FLOURISH is rethinking and tackling the fundamental injustices that trap people in poverty and psychological distress.

Our approach

It’s hard to make sense of the mental health scene in the UK.  On the one hand we see the evidence that our epidemic of common mental health issues is caused by the social environment, poverty and stress.  But on the other hand, we still see society acting as though the problem was due to a biological problem in the brain which doctors need to “treat”.  Billions are spent on minimally effective treatments, while the toll of human misery increases.

Such an analysis is far from niche.  It is supported by academic papers and reports.  It chimes with the personal stories that counsellors and psychotherapists hear every day.

As the Welsh Government accepted recently:

Mental Health is, to a great extent, shaped by the social, economic, and physical environments in which people live. Inequalities in society are associated with a significant increased risk of mental ill health. Poverty is a key player. 

Flourish was founded to make a contribution to the change that is needed.  Our focus is on understanding better the societal causes of persistent psychological distress and how best to intervene.  Our approach has three elements:

• To connect the various organisations and individuals who want to bring about change so that we can learn, share and influence together
• To innovate with practical preventative projects, such as our project to help struggling parents provide a more stable and nurturing environment for their children
• To use the tools of philosophy to make sense of the complex interactional social landscape, uncover new approaches and move towards helping the nation to flourish

We are a new not-for-profit organisation.  A priority for us is to connect with those individuals and organisations who share our ethos.  If you’d like to join us, connect with us, collaborate with us – please get in touch!