8 October 2020

To mark World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10 October, we’re supporting Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, as they launch an online learning platform for The Life Rooms sessions.

Following the closure of their five Life Rooms centres for the pandemic in March, Life Rooms converted classrooms into call centres, ensuring its 5,000 service users and frontline staff had access to information on health cooking, wellbeing and exercise, and many courses were moved online, some provided by Everyman & Playhouse staff.

It proved so successful, Life Rooms are launching their new online learning platform on WMHD (10 October), where anyone can access any of the 28 courses covering such diverse topics as healthy cooking, Life Rooms fit camp, Understanding Sleep and Problem Solving, which they hope will address the predicted rise in mental health issues because of the lockdown.

Michael Crilly, Mersey Care’s Director of Social Inclusion and Participation, said: “As we continue to co-exist with the coronavirus, it’s become necessary to radically rethink how we can deliver our essential Life Rooms support safely and in a way that can provide learning and community support for mental and physical health and well-being.

“We can’t open our physical buildings but instead we’re opening The Life Rooms On-Line as a fully functioning digital environment through which the full Life Rooms experience will be made available not only to our own local communities but also to a much wider audience.”

Since the launch of The Life Rooms Online, the free content has been viewed over 6,000 times between April and August and over 90 film based courses had more than 14,000 views on The Life Rooms YouTube channel.

There’s plenty of entertainment value, but also practical help for people who may be struggling to cope. Courses are often led by tutors who have themselves experienced mental health issues.

Mr Crilly added: “People will now be able to access our full learning offer in real time as well as in their own time. Video technology and our interactive platform will support people to learn and take control of their own health and ultimately their own life opportunities.

“In our new digital Life Rooms we are able to massively increase the reach and accessibility of The Life Rooms offer so as to tackle the many mental health implications of living alongside coronavirus.

“We believe passionately that by providing early intervention and support we will make a real difference in managing the surge in mental health need and in ultimately supporting individuals and communities to lead happier and healthier lives way beyond a world that is currently dominated by Covid-19.”

You can find out more about sessions provided  via The Life Rooms online learning platform.

“I really look forward to it – I love it. When all the names start popping up on Zoom, and everyone’s waving and asking how you are – it’s a lovely feeling. You feel like you’re not alone.

 

 “It has helped me build confidence. You feel included and you are given opportunity to express yourself. It was the facilitator at the Playhouse doing those crazy things in drama, and I was thinking ‘anything goes’ and I thought I would have a go at doing that. Then, you start losing your inhibitions.

 

“I couldn’t have done any of this before I started coming to the Playhouse, honestly. For me drama has had the most impact in bringing me back to normality in my life.

 

“I wouldn’t have done what I am doing in drama this time last year, even nine months ago. With PTSD it’s hard for me to open up and see myself - especially on Zoom. Thank you so much for having these sessions. It’s helping me deal with 50 years of hurt.”

- A participant of The Life Rooms