A Derry woman is aiming to help people suffering from mental health problems through the use of drama.
Caroline McMenamin is a mental health counsellor specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
Caroline (pictured) also has a bachelor’s degree in drama.
She has now combined her work and passion to create a new ‘Replenish’ course which uses drama to help those suffering from mental health issues.
The free course will be held in Derry every Wednesday for the next couple of months.
Caroline is also a model and writes about her life on The Red Duchess blog.
The Derry woman said she felt the new drama course can help mental health sufferers.
“I incorporate my training and personal experience of mental health into my blogging, and this has proven to be quite effective in not only helping people and de-stigmatising mental health issues, but also banishing the misconception that mental health has a ‘certain look’.
“This is because I'm also a model and enjoy beauty and fashion, so it was quite a surprise to the followers of ‘The Red Dutchess’ to discover that I live with O.C.D and have suffered with the anxiety disorder since I was young child.
“Having seen the potential of breaking misconceptions of mental health illness through my own honesty, I've thus developed a programme that will empower participants, living with mental health issues, to replenish their way of living.
“The programme will help educate individuals to adapt new helpful cognitive techniques and thinking strategies through group discussions and the therapeutic medium of drama. This is done in order to alleviate the crippling symptoms of mental illnesses.”
She said she hoped the drama course would improve participants’ quality of life.
“The programme will be delivered in a group format.
“The very dynamics of group work serves as a method of ‘normalising’ what it's like to live with a mental health issue, not to mention the organic therapy that group work itself brings.”
Caroline said the location of the course would be kept confidential to protect the privacy of any who would like to take part.
Anyone who would like to take part can contact Caroline at reddutchess22@gmail.com or on www.Facebook.com/thereddutchess.
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