The Mind Corps has set up to deliver sustainable help and support to men, veterans and families dealing with mental health conditions, including PTSD. It is aimed to help improve men’s mental and physical health, and wellbeing with an open and trusted approach in a safe environment.
There is a lot of support for women, and females will often talk more openly and look for help as opposed to men. The difference in mindsets between men and women is shown in the statistics around suicide rates, homelessness, domestic abuse and longer prison sentences, etc., particularly amongst veterans.
The idea came from Darren Seilgenberg and Ruth Shaw, and started originally looking at men’s mental health which then transformed into helping ex-forces personnel also. From a questionnaire Ruth sent out on Social Media, the response was that there was little support for veterans. The post brought interest from both ex-military and civilians, showing how the male population think with regards to getting help with difficult situations. These could range from monetary matters, relationships, through to PTSD and traumatic events. Ruth Shaw said: “The responses to my questionnaire showed that there is an obvious need to change the mindset of men towards mental health and the stigma attached to seeking help.”
The Mind Corps is working with Belisama’s Retreat, described by the founder, JP as: “A woodland and wildlife project to promote health and well-being for veterans and other groups based on the River Ribble, a safe and welcoming environment for veterans.
“We provide 1:1 session’s – coaching and NLP techniques, group support workshops for the veterans and their families, acting on the awareness and making the necessary changes. It is all good and well bringing the topic to light, though without action nothing further changes. With a more proactive approach and early intervention it helps those affected with poor mental health creating higher motivation to achieve their goals and better interaction with families, employment and society.”
The Mind Corps is also working with local businesses to raise the issue of men’s health and understanding of ex-military integrating with civvy street.
