fbpx
  • About us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Trustees
    • Our research
  • Support for you
    • Our introduction to mental health training – Suffolk’s Needs Met
    • Counselling
    • Eating Recovery Group
    • GreenCare
    • Mums Matter
    • Open Spaces
    • Waves: Borderline Personality Disorder Service
    • Suffolk Night Owls: Telephone Support Line
    • Suffolk Work Well
    • Emotional Needs & Resources
    • Supported housing
    • The Norfolk and Suffolk COVID-19 support service
  • Support for organisations
    • I want to support my team’s wellbeing
    • I want my managers to have the confidence and skills to support their teams
    • I want my team to have the confidence and practical skills to support others
    • I want to support Suffolk Mind through fundraising in our workplace
    • Contact our Workplace Wellbeing team
    • Urgent support for employees
  • Schools
    • Support for your primary school
    • Support for your secondary school
    • Resources for schools and teachers
    • Support for your children’s activity group or club
  • Get involved
    • Job vacancies
      • Community Services Manager
      • Telephone Support Line Operator
      • Senior Practitioner
      • Support Worker – Cambridge
      • Support Workers (Woodbridge)
      • Care Worker
      • Relief Support Workers
      • Relief Care Worker
      • Employee benefits at Suffolk Mind
    • Volunteer
    • Join us as a counsellor
    • Friends of Suffolk Mind
    • Emotional Needs Survey
  • Support us
    • Donate
      • Why regular donations matter
    • Leave a gift
    • Events & challenges
    • Corporate Fundraising
    • Giving Pages
    • In memory
    • Fundraising FAQs
    • Fundraising Resources
  • More help
    • Emergency Contacts
    • General FAQs
    • Useful Links
    • Support Groups
    • Understanding Self-harm and Suicide
    • Reflective listening
    • Sammy the Sea Squirt resources for schools
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • News
    • Blog
    • Shop
      • Emotional Needs and Resources cards
      • Suffolk’s Needs Met course manual
      • EARLY Minds resource cards
    • Understanding Self-harm and Suicide
    • LGBT+ Mental Health
    • Sammy the Sea Squirt
      • Purchase the Sammy the Sea Squirt book
    • Ukraine: Supporting Your Mental Health
    • 20Zz Sleep Better, Be Better
    • Support guide for children and young people
    • COVID-19 resources
      • Covid-19 resources for adults
      • Covid-19 resources for children
      • Suffolk Night Owls: Telephone Support Line
      • Useful Links
    • The Qur’an & Emotional Health: An Introduction
    • Tell us how you’re feeling
Suffolk Mind

26 High Road West
Felixstowe
IP11 9JB

0300 111 6000
[email protected]
  • Privacy Statement
en English▼
X
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
Charity No. 1003061     0300 111 6000 [email protected]
Flipchart_RGB_blue
Work for us
Present White
Leave a gift
Fountain Pen RGB
Become a friend
Postbox White
Newsletter
Megaphone White
Need Help
NOW
Collection Tin With Coin White
Donate today
  • About us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Trustees
    • Our research
  • Support for you
    • Our introduction to mental health training – Suffolk’s Needs Met
    • Counselling
    • Eating Recovery Group
    • GreenCare
    • Mums Matter
    • Open Spaces
    • Waves: Borderline Personality Disorder Service
    • Suffolk Night Owls: Telephone Support Line
    • Suffolk Work Well
    • Emotional Needs & Resources
    • Supported housing
    • The Norfolk and Suffolk COVID-19 support service
  • Support for organisations
    • I want to support my team’s wellbeing
    • I want my managers to have the confidence and skills to support their teams
    • I want my team to have the confidence and practical skills to support others
    • I want to support Suffolk Mind through fundraising in our workplace
    • Contact our Workplace Wellbeing team
    • Urgent support for employees
  • Schools
    • Support for your primary school
    • Support for your secondary school
    • Resources for schools and teachers
    • Support for your children’s activity group or club
  • Get involved
    • Job vacancies
      • Community Services Manager
      • Telephone Support Line Operator
      • Senior Practitioner
      • Support Worker – Cambridge
      • Support Workers (Woodbridge)
      • Care Worker
      • Relief Support Workers
      • Relief Care Worker
      • Employee benefits at Suffolk Mind
    • Volunteer
    • Join us as a counsellor
    • Friends of Suffolk Mind
    • Emotional Needs Survey
  • Support us
    • Donate
      • Why regular donations matter
    • Leave a gift
    • Events & challenges
    • Corporate Fundraising
    • Giving Pages
    • In memory
    • Fundraising FAQs
    • Fundraising Resources
  • More help
    • Emergency Contacts
    • General FAQs
    • Useful Links
    • Support Groups
    • Understanding Self-harm and Suicide
    • Reflective listening
    • Sammy the Sea Squirt resources for schools
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • News
    • Blog
    • Shop
      • Emotional Needs and Resources cards
      • Suffolk’s Needs Met course manual
      • EARLY Minds resource cards
    • Understanding Self-harm and Suicide
    • LGBT+ Mental Health
    • Sammy the Sea Squirt
      • Purchase the Sammy the Sea Squirt book
    • Ukraine: Supporting Your Mental Health
    • 20Zz Sleep Better, Be Better
    • Support guide for children and young people
    • COVID-19 resources
      • Covid-19 resources for adults
      • Covid-19 resources for children
      • Suffolk Night Owls: Telephone Support Line
      • Useful Links
    • The Qur’an & Emotional Health: An Introduction
    • Tell us how you’re feeling

