UMEUS Foundation - Be

06/07/2023

We do hope you’re keeping well in the summer sun.
We are writing with news about some new community groups we are offering at UMEUS and wanted you to be some of the first to know.

In listening to what clients tell us in therapeutic sessions, about the type of support they find helpful, it’s clear that many people would like more contact with others in the community who are experiencing similar situations.

Many feel supported in a group just by knowing that they are not alone with the types of issues that crop up, day to day. A chance to connect and a chance to share can really change the weight of what we might be carrying.

UMEUS has been hosting support groups since 2015. These continued through the pandemic, both online and in outdoor spaces, until we opened our new clinic in Hove in the summer of 2021.

We also received our first round of funding from Brighton & Hove Council the same year, and we’re proud to let you know we’ve been awarded another round this year to deliver more of the groups that have provided connection and community for those who attend.

We realise it’s really short notice, but we are piloting 3 groups in July and want to invite you to take part and be a part of developing the sessions that will continue later on in the year and into 2024.

Please reply to express your interest and reserve your place on one or more of the sessions.
There will be no more than 10 attendees, and we will run the group as soon as we have 6 confirmed bookings.

There is no fee to attend, but we do ask that should you commit to being present, that if anything changes regarding your availability, you please advise us at least 24 hours before the session begins so we have time to offer the space to someone else.

If you wish to bring a friend, or know of someone who you feel might benefit by attending a pilot, or be interested in any of our other therapeutic support, please do share the attached flyer.
One last thing…we’d really like to make sure you receive up to date information, especially as we will be announcing some big updates to the organisation over the coming weeks. Please do click to join our members list, we promise we won’t bombard you!
http://eepurl.com/dv5WL5

25/06/2022

16/02/2021

Hello dear community…
We hope your weekend was abundant with love and that today the aroma of pancakes is in the air :)
I’m keen to share some news…UMEUS officially became a CIC last year, after nearly 5 years as a community association.
In the autumn we applied for our first round of funding…and we got it!!!

We are feeling really appreciative and grateful to Brighton & Hove City Council for recognising UMEUS’ body/mind approach to therapeutic support and connection in community; now it’s time to share it with you.

We have five really special groups to invite the community to this spring, and if they don’t appeal to you then please spread the word, you may have a friend in need…

There’ll be more details coming in the next few weeks; dates and information about the therapists, facilitators and the lovely team helping to make this happen.
In the meantime, if you’d like, you can email us and ask us to keep you updated.
umebe@umeusfoundation.org

I hope today you find some space for you.
Warmly, Sam

25/01/2021

These are not bubbles, they are water droplets connected on spider silk, one of the strongest materials in the world.

Since February 2020 UMEUS has continued to support clients and offer our community a space to connect.
We're acutely aware many women are struggling alone.
Some without partners, others coping with an absent parent.

Women need other women, and we need community more than ever.
If you're able to help another mother and create a supportive web, or you need help from another mother, please get in touch
and we will connect you to cope together.

12/11/2020

Hello Dear Community…

Much has altered in a week; many have reported the palpable relief that comes with a change of direction, perhaps a new sense of hope.
For some, the political landscape is just too uncomfortable to reconcile, when so much around us, closer to home feels confusing.
Others can find it preferable to explore outside of self, for another place to find reason, because it’s just too hard to remain in the stasis.
All of this is, being human, when faced with uncertainty...

As the season changes, so the night is elongated and the shadows may linger.
Yet this canvas of darkness offers us a space to illuminate, and we can choose from a spectrum of festivities, traditions and customs, to create our own new mythologies, of how it is to be, here, right now.
Some things are certain and universal; humans need other humans.
We need to connect and communicate, we need kind words and deeds, helping hands and loving hearts.

From next week, Monday 16th November UMEUS are offering a new online support group for those feeling disconnected and isolated by the pandemic.
Respond with Resilience and Somatic Awareness, will help you connect to breath, body and community in these times of limited contact.
The group is facilitated by Hilary Curtis with additional support available from other practitioners.
More information about Hilary and our wonderful affiliates can be found on our website umeusfoundation.org/ume-be/hilary-curtis

We are limiting this group to 12 people and are offering this to UMEUS community as part of our Fair Rate Services.
We have a few spaces left with honorary spots available, for mamas, papas and solomamas who identify as refugees, black, or women of colour with limited means.
A suggested exchange is £15 for 6 sessions...you can of course opt to offer more.
If you would like to attend, please email georgie@umeusfoundation.org, and she will book you in.

Each day I find something musical online…there’s lots of healing in sound.
I’m going to start posting these on our new UMEUS community group which you’ll hear more about soon, but for now, here are a couple of links…I hope you enjoy them.

