World Mental Health Day – 10th October 2025
World Mental Health Day
Today, October 10th, marks #WorldMentalHealthDay, a time to reflect on mental health issues and improvement work all around the world, a time to break down barriers and have important conversations. But for us at Brandon Centre, mental health isn’t just a topic for today – it’s a commitment that we make every day. We believe that every young person deserves access to high-quality, accessible mental health support, and for over fifty years we’ve been working in the vibrant heart of #Camden and #Islington to support our community and meet the evolving needs of young people and their families.
The theme this year is ‘Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes or Emergencies’ highlighting the importance of having safe mental health support during crises, whether they be global conflicts, pandemics or natural disasters, or more personal emergencies.
At Brandon Centre, we strive to be here for young people, developing flexible and accessible specialist services for young people to access the highest quality mental health and wellbeing support in a safe and welcoming environment, through services including:
- Counselling and psychotherapy
- Systemic integrative treatment
- Social prescribing
- Parenting programmes
- Arsenal in the Community
- School staff support
…and much more!
We believe that mental health support should be proactive, not reactive. It should be embedded in the communities where young people spend their time. It should be inclusive, culturally sensitive, and free from judgment. And most importantly, it should be shaped by young people themselves – because they are the experts in their own experiences.
We’re proud to be supporting the lives of the young people we serve, today and every other day of the year. So go on – celebrate World Mental Health Day alongside us and do something good too. Please donate to us at https://brandon-centre.org.uk/donations and your contribution will help us all year round.
Arsenal and Brandon Centre
Arsenal and Brandon Centre: A Winning Partnership
Arsenal Football Club has long been known not just for its excellence on the pitch, but also for its commitment to making a difference off it. That spirit of community was on full display last week during the Arsenal vs Olympiacos match, where Brandon Centre was proudly featured in the match day programme, highlighting the work being done through our partnership with Arsenal in the Community.
This partnership is rooted in our Brandon Connect service, which includes therapeutic outreach sessions at The Arsenal Hub for young men who might otherwise struggle to access and engage with mental health services. Together, we also deliver Arsenal Girls’ Kicks – football sessions with a sports psychologist helping girls to develop emotional awareness, communication skills and resilience as they grow as athletes.
To celebrate our collaboration and our feature in their match day programme, (check out the article below) Arsenal kindly shared tickets for Brandon Centre staff and young people to attend the match against Olympiacos – a great experience made better by Arsenal taking the win 2-0! It was a great day to have such a close partnership with Arsenal in the Community – and the shared commitment to mental health and youth empowerment reflects the commitment we all have to supporting the local community of Islington and Camden. By working together, Arsenal and Brandon Centre are helping to break down stigma, promote open conversations, and ensure that young people know they are not alone.
The partnership between our organisations is a powerful example of how sport and community organisations can come together to create meaningful change, both in raising awareness about mental health as we approach World Mental Health Day on October 10th, and in actively supporting Brandon Centre to make a difference in the local community. It stands as a reminder that football can be more than just a game – it can be a force for good.
Opening up our historic house
On Saturday the 13th of September, we opened our doors and garden to the public, as part of this year’s London’s Open House Festival.
The festival is an inspiring city-wide celebration of architecture, and a chance for Londoners and visitors alike to explore interesting buildings, homes and neighbourhoods. And we were delighted to take part again!
Welcoming in local residents, curious passers-by, former colleagues, and even one lovely visitor who travelled all the way from Birmingham, we hosted tours of our historic Kentish Town building.
While taking in our cosy therapy rooms, light-filled kitchen or wandering around our peaceful garden, we got chatting to our visitors.
Sharing the story of our legacy, from our remarkable founder Dr Faith Spicer who set up our mission way back in 1969 to the reason why we’re called Brandon Centre (after Brandon Cadbury, from the famous chocolate family) and what we do today, we managed to connect with others on a deeper level.
This feeling was reflected in the thoughtful comments left by our visitors. One person wrote:
“Thank you for helping so many young people and continuing to do such important work”
and another:
“I loved the open day and speaking to the therapists, they were so friendly and approachable” and simply, “lovely welcome, lovely house”.
