TALKING THERAPIES
Well we’ve all been blunted on rock
and cut down by scissors.
And we’ve definitely been blindfolded by paper –
but this year – we’ve been washed
down seven streams of change –
and change is choppy, change is exhausting.
And all the while we filled
the gaps in the workplace.
We survived. We tried cake. We tried
to adapt to the merge. And our Step 2 waiting list
is all dried up. And our counsellors are rebanded.
It really matters. And health equality matters.
We’re reaching out to the hard to reach.
We’re building trust. We want to make it fairer.
Because good things come to those who don’t wait.
I have a date, a time, a plan
to take my life. But with support,
a change of plan, I find I have
a life worth living, after all.
My barriers were up. You took them down.
What is a talking therapy?
Ask and listen. Ask and listen.
The kindness of a stranger
makes it easier to talk.
We are in the business of listening.
We are in the business of making
other people happier.
Jean Atkin | December 2023