Mental Health Support

New trial benefit for serving members ONLY

Through our unique partnership with the holistic treatment centre St Michael’s Lodge, serving members can now receive mental health support as part of new trial benefit.

The Ben Fund is now offering a wide variety of counselling, covering all aspects of professional and personal life to support you and your mental health.

Members can receive up to eight online counselling sessions from a professional team of psychotherapists who are trained in many areas of counselling, including

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Person Centred Therapy
• Bereavement Counselling

A self-referral system

We have introduced a self-referral system which means there is no need to go through your line-manager at work. Your application will be made directly through to the Benevolent Fund, ensuring your self-referral remains anonymous.

Applications, once approved, will then be sent onto the team of dedicated counsellors, at St Michael’s Lodge who will be in touch to discuss the best course of treatment or therapy.

The types of therapy/counselling available are:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a type of therapy that looks at your thoughts, feelings and behaviours and helps to change some of these to manage your problems.

A key part of this type of therapy is identifying the negative thinking patterns that you may feel trapped in, helping you to break free from these and to feel better.

CBT focuses on equipping you with the tools to deal with the current problems in your life and to relieve the symptoms you may be facing as a result. The therapy helps you to make links to your past and how your beliefs started in order to deal with them.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a comprehensive psychotherapy that helps members process and recover from past experiences that may be affecting their mental health and wellbeing.

It involves using side to side eye movements as well as ‘talk therapy’ that is applied in a specific and structured format.

EMDR helps people to process the negative images, emotions, beliefs, and body sensations associated with traumatic memories that become embedded in a person causing a range of mental health problems.

Person Centred Therapy

When you are attending counselling sessions with a person-centred counsellor, you will be encouraged to bring your own issues to the session – the counselling is led by you and not directed by the counsellor.

Many people, with no prior knowledge of counselling, believe that the counsellor will sort their problems out for them. A person-centred counsellor will help you to explore your own issues, feelings, beliefs, behaviour, and worldview, so you can become more self-aware and achieve greater independence.

Seek help now

To start the self-referral process simply, visit the mental health support page on our website.

Download and complete the application form and return it to: info@wmpben.co.uk

If you would like to know more about West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund, including how to join, visit www.wmpben.co.uk or contact West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund either by email info@wmpben.co.uk or call the office on 0121 752 4919.

Please note this trial benefit is not immediately available to new joiners. Please refer to the charity’s joining rules.