Lawyers Team Up with Charities and Experts To Deliver Mental Health Boost

National law firm Irwin Mitchell has organised a mini series of special wellbeing events in support of colleagues ahead of this year’s World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10 October.

Together with partner organisations and charities, the national law firm has devised a series of nine webinars, covering a range of topics associated with promoting good mental health.

Opening the series of virtual events is a session looking at the effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on children and young people, including on their return to school and the influence of social media.

In connection with Black History Month, the second webinar on Tuesday 6 October will address ethnic diversity and mental health in the workplace. This will explore best practice when dealing with mental health and race at work, focusing on the impact on wellbeing as a result of racism.

Further topics in the series include PTSD in the military community, loneliness in the elderly community, the positive effects of music on mental health, and how to navigate life’s ups and downs when it comes to dealing with money and your finances when it comes to relationship breakdown, divorce or the death of a loved one.

The week of activities will conclude on Friday 9 October, also the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week, where an event will be held to help break the silence of men’s mental health following the loss of a baby. This will be followed by the a session which will discuss the benefits of sport and physical activity on mental health, featuring the British Paralympic Table Tennis player, Ross Wilson and England Rugby Coach, Simon Middleton.

A final event on Monday 12 October will address spinal cord injury and mental wellbeing, aimed at those living with or caring for someone with a spinal cord injury.

All the events will be free to attend and each will provide a range of top tips for the issues under discussion. Recordings of the sessions will be available for those who could not attend on the day and to serve as a vital resource for people to use in the future.

For nearly 30 years, World Mental Health Day has been championing education and awareness of mental health issues and combating the stigma that can still surround the issue. While great strides have been made in recent years, much work remains to be done in tacking many of the unseen aspects of mental health in the workplace and in terms of race, diversity and gender.

Expert Opinion

“Many of our lives have changed considerably since lockdown and we have been active in issuing guidance and support for our clients, colleagues and communities concerning good mental health in response to this.

“World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to build on this work and address new issues such as the impact of race on wellbeing and address those issues that can still carry a stigma in society.

“It’s ok not to be ok and it’s vital that people know that support is available and that everyone can feel confident in coming forward and discussing mental health.” Susana Berlevy - Group Chief People Officer

The work surrounding mental health follows Irwin Mitchell’s support for World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September and efforts to ensure that people are signposted to the help they need and the importance of wellbeing is not underestimated.

An online book will also be produced with the information from all the webinars in one place, so they can be easily accessed in the future.