Buckinghamshire Mind has received a grant of £3,000 from the Shanly Foundation to fund its Adult Counselling Service, based in Aylesbury and High Wycombe, for people experiencing mental health difficulties in Bucks.

Buckinghamshire Mind is a charity working to support and represent people with mental health problems living across the country. The organisation is run by local people for local people and is responsible for its own funding and the services it provides.

The Adult Counselling Service provides high quality one-to-one counselling to adults with a variety of mental health needs, including anxiety, depression, loss, relationship issues, difficulties with anger, recovery from traumatic events or are struggling to cope with the pressures of life.

The importance of the service can be captured by this comment from a Buckinghamshire Mind Adult Counselling Service User: “This counselling period has been incredibly cathartic and hugely beneficial.”

“We are very grateful to the Shanly Foundation for this grant, which will enable Buckinghamshire Mind to provide clients with the tools to understand and manage the challenges that life can bring,” said Andrea McCubbin, Buckinghamshire Mind’s Chief Executive. “The Adult Counselling Service helps to improve mental health and well-being, reduce stress, build resilience and empower people to make positive life choices. The counselling sessions can develop self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem as well as providing life skills and helping people to stay in or return to work.”

Tamra Booth, Trustee at the Shanly Foundation, said: “We are very pleased to help support Buckinghamshire Mind’s Adult Counselling Service. Mental health difficulties can affect anybody and it is encouraging, that as a society, we are becoming more aware of these issues. Figures show that 1 in 4 people in the UK will confront a mental health problem each year and so it is vital that the outstanding work by Buckinghamshire Mind continues.”

The Shanly Foundation aims to support causes that help individuals and benefit the local community, including support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the homeless, those with mental health issues and people with physical disabilities, injury or life limiting illness. The Shanly Foundation is funded entirely from the discretionary distribution of profits made by the companies that make up the Shanly Group.

For more information on the Shanly Foundation, please visit www.shanlyfoundation.com