JKP, Sheldon and John Murray roll out video series to promote mental wellbeing

Mental health experts published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Sheldon Press and John Murray Learning are participating in a new weekly online video series offering free mental health support, an initiative devised for the "tough times" many are experiencing during the pandemic.

The video series is called “Better Together: Exploring Mental Health” and the publishers’ aim is to offer free support, and to help educate the public about mental health, acknowledging the challenges that the past few months have posed to people’s lives at work and at home, and how that has impacted on wellbeing.

Featuring a select group of authors—including parenting coach Sue Atkins of "This Morning"; mental health campaigner Claire Eastham; and psychiatrist Dr Tim Cantopher—each week’s video will be “bite-sized” at 30 minutes long, and will have a different point of focus. The first three events will be on the themes of Loss and Bereavement, Parenting Under Pressure and Exploring Anxiety. The experts will share advice, best practices and useful strategies to help overcome common problems. They will also answer questions viewers have about the topics covered.

The videos will run every Wednesday, with videos planned so far for 29th July, 5th August and 12th August, at a rate of three per day. This week (29th July) the focus is Loss and Bereavement and the three videos will explore: "How to talk to young children about the death of loved ones", from Elke Thompson at 12.30pm; "Why do people act differently when reacting to loss?", from Caroline Lloyd at 4.30pm; and at 8.30pm, "Creative exercises to alleviate grief when resources are limited" from Claudia Coenen. In the coming weeks, authors will also be exploring topics including trauma, anxiety in children, managing burnout, addiction and compulsions in times of stress.

The videos are being hosted across JMP’s social media channels, on Facebook (@JKPsocialwork), YouTube (@JKPVideos) and Instagram (@JKPBooks), and they will also be available to watch on catch-up.