Recovery Through Sport Mental Health Football Sessions

Call 07590595879 or email goagain6@outlook.com to enquire about registering for any of our sessions including:

Thursday 11 -12 Longwell Green Community Centre, Shellards Road, Bristol, BS30 6DU

Thursday from 3pm – 4:30pm at Shaftesbury Park, Frenchay Park Rd, Frenchay, Winterbourne, Bristol BS16 1LG, United Kingdom

Running for over six years Recovery Through Sport has supported over 500 people with a range of mental health difficulties from people within NHS mental health services to people who are looking to prevent further mental health difficulties.

Voted Gloucestershire FA Grassroots Project of the year on three occasions (2020. 2021, 2022)

Promoting 

• Peer support
• Encouragement
• A fun environment

Building

• Physical and mental fitness
• Social connections
• Social skills
• Confidence and self-esteem

Providing

Access to support and advice from Mental Health professionals and input from qualified Coaches.

Visits from our team of ambassadors who are former and current professional players with a keen interest in mental health. Q&A events with our ambassadors. Social events and attending football matches as a group.

One of the Recovery Through Sport participants bravely spoke to the local media in 2019 about his experience of attending Recovery Through Sport:

“It was scary at first. The first time I went I turned up early and watched everyone arrive. I had so much fear of what could happen to me and was fighting the urge to leave. But the football group was so supportive.

What I liked was no one was trying to get things out of you, people shared stuff, but only when they wanted to.

For me playing football, which I never really did before, was a great distraction from the voices. It was a great way to relax and release my anger and frustration. Being part of a team with people suffering similar experiences and problems is what really helped me, opening up to other people like me.

Seeing others recovering and making it through a situation that to me seemed utterly impossible to escape, gave me so much hope and faith.

The best place for this was the football group.

We play, finish and have a chat about some stuff, and then we go home shattered from running around.

Having been stuck indoors for so long being scared, coming to this gave me a great sense of achievement.

It really impacted on my progress, I can’t reiterate how much.

As I said I literally couldn’t go to the shops without fearing men before I came to this.

It’s been life-saving for me. And I have also lost a few stones in weight, which has helped my confidence and I feel healthier.

The support I have received has given me the hope for something to aim for.

I needed a goal to achieve, something to give me a sense of accomplishment and get my life back on track.

While I am still receiving help and support, and I still have a little way to go, I feel like I have that now.

I am talking about this for others.”

Quotes from nomination for Recovery and Hope awards 2020:

“Recovery Through Sport Football Programme has supported over 100 participants in just 12 months. Participants access a weekly football session where they are supported with coping strategies and opportunities to speak with qualified mental health support workers and nurses.

Participants show significant improvements with self-confidence, anxiety and coping strategies, along with the physical benefits of improved health and fitness.

The Bristol Post interviewed one participant who spoke how the session had changed his life and provided him with hope.

Recovery Through Sport is a project that has been delivered in other parts of the country, but the key difference with this provision is that qualified mental health workers and nurses deliver the sessions. The results of the session means AWP have built relationships with Professional Football Clubs and National Governing Bodies.

The programme is being used to shape national football sessions, which demonstrates excellence in delivery and structure. The session should be rewarded within the recovery and hope category as this is what the session embodies.

Participants who attend the sessions report significant improvement with mental health and wellbeing. This innovative approach is accessible and makes a real difference within South Gloucestershire.”

During the COVID Pandemic Recovery Through Sport ran Skype/Zoom sessions with professional athletes with lived experience of mental health challenges or athletes with an interest in mental health and wanting to support others during the challenging time. Guests included:

• Millie Bright
• Tony Adams
• Shaun Wright-Phillips
• Carlton Cole
• Gilly Flaherty
• Chris Kirkland
• Leon McKenzie

Feedback from one of the group participants stated:

“The online sessions have given me something to look forward to and focus on and helped make me feel more connected. They’ve given me more confidence in talking in a group situation and a chance to meet inspiring people. The programme has made me feel positive about negative experiences and relieved the shame I felt around talking about my own mental health. Overall, it has been a great insight into these sports stars’ lives that I will remember for a long time and take lessons from.”

The Recovery Through Sport group have attended football matches together including an England international friendly v Ivory Coast on 29.3.22.

We aim to build further mental health football sessions, with the help of donations and grants throughout the UK to a diverse population. We aim to start running groups for under 18s including people in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services or are waiting for CAMHS support. We want to be accessible to people with neurodiversity. We have seen that this model has helped people’s recovery and our mission is to make this type of support accessible to as many people as possible.

 

Results from wellbeing scales showed: 

18% Improvement in how people felt ‘Satisfied in their life’ after attending the group.

17% Improvement in how people felt ‘Worthwhile in how they feel things are going in their life’ after attending the group.

20% Improvement in how people felt ‘Happy’ after attending the group.

People attending the group report their Anxiety had decreased by 15% after attending the group and 30%of people attending the group report no Anxiety after attending the group. In terms of long term aims achieved:

37% of people ticked that they had achieved ‘Better physical health’ from participating in the group.

18% of people ticked that they had achieved ‘More social cohesion and engagement’ from participating in the group.

14% of people ticked that they had achieved ‘Improved recovery from illness’ from participating in the group

The Recovery Through Sport group have attended football matches together including an England international friendly v Ivory Coast on 29.3.22.

We aim to build further mental health football sessions, with the help of donations and grants throughout the UK to a diverse population. We aim to start running groups for under 18s including people in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services or are waiting for CAMHS support. We want to be accessible to people with neurodiversity. We have seen that this model has helped people’s recovery and our mission is to make this type of support accessible to as many people as possible.

We also provide support to The Robins Talk Mental Health Football Session every Wednesday from 6 – 7 pm at the Imperial sports ground, Bedminster, Bristol, BS14 9EA. This group is run by the Bristol City FC Robins Foundation and mental health support and workshops are provided by Go Again Charity.

Recovery Through Sport Signup

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