Selly Oak cafe opens to offer mental health support

Grounded opened to customers earlier this month

A wellness café has opened to offer mental health support in the community.

Grounded has opened its doors in Selly Oak to provide a place to sit, relax and also take part in therapy sessions, events and workshops.

With the start of the university year, it has already been helping new students who have arrived in Birmingham.

Leila Zafar, from the project, said it was open to anyone.

While catering for students, it is also open to anyone who needs help in Selly Oak

The cafe was founded by mental health organisations the Living Well Consortium and Birmingham Mind, using more than £450,000 of funding from NHS England.

Mind is also using the site to hold its evening Crisis Intervention Service, known as Talking Space, where residents and students in Selly Oak can access free face-to-face mental health support.

Ms Zafar said the café is unique in bringing a range of services together in one space.

The cafe is open just as a place to relax, but also offers support services

While it can just be a quiet place for a drink and to study, it also offers the likes of stress management workshops, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), yoga sessions and assisting people with the likes of searching for a job.

"The aim of Grounded is that in three years, five years, 10 years, the amount of young people presenting in A&E in crisis is lowered significantly," she said.