Prince William And Princess Kate To Launch A Mental Health Support Program by 2025

The Prince and Princess of Wales are continuing to work for and around mental health. On December 21, they announced a new collaboration with a local mental health charity, known as the Norfolk and Waveney Mind that could "boost mental health support for the rural and farming communities of Northwest Norfolk," said the Kensington Palace in a statement.

Who does it cater to?

The couple is co-funding a program that will help and extend mental health support to the communities in the areas, also including those who live on and work for the royal family's Sandringham Estate, which is almost nearly half of the Northwest Norfolk population. The program will also include face-to-face counseling and drop-in sessions for different member of the community. These different groups will include parent, toddler groups, menopause groups, and men's group.

Why the different groups?

The different groups allows different approaches towards the issues. While a therapist's job is to listen and help the person find solution on their own through the therapists guidance, ensuring that separate groups are divided helps with a specific approach. For instance a trauma specialist can help you understand and process your traumatic experiences and manage symptoms like anxiety, depression and PTSD. However, if you are not dealing with a trauma and you do not have any other therapist available, the approach may not suit your need. Similarly, a family specialist can help you to create a safe space, draw your boundaries within the family and being unable to find the one with an approach that suits your need, may delay your healing.

The groups are also made for the same reasons. For instance menopause groups will have women experiencing changes in their bodies, their moods, their equation with their partner. In this case a therapist who knows how to deal with such changes is more beneficial, than any therapist, with an expertise that does not suit the need.

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Prince and Princess' Pledge

Earlier this year, Prince William had pledged to provide mental health support for tenant farmers on the Duchy of Cornwall Estate. As per reports and the Palace, there is a "strong need for further mental health support for rural and farming communities across the United Kingdom." The palace also added: "Rural isolation and poor mental health are still widespread in across the UK, and sadly, one farmer loses their battle with mental health each week.”

When will the program go live?

The Wales; program will launch in 2025 and go on for at least two years. The interim CEO, Sonja Chilver says: "We are all too aware of the specific mental health challenges faced by people in rural settings, particularly those in the farming community. We’re delighted to be working with The Prince and Princess of Wales, who know our Northwest Norfolk communities well, and we are keen to see the difference that this pilot will make to local people’s mental health.”

“Our innovative new partnership will drive proactive outreach and preventative measures to the whole community and form a vital step in better protecting the wellbeing of local people. If successful, it could be used as an example and replicated in other rural estates and communities across the U.K,” Chilvers continues.

“Delivering these new services is part of an exciting series of developments for our charity in Northwest Norfolk, as we also prepare to launch our new-look Talking Therapies service from our REST Heacham site, opening up free counselling for people experiencing anxiety and depression.”