A new initiative aimed at giving women in Renfrewshire a safe space to talk about their mental health has been launched by the St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation.
The Changing Room - which has been successfully bolstering the mental wellbeing of men in Paisley for 18 months - is being extended to women in the local community.
The scheme is a 12-week behavioural change course, and is a great opportunity for women who want to look after themselves, better their social connections and wellbeing, and improve the lives they lead.
Run by the SPFL Trust, and facilitated by SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), the ground-breaking initiative is supporting women in the community to address issues such as anxiety, depression, loneliness and general wellbeing.
The women’s programme is being delivered by St Mirren Foundation’s community coach Emma Smith who was delighted to bring such a successful and worthwhile course to her female counterparts.
Explaining the course is structured like a football game with a warm up, first half, second half and post match analysis, Emma said: “The first three weeks is all about team building and creating that safe environment for everyone.
“In the second half that’s when we delve more into mental health topics, give them possible coping mechanisms and hopefully by then they will be comfortable enough to talk more about their experiences.
“If they want to talk that’s great but if they don’t want to that’s fine too.
“We can also then look at next steps, explore what to do next to support our mental health and possibly look at services in the community that you can look at in the future to help.
“We also look at movement so sometimes that’s breaking off in groups of two and three for a walk and talk around the pitch but we can also look at different activities that interest those talking part such as athletics or tennis.”
The first women’s Changing Room pilot is currently underway and the St Mirren Foundation is already looking to support more women with the roll out of the scheme, which has already created a support network amongst the existing cohort of participants.
“That peer support is so important,” Emma added. “We have a Whatsapp group and the women have started sharing coping mechanisms on there and chatting and so they are creating their own support network too.
“One woman had a self care box with things she used to look after her self and so the women took that away and wanted to create one too, so things like that are really useful.”
Emma is encouraging women who feel they may benefit from The Changing Room to get in touch ahead of the next 12-week course.
She said: “I would say to any woman who wants to improve their mental health to get in touch.
“Take that step to walk through the door to meet other people who are in the same situation.
“It is a completely safe environment, there is no judgement. It would be really beneficial.”
For more information on The Changing Room see the St Mirren Foundation’s Facebook page or email foundation@stmirren.co.uk
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