• Occupational therapist technician.
  
  

We’ve been working closely with Helen too and listened particularly to her tips and hints on moving forward. So we have an idea of what the new service will look like in terms of family intervention and family work. Menna has also offered to support us in the development of the service.

Whilst normally we would have 4 – 5 on our caseload we are actually working with 20 children and young people at the moment (mid December 2020). Covid has had a massive impact on the referrals and they are very complex – there are significant physical health issues, family dynamic issues and cases of anxiety as well as eating disorders.

Joy Garfitt – Assistant Director Mental Health & Learning Disabilities' Services

The model we’re going for is a small dedicated team of specialists who can link to the national Eating Disorder team. Within our five CMHTs and our CAMHS teams we have a small nucleus of specialism, whilst others practice as general mental health practitioners, so we’re creating a staff team which has a general mental health practice element to their role and a special interest element to their role. The special interest might be eating disorders, or perinatal, or trauma-informed services. This means that community psychiatric nurses, and social workers in the field, can also access that specialist support locally in Powys. We can’t provide an eating disorder service in every CMHT as might happen in a big city, so that’s why we’re looking at a different model. 

All in all it was great to hear the enthusiasm and commitment to reshaping Eating Disorder Services, not just in Powys, but across Wales, and we look forward to receiving further updates as the new team settles in and starts work.

The new normal for our Powys mental health charities

 

Back in July we had a really helpful roundup from our mental health charities in Powys, to find out how they had been innovating to ensure continued service provision for their members since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

We recently met with them again, and decided this would be perfect opportunity to do a further update to share more information about their services in this strange and challenging year.

Here is what they had to tell us about what’s been happening for them lately. 

Please note that this update was made earlier in December, before the Welsh Government's latest announcements about new Covid-19 restrictions were announced for Wales.

Ystradgynlais Mind

Ystradgynlais Mind has migrated the majority of its service to online platforms and telephone support. We have increased our social media presence. The result of expanding our social media presence has been the ability to engage with and support many more people, particularly young people. 

Gareth James & Iwan Evans raised £2000 for Ystradgynlais Mind on a running challenge

The impact of digital exclusion has become more apparent to us since the onset of Covid 19. We have attempted to overcome the impact of digital exclusion by the provision of some IT equipment via purchases made through ‘Computer Recyclers’ plus issuing repurposed mobile phones etc. We have also increased our one to one telephone support to those who are digitally excluded and provided pre-arranged ‘welfare checks’ for those who are not receiving the same level of support previously delivered via statutory services. 

Perinatal support is now being delivered via webinar alongside one to one counselling support and peer support groups. We have also extended perinatal support to partners. Counselling provision has been increased by 75% to address the increasing demand for counselling. Referrals to blended online SilverCloud CBT have increased, the practitioner is currently holding a waiting list. Active Monitoring has been able to fill the gaps left by blended counselling through the provision of printed supporting materials and telephone support - this service is operating at capacity. 

After receiving Zoom training a member is able to access online counselling

Yoga and Mindful meditation has all been migrated to remote delivery. These sessions are proving popular and participation has increased by 150%. Peer supporters are now facilitating twice weekly online/phone support sessions. This group is growing in size and service users involved are supporting one another to form their own social support networks, reducing social isolation and increasing their own personal resilience.

Brecon & District Mind

Some of the issues that have come up for Brecon & District Mind recently include employment, children with anxiety around school or Covid itself, and a lot of people are keen for the drop-in to restart, so we are doing that now ensuring people making appointments to attend. Also a lot of people are becoming agoraphobic because of the rules and regulations. And there is some worry about Christmas and issues around that.

We have returned to face to face meetings outside and walk & talk sessions, but had taken the decision not to open the centre before the firebreak lockdown. We are going back to 1:1 sessions (as well as the drop-in) by appointment only. We will continue our schools work with children and young people, ensuring that this is done safely. We are doing a lot of family work and safeguarding and are looking into extra/crisis support in the evenings. A recent survey has shown that people have appreciated the support they have received from us in the last year with comments like: “Don’t know what I would have done without (Brecon) Mind’s support”, “excellent service”, brilliant counselling."

Unfortunately as we speak the guidelines and regulations around Covid have changed yet again so we are now having to revert to remote services until the New Year when the Welsh Government will be reviewing the situation. There will be staff available over the Christmas period to offer support by phone should anyone need this. Our centre is now closed and staff mostly working from home.

