Mindfulness for underrepresented communities
We are keen to make mindfulness teaching available to diverse communities that are underrepresented within mainstream NHS services.
To achieve this, we are collaborating with third sector organisations that work with specific communities, to increase their access to mindfulness.
Reaching underrepresented communities
We are grateful to Health Education England for funding five mindfulness courses with underrepresented communities. The first training sessions are for LGBTQ, asylum seekers and refugees and Black, Asian and People of Colour communities in Brighton and Hove and Sussex.
We are running the training face to face in venues that best meet the needs of the populations we are working with. We are using adapted curricula for our mindfulness training that is tailored, relevant and sensitive to the needs of each group.
Who are we working with?
People with learning disabilities
Our aim is to make mindfulness accessible to people with a learning disability. There is a growing evidence base for this and accessible mindfulness is growing slowly nationally.
We have created our own resources for explaining what mindfulness is and the underlying principles and foundations. You can find out about our progress, and find resources for people with learning disabilities here.
Black, Asian and People of Colour communities
We are honoured to be delivering a culturally relevant version of mindfulness-based inclusion training for Black, Asian and People of Colour communities. We are working with a range of organisations throughout the Sussex, Brighton and Hove region to deliver this award-winning, culturally-informed mindfulness training for Black & Minority Ethnic Communities. See more information here or get in touch by emailing us at smc@spft.nhs.uk.
LGBTQ
We are proud to be partnering with MindOut the LGBTQ mental health service to deliver an eight-week mindfulness course for LGBTQ staff and volunteers working in the sector locally.
Refugees and people seeking asylum
We are running our second mindfulness course for women refugees and asylum seekers. We are working with non-governmental organisations that support and represent refugees and asylum seekers in Sussex. We are particularly grateful for the support of Sanctuary on Sea, Sanctuary Cafe Eastbourne, Hummingbird, Refugee Radio, Robin Hood Health Foundation and the Network of International Women Brighton and Hove. Find out more about our mindfulness training for refugees.
Collaborate with us
If you are a Sussex-based organisation that serves underrepresented communities, and are able to help recruit groups of up to 12 people, and / or offer a venue for the course, please get in touch. We would also love it if you could support us to evaluate the course outcomes.
We can support third sector organisations to apply for funding to run mindfulness courses for the communities they work with and serve. If you would like to know more about how we can deliver a course for you please email kate.webb@spft.nhs.uk