The Branch Trust

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Referrals for self-harming amongst 15-19 year olds have increased by 80% over the last five years.*

*Oxford Health, Oxfordshire Children and young people needs assessment 2018

Whilst many children and young people face a 2.5 year wait to be assessed, we partner with schools to help these children to stay in education and receive one-to-one support.

In 2023 we will have delivered:

322 mentoring sessions working with teenagers who are struggling with their mental health

327 hours of nurture working with primary aged children struggling with their emotions – including the launch of our Nurture Gardening sessions.

50% of those on the Special Educational Needs Register in Year 7 have social, emotional or mental health needs (rather than educational needs).
70-80 children each term are seen in the Nurture Room at the primary school.
85% of CAP Debt Centre clients said that debt affected their mental health.

Keys to unlocking potential

Wellbeing - Kintsugi Hope

Kintsugi' (金継ぎ) is a Japanese technique for repairing pottery with seams of gold. The word means 'golden joinery' in Japanese. This repairs the brokenness in a way that makes the object more beautiful and even more unique than it was prior to being broken. Instead of hiding the scars it makes a feature of them.

We run Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing groups - a safe and supportive space:

for people who feel or have felt overwhelmed.
providing tools for self-management.
in a facilitated peer mentoring style setting.

Issues covered include: disappointment, loss, anxiety, anger perfectionism, shame and resilience.

Endorsement

"We need to move away from just focusing on mental illness to helping everyone stay mentally well. This means overhauling our attitudes and approach to mental health and mental health services, increasing investment in prevention, early intervention and life-time support.”

Local Government Association, 2019