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Listen
Preventing Suicide and Deliberate Self Harm
Laying the Foundations: Identifying Practice Examples
Project Report
1. Be Well (formerly Craigmillar Health Project), Edinburgh
Target Group
The Craigmillar Health Project was set up in 1988 to meet health needs of people living in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh. Craigmillar is an area of considerable need in terms of high levels of social deprivation and poverty.
Issues
Local people tend not to separate 'mental health' and 'physical health'. The most consistent health need that people have expressed is help with coping strategies for stress, anxiety and depression. People who use the project may also be experiencing loneliness, isolation, low self-esteem or agoraphobia.
Services/approach
All of the activities that are undertaken at the project have been developed through the involvement of local people in identifying their own health concerns and needs. The project provides drop-in facilities, one-to-one work such as counselling, group work, as well as complementary therapies such as massage and relaxation sessions.
The drop-in, which is overseen by volunteers, offers company, a 'human response' and an introduction to new ideas. It is a supportive environment for people who may be experiencing loneliness, isolation, low self-esteem or anxiety.
Various different types of group-work are undertaken at the project according to need. The Heart to Heart group is for people experiencing, or recovering from, heart disease or surgery. The Life Support Group is a structured worker-facilitated group which provides an opportunity for personal growth and awareness.
The Mid Years Women's self-support group offers support and information to women during and after the menopause. Many women start to use the group because they are experiencing stress, depression, anxiety or agoraphobia. The group explores ways of improving their ability to cope, such as meditation, relaxation and complementary therapies. The Group also go on day trips which can help improve the self-confidence of women who have been experiencing agoraphobia.
The men's group is a self-support group offering a meeting place for men which they themselves decide how to use. The emphasis is usually on various different activities. However, the trust and intimacy which grows from shared activities has also created an environment in which the men who use the group have supported each other through crises and difficult life situations.
The project has an in-house crèche which enables people with children to attend groups and use the project.
Local people have been keen to try complementary therapies, such as aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture and Reiki. Various different complementary therapies are therefore available at the project. Many people who use the project experience panic attacks, anxiety and depression. They find the relaxation groups and complementary therapies particularly useful for dealing with these issues.
In Craigmillar there are high levels of poverty, and because of this, also poverty of expectation - people have no idea when their poverty is going to end which can cause people to have little hope. This can also affect young people, in that they see their parents not going out to work on a long-term basis, or permanently. If you have a job and money, your choices in life tend to be greater.
People who use the project get a growing sense of self-esteem, a sense of well-being, and a sense of hope that things can change. For example, if someone feels that they can't go on with life any more, and then receive support at the project and have people at the project who spend time listening to and talking to them, then they get a sense that others care about them. The situation that they are in may not have changed, but their sense of it may have.
Some people use the project for many years, others come along occasionally. The idea is that people can use the services that they want, and can do things at their own pace. Sometimes it will take someone years to feel that they have moved on in life. At other times, someone may feel better after using the project a few times.
Sometimes people come to the project near the end of their ability to cope with the situation that they are in. The project can make a big difference if people start to use it before they have become seriously suicidal. The project is not open at night, and cannot undertake therapeutic work with people in their own homes, so people who are really desperate would probably not be able to use the project.
The project also runs a club for people with dementia which is operated by volunteers who are themselves users of the project, but who have received training in working with people with dementia. This training can in itself increase the confidence and sense of accomplishment in the volunteers.
Key features
For further information, contact:
Gillian Strang, Project Worker
Be Well
14 Niddrie House Park
Edinburgh, EH16 4UL
Tel 0131 657 4174
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