STOP PRESS!  Media Awareness Training will take place on January 27 2009.  To find out more, email: heather@swuf.org.uk

TalkBank

One of the most effective ways of fighting stigma is replacing the negative with positive. And that's what we are doing with TalkBank. 

We are a group of mental health service users and survivors (and a few refusers!) who are prepared to tell our stories to the media.  Our stories are all different.  Some of us have learnt to live with hearing voices, some of us have recovered from eating disorders, depression or severe anxiety.  Many of us are learning to live with our differences and mental health issues. 

What we all have in common is our belief that we should not be stigmatised or discriminated against because of our mental health.

If you'd like to find out more   click here

We will offer all TalkBank volunteers media training to empower them to deal with the media effectively.

If you would like to join us, or if you are a journalist and would like to interview a member of the TalkBank, email heather@swuf.org.uk or telephone 01926 335569

Some examples of TalkBank stories in the press (apologies that these images aren't clear.  If you click on the shown links, you can access full graphic files)

Mukhtiar is on the road to recovery

Appearing in the Coventry and Warwickshire Telegraphs on Tuesday May 13 2008, Mukhtiar spoke about his newly found love of running - and the 10K run he was taking part in to raise money for Rethink.  Mukhtiar had previously received a diagnosis of Bi-polar Disorder and is also epileptic.

To read the full article, click here

(you may need to zoom your webpage to 125% to view the text)

This is my story - tell yours too

Appearing in the Coventry and Warwickshire Telegraphs on Thursday 19 June 2008.  This is Heather Payne's story (the Media Action Worker with responsibility for the AMI Project) and a call for volunteers to join the Media Watch Group.

Click here to read Heather's story.

Therapy was the key to winning back my daughter and getting my life back on track again

and

Support helped me through my mental illness

To mark World Mental Health Day 2008, the Coventry & Warwickshire Telegraphs published the stories of two of the TalkBank volunteers - Joanne and Kay.  You can read their stories here and here.