Menopause and Mind run Care Cafes and Creative Workshops to support mental wellbeing for those experiencing struggles in peri-menopause and post-menopause, and are building a community peer support network in Brighton and Hove.
Menopause Care Cafes
These café structures are based on the existing grief café and climate café models, where people come together to share feelings in a semi-structured space and a quasi-therapeutic environment. These have taken place online and in-person. We offer a friendly, informal place in the community to find others who may be having similar mental health struggles with menopause. We are aiming to build an umbrella of support in local communities and raise awareness of the connections between menopause and mental health. Our aim is that those struggling who may feel isolated and alone in their peri-menopause or post-menopause experience to make vital new connections and find new friendships in their local area.
Menopause Arts Workshops
Using a similar approach we have been running Arts Workshops at local community centres which are longer sessions (2.5 hours) that provide a more in-depth opportunity for engagement and processing feelings, with and arts and wellbeing approach. We explore creative approaches to mental well-being and practices of collective care. In our workshop, we work with art to explore share, and connect with others about our feelings around menopause. We use clay, paint or collage as an expressive form providing a safe place for releasing thoughts and emotions and unlearning old, destructive or unproductive habits. This work can allow participants to reshape grief, trauma and memories and work through anxiety and fear.
We have run sessions such as ‘Cutting the Crap’ Collaging the Menopause; Molding the Menopause – expressive clay session; Chalk it down to Hormones – Working with Chalk pastels; and ‘Painting the Menopause’ expressive painting sessions. You can see some photos of these on our Instagram.
Booking for upcoming events are via our Eventbrite page.
Feedback on our sessions have been extremely positive and we are hoping to provide CPD packages and resources to support other organisations to run similar events. Please email menoandmind@gmail.com for further information.
Menopause and Mind 
Leave a comment