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Local Update, 28 September 2026
Barnet Voice for Mental Health
020 3475 1314
bvmh@inclusionbarnet.org.uk
Welcome to our weekly newsletter about mental health services and support available in Barnet and beyond. Also bringing you updates on Inclusion Barnet mental health news. Produced by Ed Peston, Communications Assistant.
Events and news from the web
Keep Your Marbles: Coping skills: Gaslighting (online session from Keep Your Marbles), Sunday 4 October, 7.00 - 8.30pm
Learn how to spot gaslighting and keep your cool with simple coping tricks that actually work.
Art Free! Artful Doodle with Rusty Harden (relaxation art) (online session from Rusty Harden Studio), Wednesday 30 September, 5.30 - 6.30pm
This hour is for you to release the day's stress as you enjoy gentle guidance to create fun artwork by following Rusty's simplified style of identifying shapes to complete complex looking artwork.
Keep Your Marbles: Meditation: Breath awareness (online session from Keep Your Marbles), Wednesday 30 September, 7.00 - 7.30pm
Chill out and tune into your breath to keep your mind sharp and stress-free in this laid-back meditation session.
Doctors in Distress support group (online group from Doctors in Distress), Wednesdays 12.30 - 1.30pm
Supportive, confidential group for healthcare workers experiencing issues affecting their mental health
Clarity and calm journalling circle (online group from Sue Richards), Tuesdays 8.00 - 9.00pm
Weekly journalling circle for women running their own business.
Mindfulness-based cancer support group (online group from Holo Health), Saturdays, 7.00 - 8.30pm
Free group sessions aiming to reduce stress, improve quality of life, and support recovery in cancer, led by an Oncology Nurse Specialist.
Got a relevant event to share in this newsletter?
Let us know by emailing the details to bvmh@inclusionbarnet.org.uk
Podcasts
Sound affects podcast: music and mental health (from Katy Georgiou)
Podcast on the mental health benefits of music
My family, mental illness and me (podcast from Our Time)
Conversations about parental mental illness
Articles
3 reasons why looking foolish can be good for your brain (from Psychology Today)
The surprising benefits of looking silly.
Read 3 reasons why looking foolish can be good for your brain
A better understanding of schizophrenia (from UNC Health Talk)
People with schizophrenia are more likely to be the victims of violence than the aggressors.
12 habits that can help train your brain to feel happier every day (from Real Simple)
Daily practices can literally rewire your brain to feel more joy. A behavioral psychiatrist tells us how.
Read 12 habits that can help train your brain to feel happier every day
How to improve your mental wellbeing (from Mind)
Explains what mental wellbeing means, and gives tips to help you take care of your mental wellbeing.
Regular Events on the Web
Online wellbeing workshops from Mid West Aries
Offering a range of free courses online via Zoom. Anyone over the age of 18 with an interest in mental health and well-being can sign up for the courses.
International wellbeing support group (From Rain on Me), Monday 5 October, 6.00pm
A free, international safe space to vent and grow with people who understand and accept you.
Regular Events in Barnet
Barnet Depression Alliance Peer Support Group
A local self-help group for people suffering from depression or depression with anxiety.
Meets twice a month – on a Tuesday evening in North Finchley and on a Monday evening online via Zoom. The group also runs social events throughout the year.
Address: North Finchley
Phone: 0754 118 7907
Email: barnet.depressionalliance@gmail.com
Website: http://www.barnetdepressionalliance.org/
For more details of times and venue please telephone or email
Building Friendship
Building Friendship is a free weekly drop in every Friday for those with mental health difficulties.
Meet at East Barnet Baptist Church Hall, EN4 8PS.
Come along for a cup of coffee and a friendly chat between 10am and 12noon.
For more information email: buildingfriendship@gmail.com. Or leave a message with your name and contact number on 020 8449 5320.
Grief Café - support and connection for bereaved people
North London Hospice offer the following welcoming spaces where you can have a cup of tea, a biscuit and share your thoughts and feelings.
- Enfield Town Library, 66 Church Street, Enfield, EN2 6AX. Second Tuesday of every month, 10am to 12pm. Location on Google Maps.
- South Friern Library, Colney Hatch Lane, Barnet, N10 1HD. Second Thursday of every month, 11am to 1pm. Location on Google Maps.
- Julius Newman House, Woodside Park Road, Finchley, N12 8RP. Third Friday of every month, 10:30am to 12pm. Location on Google Maps.
- Living Well Centre, First Floor, The Mall Wood Green, 159 High Road, Wood Green, N22 6YQ. Fourth Wednesday of every month, 12pm to 1:30pm. Location on Google Maps.
Email: nlhbereavement@northlondonhospice.co.uk
Telephone: 0800 368 7848
Sanctuary in Barnet (from Mind in Enfield and Barnet)
Sanctuary in Barnet is a short-term crisis intervention and prevention service. They are open every day of the year, 4:30pm-10pm weekdays and 12-6pm weekends. They act as an A&E and Emergency services alternative, providing support to individuals in the Barnet Borough aged 18+.
Andy's Man Club in Barnet, Every Monday at the Meritage Centre, 7.00 - 9.00pm
Andy's Man Club run talking groups for men who have either been through a storm, are currently going through a storm, have a storm brewing in life or just want to meet a good group of people with the aim of improving one another. No referral, no registration and no charge. Even the brew and biscuits are free!
The Meritage Centre, Church End, London NW4 4JT
Meridian Wellbeing in Barnet
A range of events and activities in Barnet and online including Barnet Wellbeing Hub, Barnet IAPT, Wellbeing Cafe, Wellbeing Workshops, Chinese Wellbeing Services, Supportive Online Communities
More information about Meridian Wellbeing events and activities
Barnet Carers
Barnet Carers provides support and information for unpaid, informal, carers across the London Borough of Barnet. Includes yoga, meditation and mindfulness.
About Inclusion Barnet
We are a Peer-Led Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisation (DDPO).
Nearly all of our trustees and staff have lived experience of disability, including mental health issues and/or long-term health conditions.
We believe that learning to use our lived experience for social change is a skill. We have become experts in harnessing the lived experience of our staff, members, volunteers and the people who use our services to design and deliver higher quality, more person-centred services.
Other services run by Inclusion Barnet that you might be interested in are:
Benefits Advice Service (supporting Disabled people in Barnet to access the benefits they are entitled to).
Touchpoint (supports people experiencing any form of disability in Barnet to access the services and resources they need).
Healthwatch Enfield (an independent, statutory organisation dedicated to improving health and social care services in Enfield).
For more information about the wider range of other work we do please visit our website www.inclusionbarnet.org.uk
Useful links for mental health and wellbeing
Click on the title to go to the individual websites.
LOCAL
- Mind in Barnet - counselling
- Mind in Barnet Sanctuary - find calm, make space, move forward
- Barnet Wellbeing Service
LONDON & NATIONAL
- NHS mental health crisis service: If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can contact the NHS mental health crisis service by calling 111 and selecting option 2. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
- Good Thinking - free online Mental Wellbeing for London
- Kooth - free, safe and anonymous online support for young people
- Qwell - free online safe and confidential space to share & support
Shout - free, 24/7 text messaging support - text SHOUT to 85258 - Samaritans - free phone & email support in a crisis
Independent Living Centre, c/o Barnet & Southgate College,
7 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4BR
Inclusion Barnet is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Registered Charity Number: 1158632
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