The Green Minds project is continuing and Brecon Cathedral is funding this for 1 day a week. Our Mums Matter project is also continuing with a new Zoom course starting in January. Our blended work in partnership with the online SilverCloud CBT is quieter. However, we are doing more wellbeing calls by phone and having more referrals into that. A survey we did shows that people prefer 1:1/ face-to-face support and so we are busy with that.

We have been fortunate in securing funding to employ our first Digital Technical Officer who is helping us develop our digital service offering and upskilling staff and service users where needed.

Mid and North Powys Mind

Here at Mid and North Powys Mind we are seeing very high levels of demand overall across all of our services, including more complex cases requiring more time for our support workers. We expect this trend to continue through to Spring 2021.

An episode of THRIVE on Facebook

The team is providing a blended service of both online work, including blended online SilverCloud CBT, counselling and support work, as well as still providing face-to-face meetings as and when needed. This blended approach means we can still meet the high level of demand as phone sessions are usually shorter and do not require time for travel, whereas the face-to-face sessions are there for those clients who struggle with the remote support.

We had our first day back working in Builth and Llandrindod High Schools to offer support to students aged 16 and over - this support had been halted in January. We’re going in with a really open mind as obviously things have changed since the last time we were there. It’s a very different environment now and we are taking it slowly, working with the schools and students to co-produce the support for the greatest impact. We still have 2 weekly online youth group sessions that are well attended.

We were lucky to secure some space in the Armoury, thanks to Ponthafren Association, and have started to run our first face-to-face Mums Matter course in Welshpool. Seven mums attended, which is our highest number since lockdown started. Two more face-to-face Mums Matter courses will be running in January/February.

Our Outreach group in Knighton used to meet every week on a Friday, but has been operating via telephone support with help from dedicated volunteers since the first lockdown. Now with the help of Impelo (a local charity using dance to transform people's lives) we are hoping to run one face-to-face dance session a month in Knighton, giving group members a chance to meet in a safe and supportive environment.

In Llandrindod our Tai-Chi group is meeting again in Celf after not meeting for a time and briefly being held in the Rock Park. This group is going well and is supported by volunteers and a trained tutor.

Since March we have supported over 500 people through face to face or phone meetings. Live broadcasts have continued to be very popular. Our digital content on Facebook and Youtube has been well received and we have been producing videos on Mindfulness, Tai Chi, THRIVE tips and other wellbeing activities. On Facebook we have had over 68,000 minutes of our videos watched since March and have now reached over 30,000 people.

We continue to offer remote training via Zoom, this has been a huge success, with many people previously unable to attend due to travel now being able to access the support.

Ponthafren Association

At Ponthafren Association we have been continuing to provide our services. Face-to-face this is appointment-based only to reduce our numbers in the buildings. Zoom has become the go-to for most things which has been really positive. Two Zoom groups, crochet and afternoon tea, have been very popular. Plus the videos on how to make Christmas decorations. Life skills courses have been popular and there has been strong demand for anger management courses. We continue to see an increase for all our services whilst working in partnership with others such as the Newtown Network.

Lockdown has created the opportunity for some people to reflect and explore their gender and we are currently supporting a number of people around this.

The Armoury, our new building in Welshpool, is preparing to open which is great. The construction company Paveways provided free labour and materials to refurbish the building through their charity’s arm, and they have been fantastic. You can watch a video of the work here. 

It’s been truly magical how the community has supported Ponthafren to support others. Rory raised over £800 as Santa on a bike and Cathy Beech released a record to raise funds for us.

You can find out more about the services these organisations are offering on their websites (linked above) or Facebook pages where you will also see details of their Christmas and New Year opening times.

Wishing everyone a relaxing Christmas and a peaceful New Year, 

and hoping for brighter times in 2021!

Harnessing the power of music - a dementia project

Steff Griffiths is the Local Coordinator in Mid Wales for the music and dementia charity Playlist for Life.

The charity was founded in 2013 by writer and broadcaster Sally Magnusson after the death of her mother, Mamie, who had dementia. The charity’s vision is that everyone living with dementia has a unique, personal playlist and everyone who loves or cares for them knows how to use it.

I caught up with Steff on Zoom recently to find out more about this amazing work.

What is your role with Playlist for Life and which area do you cover?

My role as a local coordinator for Playlist is basically to get out and about in the community and tell everybody how helpful music is in the lives of people living with dementia. So before Covid I would go and visit dementia cafes, dementia groups, carers organisations – basically any organisation that deals with people either directly living with dementia or their carers, their families, and people who support them. And I talk to them about the way music affects the brain and the way music brings back memories and then show them how to build personal music playlists.

I cover the whole of Wales north of Cardiff and the Valleys. I've a colleague in Cardiff but otherwise I'm everywhere!

