NHS reports tell us that the number of people with common mental health problems in the UK has increased by 45% since 1993. This increase has meant a rise in demand for services provided by voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) groups nationally.

Join us for this in-person conference for VCFSE groups in Somerset, where we will focus on:

• Understanding why cases are becoming more complex (systemic, social, and clinical factors)
• Sharing organisational and personal strategies to stay resilient and effective
• Connecting professional compassion with sustainable self-care (roles we hold as professionals and roles we have within compassion)

We hope the conference will help you:

• Recognise the growing complexity in people’s presentations (e.g. multiple diagnoses, trauma, risk, social media influences)
• Honour the emotional load that staff carry
• Introduce the idea that “self-care is not self-indulgence — it’s an ethical responsibility”

Guest speakers

Throughout the day, we will hear from mental health experts, including:

• Angus Crutchfield, UKCP registered psychotherapist and psychotherapeutic counsellor
• Lucy Silk, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Member of the BACP
• Rhonda Lovell from Wellington Counselling Centre
• Georgina Smith from on eggshells

We will also host presentations from Escapeline and Safelink.

Free tickets are available for staff and volunteers of VCFSE organisations operating in Somerset, and will be of particular interest to those supporting the mental wellbeing of others in the county.