Summer Journal 2019

What a year!

Our useful range of wellbeing-measuring tools, include the PHQ9 and GAD7, which offer an additional way to measure our learner’s mental wellbeing, particularly the decrease in symptoms of depression and anxiety after completing a programme.

The graph below shows the total scores for all learners completing YOU and YOUR Recovery Pathways programmes and highlights the overwhelming evidence of the positive benefits our programmes can provide for better mental wellbeing.

[infogram id=”e4e8974e-dfe5-45e7-a0cb-ab8eb9023c4c” prefix=”kwh” format=”interactive” title=”You Programme Results 2019″]

Impact are always looking at improving how we can measure the benefits of attending our programmes and from autumn 2019 we will be adding the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, short version – SWEMWBS.

The WEMWBS is included in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council and is a positively worded short questionnaire to further enable the measurement of mental wellbeing of adults.

Our favourite way to showcase how much our programmes can and do improve wellbeing and lives, is to share learner stories, and we are honoured to share two stories from two very courageous ladies who attended the YOU and YOUR Recovery Programmes recently.

A Mental Health Story From Bedford
Going Forward With Life
I found Impact
I Found Impact

A huge thank you and congratulations to all of the learners who attended one or both of our programmes. Warriors, one and all.

For new learners coming our way, welcome and thank you for choosing Impact, the team and I look forward to working with you.

Professionals and referrers, if you would like to come and see what we do and how we do it, why not get in touch and register for an Impact in Action session. It’s a great opportunity to find out more about our courses and watch the team in action!

It’s been such a rewarding year watching our learners develop new wellbeing tools, build peer support networks and find the courage to practice self-empowerment and self-care.


We are now busy preparing for the start of our autumn courses, adding new programme content and ensuring our programmes continue to meet the needs of anyone struggling with poor mental wellbeing.

New course details are now available and online bookings and referrals can now now be made via the YOU Programme and YOUR Recovery Pathways pages.

The Impact office will re-open on Monday 19th August.

Déanne, Jackie & the Impact Team

BaseCamp Update

Basecamp has been online just over a year now and almost 80 users have registered. Being solely for learners who have participated in either or both of Impact YOU and Your Recovery Pathways programmes, it has proved an invaluable and safe online resource for users.

Its familiar social forum style has made it easy to access and use for most, as it follows the norms that people may know from using social platforms. However, the knowledge that it is closed to just fellow learners and that data is not shared, provides a huge degree of security and comfort that is sadly lacking in the most popular social platforms these days.

It has been invaluable in allowing our learners to access course materials like videos and in-depth articles that are used during our courses, so they can be reviewed again and again. Indeed, it also has proved useful for former learners to be reminded of some of the tools, techniques and knowledge they can refresh their experiences with, or try something different to what helped them before. As the courses are being added to all the time, it also means any new ideas and information can passed on to our former students.

Every member of Basecamp can share their own experiences and knowledge with each other or ask for advice from their peers when wobbles occur. It’s also a place to make new friends, private message each other if required, share event ideas or create and join groups on like-minded subjects, such as creativity, healthy lifestyles and even humour!

We will continue to work on Basecamp to develop new areas for learning and support, encouraging our learners to keep in touch with Impact learning, plus their peers, which is such an important part of their recovery journey.

Harry, BaseCamp Admin & Volunteer