We are a charitable initiative that provides support and training in schools, the workplace and community, helping people to recognise that mental health is just as important as physical health.
Isle Listen operates under the clinical guidance of, and is an initiative of MCH Psychological Services, an Isle of Man registered charity (charity number 1024) that can trace its roots back over 35 years to Manx Cancer Help and The Lisa Lowe Centre.
Our history
As a charity, we have provided specialist psychological support since 1983. MCH Psychological Services, (formerly The Lisa Lowe Centre and Manx Cancer Help), of which Isle Listen is an initiative of, has developed many qualities. These include resilience, professionalism, tenacity, thrift, incomparable team spirit and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to change in line with the identified needs of our community.
We had long been aware of the difficulties faced by people trying to access mental health support, either for themselves or for their children. We were keen to utilise our expertise and experience to address this and began researching how best to tackle an ever-increasing issue which affected people of all ages and causing overwhelming demand on the statutory services.
The service we had developed to support families affected by cancer and other life-changing conditions was something very special and today, this vital work continues through our other initiative, Minds Matter. The important skills we had in this field including governance and oversight, which in psychology are essential, informed our decision to look to fill another much-needed service need – early intervention support for mental health and wellbeing – and Isle Listen was born in 2019.
It quickly became clear that providing education, prevention strategies and transformative early intervention, were key to alleviating pressure on statutory services. The result being, the avoidance of the unnecessary escalation of mental health problems as long waiting times can make recovery more difficult the longer the conditions are left undiagnosed.
Common Q&As
We’re a charitable initiative that provide mental health support and training in our Island’s schools, workplaces, and wider community.
Our work is centred around early intervention and prevention; helping to avoid the unnecessary escalation of mental health problems.
Our mission is to stop the stigma that surrounds mental health and for everybody on the Isle of Man to feel emotionally empowered and effectively supported.
Isle Listen is an initiative of the charity, MCH Psychological Services (charity number 1024), which has provided psychological support for over 35 years to people living with cancer and other life-changing conditions, and their families. This work is still being done through our other initiative, Minds Matter.
Isle Listen was launched in 2019 because of an identified gap in the need for low-level early intervention mental health support, and the difficulties people faced trying to access mental health support for themselves or their children.
Providing education, prevention strategies, and early intervention, are key to alleviating pressure on the statutory services.
Our Wellbeing Facilitators provide classroom-based educational sessions and assemblies, and in secondary schools we have Wellbeing Practitioners that offer a confidential low-level 1-to-1 listening service.
For those that require a higher-level of support we also offer a broad range of psychological therapy including Talking Therapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), Art Therapy and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing). All of our therapy is delivered by experienced and qualified therapeutic professionals.
We work predominantly in the Island’s primary and secondary schools, to support young people with low-level mental health and wellbeing concerns such as exam pressure, friendship worries, bullying, social media difficulties and low self-esteem.
We do this through classroom-based educational sessions, assemblies and a confidential low-level 1-to-1 listening service in secondary schools.
We also work in the wider community and with businesses across the Island to provide mental health and wellbeing training to equip people with the knowledge, skills and resources to recognise the early signs that someone may be struggling.
Our referral pathway for young people is through the schools.
For everyone else, the appropriate way to reach out is to give us a call for more information on whether we can provide support; and where that is not possible, we may be able to provide other signposting options.
Our commitment to excellence
Board of Directors
The charity is led by Chief Executive, Andrea Chambers, and all professional standards are overseen by our Board of Directors.
Isle Listen is a charitable initiative entirely funded through the generous support and donations of the local community. Can you help us?
Donate
Every penny donated helps us to continue our work towards removing the stigma surrounding mental health and support young people.
Ambassadors
Can you help us start a conversation about mental health and remove the stigma surrounding it?
Fundraise
Without the generous support of people like you, we could not do what we do. Let us know if you’re raising funds for us or would like to support our campaign.