Recent Posts

  • Mind-wandering, worry and negative thinking
  • How you can stay well by moving
  • Meet your family’s need for Movement outdoors – for free!
  • Meet your need for Movement outdoors
  • How to support someone questioning their gender identity

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018

Volunteering

Volunteers’ Week 2022: A Day in the Life of one of our Waves Volunteers

To celebrate our marvellous team this Volunteers’ Week, we’re sharing A Day in the Life of one of our volunteers.

We hear from Jane Buchanan, a volunteer with Waves – our innovative service for people with a diagnosis, or traits, of Borderline Personality Disorder.


Having been a Cruse Bereavement volunteer for six years, I knew Suffolk Mind and I was ready for a new challenge. Supporting our mental health is very important to me as it can be life-changing, including in my life.

I volunteer on a Wednesday for Ipswich Waves Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), which is a year-long group programme. There are two Ipswich groups, where friendships and bonds are made, the group supports each other, there’s laughter and sometimes tears. It’s a privilege to be accepted as a volunteer, and from my first day the groups have been welcoming and open about their BPD.

No two days are the same. I arrive at 9.30am and after a warm welcome and catch-up, I’m briefed on the day. The group’s morning session is learning about BPD (each week it’s different), how and why we think and feel the way we do and what can be changed. There’s lots of lively discussion and interaction, then a break at 11am and I dash to Costa for a cappuccino before we restart and break for lunch at 12.30pm.

Jane Buchanan, Suffolk Mind Waves Volunteer

The afternoon session is a creative interpretation around the morning’s topic. We put out art materials and the group’s artwork is powerfully expressive and creative. I may be asked to spend some time on a one-to-one, which is an opportunity for private reflection.

We finish at around 3pm, then we discuss the day and importantly how we’re all feeling. I’m really supported and feel valued by Suffolk Mind. One day, it was suggested that I use my bereavement skills with a member who was stuck in grief. Our talks have hopefully helped her adjust and start to relearn the world without her much-loved grandmother.

Volunteering is so rewarding. From initial contact through to starting, the process has been straightforward, and everyone is positive and responsive. I can highly-recommend Suffolk Mind for learning about proactive steps in our mental health, the group’s life experiences and their stories, and being able to offer support. It’s fulfilling, and I leave at the end of the day already looking forward to next week.

If you’d like to join us as a volunteer, take a look at a list of our current opportunities here.

To find out more about our Waves service, please click here.

Author: Beren Reid

  • Volunteering
Posted on: 1st June 2022


Elefriend RGB

Side by Side

Side by Side (formally Elefriends) is an online community where you can listen share and be heard. FIND OUT MORE

Flipchart White

Become a Friend

Being a Friend of Suffolk Mind means joining a network of people who have pledged to find out how important mental health is and how to look after it. FIND OUT MORE

Collection Tin With Coin White

Support Us

Suffolk Mind couldn’t exist without your support – whether that’s through a donation, leaving a gift in your Will, or organising a fundraising event – you can help us be there for more people. FIND OUT MORE

Accreditations & Awards

Jpegs_MNEA_win_Suffolk
MQM Logo RGB High Res
Mindful Employer Logo for Job Vacancies page
CyberEssentialsPlus
HLF Logo
TTC Grant Logo
Investors in People Logo for the Job Vacancies page
SIP Logo
Layout 1
FR Fundraising Badge HR
MQM Logo RGB High Res
Mindful Employer Logo for Job Vacancies page
CyberEssentialsPlus
HLF Logo
TTC Grant Logo
Investors in People Logo for the Job Vacancies page
SIP Logo
Layout 1
FR Fundraising Badge HR

Contact Us

Suffolk Mind

26 High Road West
Felixstowe
IP11 9JB

0300 111 6000
[email protected]

Help In A Hurry

  • Need Help Now?
  • Contact Suffolk Mind
  • Job Vacancies

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
Mind

© 2022 Suffolk Mind
Registered in England 2611510
Charity No. 1003061

Copyright © 2022 Suffolk Mind

  • Privacy Statement