World Mental Health Day at the ORTUS

Please join us on Friday, 8 October for a day of FREE drop-in sessions, workshops and an exhibition to mark World Mental Health Day showcasing the work of our Anchor Projects, initiatives for which we provide long term funding.

This year’s theme is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’. Everyone is welcome to the ORTUS to participate in the day’s activities, whether you’re a service user or staff of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust or a member of the general public. Enjoy our café, free wi-fi and the company of others in a spacious and accessible setting.

WORKSHOPS

Workshops are available by advanced booking only in order to manage numbers and keep everyone COVID-safe.

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Bethlem Gallery – Emotive Art workshop
11 am to 1:00 pm

Join artist Izzy Parker-Nasir and neuroscientist Dr Gemma Modinos and members of her lab in an artist-led emotive making workshop.

We will be using smell and taste to help us access and recognise our four basic emotions: happy, sad, angry and scared. We will consider how colour, form, texture and scale can be used to express and acknowledge our feelings. We will use airdry clay to create mini sculptures to express each emotion. During and after the workshop there will be time to ask questions about Gemma’s lab research into how they study brain responses to emotion and the role these may play in mental health.

Book your place here

About Izzy 

Izzy is a King’s Artist in residence in Gemma Modinos’ lab in the department of psychosis studies at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. Supported by the Culture team at King’s, Bethlem Gallery, Southwark Young Advisors and the Arts Council England, Izzy and Gemma have run workshops virtually for various cohorts. Working with both service users and the general public, they have been exploring with the participants which emotion they find hardest to express.

Izzy works commercially as a set designer for the advertising industry and through her personal art practice creates immersive installations and artworks which explore perception and emotions through colour, craft and environment.

SLaM Recovery College
Wellbeing Workshops

Recovery is about a personal journey towards a meaningful and satisfying life, towards living as well as possible whatever symptoms or difficulties are present. The workshops and courses run by Recovery College aim to provide the tools to make this happen, helping you to become an expert in your own recovery or that of someone you care for.

• 9:30 am – 10:30 am – Self Compassion
• 11:00 am – 12:00pm – Healthy Eating
• 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Parks, Walks and Walking Meditation
• 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Maintaining Wellbeing
• 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Emotional First Aid Kit
• 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm – How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

One-to-one sessions

Meet SLaM recovery College

Make a booking for an informal 45-minute chat with a member of our training team to learn about the Recovery College and what is on offer. We can also support you to complete an online enrolment if you need some assistance.

Sessions are available from 9:30 am until 12:30 pm

Digital Inclusion Sessions

Make a booking for one-to-one support with a SLaM Digital Mentor to improve your digital skills and increase your confidence with:

• Using mobile phones, laptops, and tablets
• Using video calling services (e.g. Zoom and MS Teams)
• Using social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter)
• Using other internet-based services (e.g. email, Google and online shopping)

Sessions are available from 1:15 pm until 4:15 pm

For more details, book your place here

DROP-IN ACTIVITIES

“transition” – Arch installation
Izzy Parker-Nasir

To celebrate her time as an Artist in Residence and inspired by the mini sculptures created during her Emotive Making workshops, Izzy has created a pop-up freestanding walk through arch installation that reflects on the feeling of transition of one emotion to another. She considers how we can use colour, form, texture and space to explore our emotions.

Experience the installation from 9:00 am – 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Izzy will be on hand to answer any questions and listen to your feedback.

Bethlem Museum of the Mind
Change Minds

Amy and David from Bethlem Museum of the Mind show how the medical records of the past can help shape mental health perspectives in the present, and reveal how YOU can get involved!

Photography exhibition
Covid-19 – Life Through a Lens: Hope, compassion, and kindness on the frontlines of mental health care

A selection of photos taken by Ben McDade celebrating the compassion, dedication and resilience shown by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust staff and volunteers during the pandemic.

SLaM Volunteering Programme
Information and sign-up sessions

Interested in making a difference for people living with mental health issues? The Volunteering Service at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust will be on-site to discuss the many ways you can get involved.