These kind words mean the world to us and capture what makes Brandon Centre so special.
We’d like to give a huge thank you to Sam Weston, Lucca Hunt and Sue Sowerby for giving up their Saturday to help run the event. We’re also grateful to our talented gardener, Kitty Clarke who keeps our outdoor space looking beautiful and ecologically sustainable. Our wonderful garden was a highlight for many on the day!
It was a joy to be part of the Open House Festival and we’re already looking forward to the next one. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and helped make the day so special!
Garage Sundays, good vibes and a bit of fundraising
Music brings people together. And nowhere was this more evident than at a daytime rave – organised by Chloe K – on a Sunday 10th August, where dancers, DJs and donors got together to help fundraise for Brandon Centre.
Bringing high-energy sets to the Lock Inn in Camden, a lineup of local DJs, MCs and live performance artists played the best UK garage sounds. From old school to recent mixes, the atmosphere was electric and drew a buzzing crowd with good vibes, drinks and nonstop music.
Chloe K, Kentish Town’s own DJ, put the whole fundraising event on for us and also performed a curated garage set. Known for her unique blends of classic house music with garage rhythms, Chloe K always gets the dance floor jumping. And that Sunday was no exception!
The event was a huge success, we raised £200 with 100% of tickets proceeds going directly to our cause. But it was also a chance to bring people together, and show how powerful community and music can be when combined.
Voices Unlocked at Linklaters
On the 26th June, we visited the global law firm, Linklaters, to share our findings from our latest project, Voices Unlocked.
www.linklaters.com
But before we tell you about that, let’s rewind a little bit…
Earlier this year, we were funded by Linklaters to listen to the voices of young people from diverse backgrounds, so that we can better understand their experiences in accessing mental health services.
In order to do this, we set about three focus groups with ten local young ambassadors who had previously used our services. Coming from a range of diverse backgrounds, we spoke to young people who were Asian, Asian Chinese, Mixed White and Asian, Latin American, and Asian Bangladeshi.
We wanted to get their opinions on mental health as a whole, hear of their experiences accessing services and if they faced any barriers, and also what they thought about Brandon Centre.
We discovered that stigma and negative perceptions around mental health in these young people’s communities act as a major barrier to accessing mental health services.
Often dismissed by their families, mental health was described as a “weakness”, something to be “ashamed” of, and not spoken about “freely” amongst communities – making it particularly difficult for these young people to seek the help that they might need.
We’re already working on increasing the awareness and diversity in the psychological workforce to combat this, and we’re starting to see that opinions are shifting. However, we’ve recognised that there’s a need to continue this work as well as strengthen our partnerships with other organisations so that we can help as many diverse young people as we can.
Despite this, those we spoke to said that their experience at Brandon Centre was overwhelmingly positive. They praised our flexibility and our non-judgmental, friendly staff as well as appreciating the length of therapy we provide in comparison to other services.
But the most important thing to us was that these young people reported long-term, positive impacts on their mental health through accessing our services.
With this knowledge, we shared our findings to Linklaters at their offices, and alongside our young ambassadors we opened up the floor to questions – helping to guide others to our services as well as answering queries from the project. While we were there, Linklaters also kindly ran a careers panel for our young ambassadors, hearing the amazing stories and voices of, Yewande Akeju, Avani Agarwal and Lizzie Harker-Noor, to understand the different inspiring careers and pathways Linklaters.
It was a truly insightful experience, and we learnt and took away a lot. But if we had to pick one quote that highlights what we do best…
“I just always felt very listened to, very welcome. It felt like a very safe space for me.”
What an energising afternoon!
Tania, our Head of Parenting Programmes had a fantastic time connecting with members of the local community in Camden including passionate parents and dedicated staff from local services #familyhub.
The event on Saturday 2nd August was all about building relationships, sharing ideas, and promoting Brandon Centre’s FREE parent support groups that provides vital support for families.
The energy, collaboration, and community spirit were truly inspiring. Councillor Eddie Hanson, Mayor of Camden was there too, but we missed the photo opportunity. Next time!
