People experience distress for many reasons – relationship breakdowns, financial pressure, depression, and much more. But where can people in distress go to get help? The mental health charity Penumbra has produced a short video which explores one answer to this question – Distress Brief Intervention (DBI). To find out how this new service works, … Continued

#MENtionIt is a new campaign to encourage men in Grampian who are experiencing a crisis to contact Penumbra’s 1st Response services. 1st Response launched in Grampian in 2016. It provides discreet, short term, practical support to people in distress. It is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Although anyone can contact 1st Response for … Continued

  Self harm is often a private and personal act, and many people who self harm struggle to approach others for help. To mark Self Harm Awareness Day 2018 (1 March 2018), we wanted to do something to increase understanding and awareness around self harm, and to reduce stigma. The team at the Self Harm … Continued

A critically acclaimed film which hopes to tackle the massive surge in body confidence issues around the globe will be shown on the big screen in Aberdeen for the first time this month. Scottish mental health charity Penumbra has teamed up with the Body Image Movement to offer the free screenings of the feel-good documentary … Continued

Mental Health Europe – a non-governmental network which works with the EU and other international bodies to promote positive mental health – has published an analysis of mental health care across the continent. Mapping and Understanding Exclusion in Europe provides a unique insight into European mental health systems, ongoing human rights violations and the changes … Continued

We are seeking donations to raise money for our vital mental health work in Aberdeen. Donations will be sold at a week-long pop-up charity shop in Aberdeen (Monday 5 February – Friday 9 February). All money raised will go towards supporting people to take part in community activities, such as our New Shoots Gardening Project. … Continued

A film featuring people supported by Penumbra has won a prestigious international film award. In Place examines the mechanisms people use to cope with mental health difficulties, exploring the line between the positive and the negative. The film follows three people – a young skateboarder, a university student and a retired librarian – who all … Continued

A critically acclaimed film which hopes to tackle the massive surge in body confidence issues around the globe will be shown on the big screen in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen for the first time next year. Scottish mental health charity Penumbra has teamed up with the Body Image Movement to offer three free screenings of … Continued

Mental health experts from 14 European countries will gather in Edinburgh this week (Monday 11 December) to discuss mental health practice across Europe and identify priorities for improvement. The forum has been organised by Mental Health Europe, a non-governmental network which works with the EU and other international bodies to promote positive mental health and … Continued

Abbie Henderson – the creator of the My Body My Way programme – speaks to Robin Murphy about young people’s mental health, and specifically negative body image. The Podcast has been released on Universal Children’s Day, which was established in 1954 and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness and improve … Continued

Scottish Government Minister for Mental Health Maureen Watt MSP today (16 November 2017) visited the Edinburgh Crisis Centre – a service unique in Scotland in offering quick-access 1-1 and short-stay residential mental health crisis support alongside freephone, text and email support. Created following a 10 year campaign by service users, the Crisis Centre provides support … Continued

People in Edinburgh will have the opportunity to attend a series of workshops exploring the links between fashion and their own mental health and wellbeing. The workshops have been created by the mental health charity Penumbra in partnership with Edinburgh College of Art and Saheliya, a mental health service which supports black, minority ethnic, asylum … Continued

Today (24 October 2017) Glasgow MSP Annie Wells visited Penumbra Milestone, a service which provides support to people with a diagnosis of Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD). ARBD (Alcohol Related Brain Damage) is the term that is used to describe a range of symptoms which occur following a prolonged period of heavy drinking, such as: … Continued

Artwork created by people receiving support for self harm will go on display near Dunfermline later this month. Reclaim, Restore, Recover is a collection of paintings, sketches and sculptures made by people accessing the Fife Self Harm project, a Dunfermline based service run by the mental health charity Penumbra. The artwork was created at two … Continued

A film featuring people supported by Penumbra is being shown in Glasgow as part of this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. In Place explores the mechanisms we use to cope in our daily lives, questioning the line between the positive and the negative. The three people that the film follows – a young skateboarder, … Continued

Self directed support (SDS) became law on 1 April 2014. It allows people to choose how their support is provided, and gives them as much control as they want over their individual budget. Put simply, SDS is the support a person purchases or arranges, to meet agreed health and social care outcomes. Penumbra has today … Continued

Mental health charity Penumbra has launched a Podcast on World Mental Health Day (10 October 2017). Christopher from Plan2Change in Edinburgh joined Robin to discuss Peer Work in the first ever Penumbra Podcast. Each month Penumbra plans to record an interview on a mental health topic. Mental health in the workplace is the theme of … Continued

Staff from the mental health charity Penumbra will highlight the organisation’s innovative work at two major European conferences this week – the European Conference on Mental Health (ECMH), and the European Network for Mental Health Service Evaluation (ENMESH).   ECMH The sixth European Conference on Mental Health is taking place 4-6 October 2017 in Berlin, … Continued

Mental health charity Penumbra has today (27 September) officially launched a programme to tackle negative body image in young children. “My Body My Way” has been developed in collaboration with primary schools in North Ayrshire. The programme is designed to help primary school children explore issues of body image and how factors such as the … Continued