Young people across Liverpool are to receive free counselling sessions thanks to a new mental health project launched by The Mind Map.

Talk It Out is a National Lottery part-funded project which will see The Mind Map, with support from First Person Project, help young people aged 18-30 access counselling support both online and in-person at locations across Liverpool.

Referral partners, including The Florrie and Citizens Advice on Prescription Liverpool, will be signposting young people to this vital service as demand increases for mental health support.

Phil Bridges, Mind Map founder and a mental health lecturer, says: “With current waiting times of up to 18 weeks or longer, and routes to access counselling often confusing, there is an acute need to meet the increasing demand for mental health support.

“The pandemic has exacerbated an existing mental health crisis for young people. When you add to that the cost-of-living crisis and collective trauma following a spate of recent murders in the city, never has increased counselling provision been more needed.”

Matty Caine, First Person Project founder and a registered mental health nurse, adds: “This project is about taking mental health action at a critical time.

“The people within our local communities are in dire need of mental health support, but they’re struggling to access the necessary services due to a variety of complex socio-political factors.

“This is impacting upon rates of mental illness and, in the worst-case scenario, contributing to the increasing rates of suicide.

“We need to provide specialist mental health support without barriers or bureaucracy, in a way which takes the whole person and their surroundings into account.”

Talk It Out will also support the career development of trainee counsellors at Edge Hill University, who will provide sessions under supervision from The Mind Map and First Person Project’s experienced teams.

As part of this new project, The Mind Map, in partnership with First Person Project, will be training young people in vital Mental Health First Aid skills.

The Mind Map has previously provided Mental Health First Aid training to some of the UK’s largest organisations, including eBay, Facebook, Netflix and the NHS.

It will also be running free sessions on employability, confidence, financial resilience and community capacity building as part of the Talk It Out programme.

To find out more and book free counselling sessions, visit: www.themindmap.co.uk

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