WISE Wellness was formed in High Wycombe with the intention to help manage the large demand of counselling requests made by the community. This workshop was intended to introduce this group as a solution to the mental health issues presented by the community whilst also giving a taster to the types of events it would facilitate in the future.
On the 18th of November, a cloudy afternoon saw the Hive Centre filling up with passionate individuals who were eager to learn about mental health from an Islamic perspective. Meanha, our host, gave everyone a warm welcome and an introduction to the aims of the Wise Wellness project. She then introduced the attendees to the first speaker, Farhana Maleque.
Farhana spoke about Mental Health in Islam. She began by exploring the prevalence of mental health issues in the UK, the causes of poor mental health and the signs to look out for if someone is struggling. In an interactive format, she encouraged discussion around mental health in the Muslim community, the struggles we face and the forgotten history of mental health in Islam. She concluded on ways to support ourselves if we’re struggling, Duas of the Prophets’ and the profound effect of learning the names of Allah.
After a short prayer break, we moved onto our next speaker, Sanaa Hasan from the NHS. She spoke about talking therapies and the free counselling service that the NHS offers to create awareness of the many options available to the public.
The talks concluded with a short Q&A from the audience. A representative from the NIHR was also present to encourage people from BAME communities to participate in more surveys and questionnaires for the NHS to allow more representative research findings.
Wise Masjid representatives thanked all of the speakers, guests and everyone involved behind the scenes who contributed to the event. It was a great success that ended with empowering and uplifting conversations between sisters who all connected on a spiritual level. Some attendees feed-backed the following:
“I liked that she spoke about her personal experience. It added so much more depth to her presentation”
“The information all related back to core Islamic principles which was refreshing to listen to and to learn”
“I really liked her connection to the Prophet in relation to majnoon and the stigma that is attached to mental health”
If you are going through a difficult time and are experiencing anything relevant to the above mentioned topic, then feel free to contact our support service including counselling. For further information please visit: Get Help
If you would like to get involved in raising awareness about mental health in your local community, we are looking to grow our outreach team to different cities around the country. We will ensure that you are fully trained and confident before running workshops & talks.
Please visit our website for more information: Vacancies
