Talking About Mental Health At County Hall

Staff sessions to raise awareness of mental health issues will be held at County Hall on Thursday to mark Time to Talk Day 2017. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

City of Cardiff Council pledged support last May to the charity Time to Change Wales which runs the annual event and this will be the first a Time to Talk Day has been organised for its staff. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Wellbeing, Cllr Susan Elsmore said: “The message of the campaign is crystal clear: ‘Don’t be afraid to talk about mental health.’ We need to end the stigma of mental health and I wholeheartedly support doing this by talking about it and promoting the array of help available. I encourage staff to come along to these open sessions to have a chat and learn more about mental health.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Time to Change Wales Programme Manager, Emily Wooster said: “The aim of Time to Talk Day is to help people feel more confident to talk about mental health to break down the stigma of talking about it, particularly in the workplace. We are delighted with the work that City of Cardiff Council is doing to help improve attitudes and culture towards mental health and fully support them in the improvements they are making to people’s working lives.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The day will be split into three sessions for staff and will include information on the Council’s Employee Assistance Programme and Employee Counselling Service. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​