What brought you to work in this field?

I’ve always found it very interesting and I have experience in my family of people living with dementia and had already realised how much music helps. So when I saw this lottery-funded post I thought I've got to do this job. It's a simple tool that really helps people. We've been based in Wales about a year now. The charity started originally in Scotland and it’s spread to London, the Southwest of England and now Wales. 

How does Playlist for Life work in brief?

Basically we give organisations and groups step by step help so that they you can choose songs that have memories attached to them and put them into a playlist for people living with dementia to listen to. You can create playlists in a number of ways, for example on YouTube, and then email them to people if they've got a phone or laptop or an iPad. It's free. When a song is played the memory comes back and you can talk with people about when they were children, when they married, when they used to go to gigs, and all the songs that remind them of Christmas, holidays or celebrations from their past.

We have lots of case studies of people living with dementia who are very withdrawn. But then when certain songs with memories attached are played, they get up and sing and dance. They play the piano, they will remember seeing Pink Floyd in concert or perhaps the Rolling Stones. And I think – wow, that's cool. But it's just the power of music that's personal to you which really does bring people back to the present and it helps people connect.

If you're caring for people who can communicate with you it's very easy to build a playlist because you can have a chat about the songs from the past. If they're not able to communicate those memories to you we also provide training called Music Detectives. It's all the tips and the tricks about how to build a playlist for somebody who has difficulty communicating and remembering their special songs. There’s also a Mini Music Detectives for children to help as well so they can work with their grandparents or go with their school into a care home (although not at the moment obviously).

Why is music such a powerful force for people living with dementia?

It's the memory. When you listen to music, you're hearing some of the melody, the words, the tone and the pitch and this connects parts of the brain that don't normally connect together for people living with dementia. It can fire off a lot of the neurons in the brain. You don't have to listen to professional music you can just sing the song. I spend a lot of time singing (I can't sing very well!) on the phone to people. Over the summer, when I was working with the Alzheimer’s Society creating personal playlist for people, Neil Diamond’s bank balance must have grown exponentially because everybody liked Sweet Caroline and it was on a lot of Playlists!

The Playlist for Life website is open to everyone and there are loads of downloadable resources on there. Create the Soundtrack to your Life is a popular one. It's a little booklet and it's where you write the song and the associated memory and then the booklet goes with the person if they go into respite for example. So staff know that the song “Sweet Caroline” has this memory associated with it, then the conversation starts and it builds that trust and bit of rapport. We have case studies on the website but you have to get your tissues ready to watch some of the video stories because it can be quite emotional, even though it’s a happy story.

How can creating a personal playlist impact on the emotional wellbeing of someone living with dementia?

Well, we have an example of a lady who is very withdrawn. But when she plays the piano she’s very engaged with the music and her audience. She's engaging with people which ordinarily she wouldn't do if the music wasn't there. It's not a panacea. It's not going to cure people but it really works with some people and it can help people a lot.

If people living with dementia aren’t able to reminisce in ways like this, what can happen to them?

It's probably a very lonely existence. People can be very withdrawn and anxious, and can't connect with the outside world. They get very upset and they don't know why.

There's a lovely video featuring Harry and Margaret on our website showing how they connect via music. You can see on Margaret’s face - she's got her husband back. They talk about when they used to go dancing and that's when they met. He knows the words to songs from the 1950s yet ordinarily he doesn't remember things. It's that connection which the music helps with. 

How has the Covid pandemic impacted on your work?

Lots - because the job is very face-to-face. We go out and talk to organisations and show them all these resources for creating playlists. But of course nothing's face to face now. So we've been holding webinars for people to sign up to and we've been doing music detective training over Zoom.

We've also been working with the Alzheimer’s Society creating playlists for people who can't get out and about as their usual meeting places have been closed. And it's been online for the past nine months. We’re also doing whatever we can to spread the word about the charity and the resources so that hopefully, in six months’ time, when all this hopefully will go away, people will know what the charity can offer them.

One example was when we made a playlist for a lady in her 90s and her son-in-law was telling me “we know exactly what song is playing because even though she's got headphones on she's singing at the top of her voice!”

Which other organisations do you work closely with in Powys, a very rural county?

So far Dementia Matters in Powys and yourselves. It’s early days so far. The community councils are also keen to get involved as well. So if there are any organisations in the area interested in using music to help people living with dementia, please get in touch.