How to Be at Home
https://youtu.be/OT40Rmjwd-Q

Emilia - West End to Small Screen
https://youtu.be/gIiLab2GYdM
https://www.emilialive.com

Sending much love, continued compassion and courage
Sam and all at UMEUS

From 7.30pm on Tuesday 10 November, you will be able to watch online the archive recording of the ground-breaking, Olivier Award nominated, West End transfer of EMILIA.

03/11/2020

Hello Dear Community…
This second ‘lockdown’ has a different feeling doesn’t it? Perhaps a hint of resignation as we adapt to the continued disruption of the rhythms of our lives?
Maybe you’re experiencing complete disillusionment, anger or fear?
Some say they are happy to have space away from the whirring of the world.

We respond differently to these challenges because we all have different lives, but with so many competing messages about how to live safely and responsibly, it can be difficult to trust ourselves and make sense of the unusual situations we face. Some things are certain and universal; humans need other humans.
We need to connect and communicate, we need kind words and deeds, helping hands and loving hearts.

From Monday 16th November, which also happens to be an International Day of Tolerance...https://www.un.org/en/observances/tolerance-day) UMEUS are offering a new online support group for those feeling disconnected and isolated by the pandemic.
Respond with Resilience and Somatic Awareness, will help you connect to breath, body and community in these times of limited contact.
Facilitated by Hilary Curtis, sessions will start at 13:00 with additional support available from other practitioners.
More information about Hilary Curtis and our wonderful affiliates can be found on our website https://umeusfoundation.org/ume-be/hilary-curtis/.
We are limiting this group to 12 people and are offering firstly to our UMEUS community as part of our Fair Rate Services.
A suggested exchange is £15 for 6 sessions...you can of course opt to offer more.
If you would like to attend, please email georgie@umeusfoundation.org, so she can book you in.

Each day I find something musical online…there’s lots of healing in sound. I’m going to start posting these on our new community group which you’ll hear more about soon, but for now, here are a couple of links…I hope you enjoy them.
Irish Women in Harmony
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv4MYqzg-P4
Camden Voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqWQCWc_zCc
Sending much love, continued compassion and courage
Sam and all at UMEUS Foundation

14/11/2019

At UMEUS Foundation we are supporting the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and other regulatory bodies, to help protect and promote counselling in the UK.

BACP wants the next UK Government to commit to increased access to psychological therapies for anyone who needs them:
1. We want an end the postcode lottery and ensure everyone has the universal right to access a choice of psychological therapies, enshrined in the NHS constitution
2. Creation of a new Chief Psychological Professions Officer, putting the professions on a par with medicine, nursing and the allied health professions
3. Ensure all people begin psychological therapies within 28 days of referral
4. Greater support for our children and young people with a paid counsellor in every school in England, to bring into line with the rest of UK, and embedded counselling services in all colleges and universities"
5. Increased access to psychological therapies for our ageing population, and funding for an Older People’s Commissioner in England and Scotland, as exists in Wales and Northern Ireland.
6. Relationship counselling to be available to anyone who needs it, regardless of income
7. All employees to have access to workplace counselling
8. Ensure current European Union funding for mental health projects to be matched by the UK Government in the event of Brexit

Please help us to communicate to our parliamentary candidates the impact counselling and psychotherapy can have.

At UMEUS we offer Fair Rate Counselling to any parent, regardless of circumstances.
We are not a charity, but a community association whose founders are committed to supporting the psychological health of our clients.

If you have been supported by UMEUS, through UMEmamas, UMEpapas, UMEtalk, UMEspace, or UMEnourish, and would like to share your lived experience of therapeutic support, we'd love to hear from you so we can pass your message on and help influence change at a national level.

We are also interested to hear from anyone who may be willing to be recorded, on or off camera, about their experience of counselling and how it has affected their health.
The experience doesn't have to be with UMEUS.

Please email, UMEtalk@umeusfoundation.org in confidence. And feel free to comment below too.

02/11/2019

Our latest flyer for UMEtalk, UMEUS' counselling and psychological therapies.
Meet our team of compassionate, qualified and experienced therapists to discover the support we offer.
Asking for support can be a big step to take, so we are always here and pleased to answer any questions you might have, about how to get started with talking therapy.

09/09/2019

We are looking for people to affiliate with us...whether it be at UMEUS Therapeutics on Third in Hove or at our space at Phoenix Community Centre in Brighton. Take a look at the post and send a message if you're interested. sam x

20/06/2019

Living with life limiting illness is complex.
We can't change that, but we can support you as you meet it.
Don't be alone with cancer...