A first-of-its-kind mental health programme is to launch across Leeds from August, with people aged 18 or over being offered the opportunity to self-refer.
HEROES, which stands for Healing, Education and Recovery Of Emotional Strength, is a trauma-informed and lived experience–led mental health programme. It offers a fully holistic and educational approach to emotional recovery and is open to all adults aged 18+ via self-referral. The service will be delivered city-wide through the Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service, the first time a programme of its kind has been integrated into the NHS on this scale.
The programme was developed by mental health educator, activist, and motivational speaker Miranda Arieh. Miranda was sectioned under the Mental Health Act at 14 and placed in Highroyds Hospital before becoming a long-term service user. She survived numerous traumatic events, psychiatric institutions, and homelessness:
“Waiting lists for mental health services continue to climb, and after 16 years of being passed around services, labelled, medicated and retraumatised by the lack of care and options I experienced, I remain determined to change things for the better,” says Miranda.
“HEROES came from the methods I created that helped me recover. I started to teach them and saw they worked for others too. It’s not about ‘fixing’ people – it’s about teaching methods to communicate and work with emotional pain and fear rather than try to get rid of it, and that’s the foundation of our success. Education is power, and everyone deserves access to this fresh approach.”
The roll-out follows a successful NHS pilot during lockdown in Leeds, where outcomes for HEROES participants exceeded those of psychotherapy and psychiatry (measured by the most commonly used depression screening tool in general practice). It is also the first programme to bring the concept of inner child healing into NHS services, shifting the focus from diagnosis and medication to emotional understanding, identity healing, and self-connection.
Along with NHS backing, HEROES has also just been named a finalist in the Mayor’s Big Ideas Challenge to tackle health inequalities in West Yorkshire, which will further the reach of Miranda’s teachings.
For more on the programme, visit leedsmentalwellbeingservice.co.uk and select Referrals. People self-referring should say they want to join the HEROES programme.
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