Cupcakes, affirmations and stress balls
Our sensory evening with the Deputy Mayor of London
It’s not everyday that you spend an evening with the Deputy Mayor of London, Joanne McCartney sharing cake, but our Islington girls did just that.
Since we’ve started the She is Supported (or SIS) project a year and a half ago, we’ve done lots of different things to empower and support 400 girl’s wellbeing in the local community.
Funded by the Mayor of London and in collaboration with Highbury Roundhouse, Mary’s Youth Club and Prospex, we’ve hosted qualified youth worker activities, personalised 121 mentoring, therapy sessions and even annual retreats, but this evening in July was particularly special.
With our other partners, we put together a sensory Girls Supergroup evening and invited 40 girls from the ages of 10 to 24 to decorate, ice and taste cupcakes, create their own squishy stress balls, paint art across their arms, and write down affirmations before sticking them to a tree.
For us, it was a chance to get together with the other organisations and work closely to provide a fun evening. And as we were joined by the Deputy Mayor of London, Islington Councillors and The Greater London Authority, we had the opportunity to highlight and showcase the important work that we do for our girls in an inspiring, supportive network.
It was a great evening, we got to show our work in action and our girls got a fun night hanging out together. And to make it that little bit better, we all shared pizza at the end!
BC at the Alma Street Fair
Every year, Alma Street transforms into a buzzing and vibrant fair where the local community comes together to listen to live music, eat tasty street food and meet others from around the area.
On the 21st June, we joined in on the fun and set up a stall so that we could connect with the local people, tell them a bit about ourselves and raise a little money.
A huge thank you to our team who volunteered on the day, and a special mention to local resident, Sami, who has lived in Kentish Town for 45 years and has been a big supporter of us over the years, who also helped out on the day.
We met so many new faces and friendly faces, catching up with those we’ve said hi to before and introducing ourselves to those who haven’t heard about us. It was a busy but productive day!
Getting to be out and about in Camden and showing our presence in the community was and is really valuable to us. We also raised an amazing £350 for our services by simply having the opportunity to speak to people.
We’re sure to be there next year, so if you’re going to be there please pop over and say hi!
Picnic in the Park
Our summer BC get-together was on Hampstead Heath this year, the perfect setting for a picnic.
Sitting underneath the cool shade of the trees (it was a really hot one) we spent a lot of time chatting and catching up. Some of us even braved the heat and played a game of garden badminton that we set up nearby.
And in true BC style, we all brought lots of snacks and treats to add to the blanket. Luca made loads of pasta salads (who knew there was so much variety), Ellie brought a salad that included ingredients that she grew in her garden (extremely impressive), and Emily made a lemon blueberry cake that disappeared in seconds (we’re lucky to have such a talented baker on the team).
We also had Clare, one of our therapists currently on maternity leave, join with her new little baby Jesse (so cute!) – as well as saying goodbye and good luck to Claudia and Steph who have just gone on their maternity leaves.
It was a nice day to simply reconnect, have a laugh and share some great food all together!
How The Practice Spotlight is shining the light…
We’re delighted to share that Brandon Centre’s Systemic Integrative Treatment (SIT) has been recognised in the London Children’s Services Spotlight! The Practice Spotlight shines light on the most innovative and impactful practice that is transforming the lives of children and families.
Our SIT programme is highlighted as an example of innovative practice that improves outcomes and delivers value for money for children with complex needs, including those at risk of entering high-cost placements.
SIT is a year-long intensive treatment, designed to keep young people safely at home by working systemically with the trusted adults and systems around them. It supports children experiencing persistent, moderate to severe behaviour challenges by engaging with families, carers, schools, and other services to create lasting, positive change.
- 88% of young people who had been placed in out-of-home care due to challenging behaviours successfully returned to their families.
- 87% of young people were in full-time education by the end of treatment, despite starting with significant educational disengagement or attendance challenges.
- 100% of young people engaged in SIT treatment had no further offences during SIT intervention.
- 84% of families reported their child remaining at home, attending school, and actively participating in education during a six-month post-closure follow-up
Read more here:
Please get in touch if you would like to find out more: familyservice@brandoncentre.org.uk
#practicespotlight