Tell us what a “dementia friendly Powys” looks like to you personally

It's about people having the knowledge of what dementia is and understanding the many different types of dementia. Then knowing how best we can support people living with dementia, and their carers, and their families. So it's all about knowledge. It's about using all of the tools that we've got available to help and to support people. And everyone having their own personal music playlist, of course. 

What are the main challenges of the role?

I made the mistake early on when I started the job of sending out 50 emails in one day to all these organisations to say hello. I had about 36 of them come back within a day saying yes, we want to meet you and find out more. So keeping up with demand was the biggest challenge in the early days.

But during the past few months the challenge has actually being the technology side of things. We've got some lovely organisations that I met before lockdown that are not able to use technology very well. So they’re waiting to return to face-to-face before engaging with me again. So, it's tough now getting to the grassroots’ groups.

And also the need to diet from eating all those cakes, when we were meeting up, has been a real challenge!

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done at Playlist for Life so far

It's definitely been creating playlists for people. We have such a laugh! One couple were having a disco in the garden with a little MP3 player of all the personal music we gave them. The gentleman had the story of his life turned into his playlist. It was a fantastic playlist.

Another highlight was running Music Detective training courses with colleges. We trained 60 - 70 of a college’s access students in the Music Detectives’ work – it’s been great to have that opportunity.

When you are not working for Playlist for Life, how do you enjoy spending your time?

I love walking and cycling. I'm an out-and-about person. I love to travel abroad as well. During Covid I have found so many new parks and places to go locally that I never would have thought about before. That’s been great. 

If you want to find out more about Playlist for Life you can contact Steff by emailing: steff@playlistforlife.org.uk or ring 07712 273 946.

Farming charity launches new service for farming people

RABI – the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution – is farming’s oldest and largest charity, operating across Wales and England. The charity has been serving the farming community since 1860.

Though best known for offering financial support (having given out grants of more than £3m to farming people in 2019), RABI is extending its services to provide more all-round support packages. The charity recently launched an online wellbeing community and counselling service for farming people of all ages, as Communications Manager Rob Harris, below, explains.

Tell us a bit more about the new service?

We’ve launched two distinct websites - Qwell.io/rabi for adults, and Kooth.com/rabi for those aged 11-17. These are safe and confidential online platforms, which are delivered in partnership with a specialist online mental health provider. The websites include dedicated farmer friendly content and access to BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) recognised, qualified counsellors. It means anyone from the farming sector can talk to a counsellor, for free and in complete confidence, about anything that’s bothering them, whatever the issues might be.

Counsellors are available from 12pm - 10pm Monday to Friday and from 6pm - 10pm at weekends. Drop-in and pre-booked sessions are available.

What prompted RABI to set up these new services to support farmers’ wellbeing? 

We want to offer more support and be there for the small things as well as the big. We are known for helping people during the toughest of times, but we want to give assistance much earlier. We recognise that early intervention and one-to-one support are key in preventing problems from escalating.

Did you aim to launch this service in a pandemic?

No, but in many ways it’s appropriate because 2020 has been testing for so many of us. For farmers there are always uncertainties and things beyond their control, such as fluctuating prices and adverse weather, but planning ahead during a pandemic is almost impossible.

Maintaining good mental wellbeing is absolutely vital, for individuals, for families and for businesses. No one should take their mental wellbeing for granted. We want to get to a point where the farming community accept that it’s OK not to be OK.

Is this a new venture for RABI?

Yes. It’s part of a five-year strategy that will extend our reach to more people. We want to focus on early intervention and providing one to one support that prevents people reaching crisis point.

What else are you currently involved in?

We’ve appointed the University of Exeter to conduct a survey to better understand the issues facing farmers. The research will be the largest survey ever undertaken to gain an understanding directly from farming people of the stresses they face and the impacts on their wellbeing of these challenges.

We’ve worked with a number of key stakeholders to help develop the survey including the NFU, NFU Cymru, Defra, Welsh Government, the Worshipful Company of Farmers, the National Rural Mental Health Forum, the Prince’s Countryside Fund, Farmers Weekly and Farmers Guardian. We’re hoping to achieve 26,000 responses to the survey across Wales and England. 

You can read more about the research project here.

What will you use this information for?

To shape our services going forward and ensure we remain relevant in a rapidly changing world. 

We might think we know what the issues in farming are – but the results of this survey will portray the true picture – and it might surprise us.

We’ll publish the results to provide the agricultural sector with an overview of the issues those in farming are facing. 

Many thanks to Rob Harris for telling us more about this valuable new service to support the farming community across Powys (and beyond). 

To find out what RABI can do for you go to www.rabi.org.uk, call the Freephone Helpline 0808 281 9490 or email help@rabi.org.uk