Less than a week to go until “Headfest”, Northamptonshire’s Mental Health Awareness Week celebration
“Headfest” is a week-long mental health focused event taking place at the Royal and Derngate theatre, Northampton, during Mental Health Awareness Week, from Monday 9 May - Sunday 15 May.
The event is being delivered by the BBC with partners from Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, St Andrew’s Healthcare and the University of Northampton, and other partners. The aim of the event is to allow people access to conversations and services about all aspects of mental health in one place, and there will also be the opportunity for people to take part in experiences such as sound baths, meditation and yoga.
NHFT services will be in attendance across the week with a range of support and advice available. The full schedule for the week along with details of how to book on to a session, can be found on the Royal and Derngate site here HeadFest '22 - Royal & Derngate (royalandderngate.co.uk)
Throughout the week there will be Q&A sessions with individuals about their experiences with their own mental health. Members of the public, parents, teachers, students, and healthcare professionals are all invited to come along, join in with sessions and connect with others. All sessions are free, but they must be pre-booked and are available on a first come, first served basis.
Anne Rackham, Director of Mental Health at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are proud to be supporting “Headfest”. This innovative community event will see partners across the county come together to ask people across the county one very important question; ‘How are you?’
“By showcasing the services that are available to support people who might be struggling with mental health, we hope to provide our communities with the assurance that we’re here to help them. We would encourage anyone who is having difficulty with their mental health to reach out for support, we are here, any time, any day.”
The following sessions and events will be delivered by #TeamNHFT during the week.
Monday 9 May
10am - Opening Ceremony – Anne Rackham will represent NHFT
11.30am – Crisis café hosted by NHFT and MIND
Tuesday 10 May
10am – IAPT Talking Therapies session
4pm – Crisis café hosted by NHFT and MIND
Wednesday 11 May
5pm-7pm The Lowdown – Espresso yourself
Thursday 12 May
2pm-3pm Maternal mental health talk
4.30pm-5.30pm – Men’s mental health panel discussion with Lisa Pearson
5.30pm-7pm – Rafiki and the Lowdown talk
7.30pm – Lisa Pearson - more on Men’s mental health and suicide prevention
Friday 13 May
10.30 -11am – Time to Change champions – Andy Willis
1.30pm-4pm – Film screening, discussion on Compassion and seated Yoga with Dr Sunil Lad
4.30pm-5.30pm – Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Tim Millward
6pm-7pm – CAMHS live
To keep up to date with news about the event and to sign up for sessions when registrations open, visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Find out more about Headfest see the final programme
Click here to view the festival schedule and book your free tickets
*The full list of #Headfest partners and workshop providers during the week are:
- St. Andrew’s Healthcare
- Northamptonshire MIND
- University of Northampton
- The Lowdown
- Northamptonshire Police
- Sol Haven (Drumming therapy)
- Space 2 Talk
- West Northamptonshire Council