My name is Sophie, and I have been on a student work placement with PSS for a little over two months now and, as today is my final day, I’d like to share what I have learnt!
PSS is an organisation that aims to support people to live happy lives. There are many different services offered within PSS, aiming to cater to all types of people such as adults with learning or physical disabilities, people needing support with their mental health and many more. During my time, I have been involved with a variety of different activities and have been able to spread my time across three different services: the Parent and Baby service, Shared Lives and the PSS Wellbeing Centres.
The service I spent the most time at was the PSS Wellbeing Centres, which is a service dedicated to supporting the mental health of individuals in the community in Liverpool. It provides courses such as the Overcoming Anxiety and Depression, which aims to educate individuals on the topic of wellbeing and provides mechanisms they can use to overcome poor mental health.
The PSS Wellbeing Centres also provides sessions such as the Reading Group, which is run by volunteers and provides individuals with an interest in reading in a comforting, non-judgmental environment. Here they discuss poems and excerpts of books.
There are so many more courses and sessions provided by the PSS Wellbeing Centres, and I couldn’t possibly attend them all during my short time here, but I encourage anyone curious about what is available to phone or pop in for a chat!
Overall, I learnt the key role wellbeing centres, such as the Umbrella Centre, play in the community. These centres provides a safe space for people to talk to someone about their experiences, and to learn and grow as a person. It also takes pressure off our NHS, allowing individuals to get support in a more comfortable and non-clinical setting.
During my last day at the PSS Wellbeing Centre, I was lucky enough to attend a PSS Day Trip to the Beatles Museum! The trip was incredible. The experience had audio devices so we were all able to go through the exhibitions at our own pace, and everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves! After all that learning, we went to the café at the exit of the museum and had some amazing drinks with Beatles art on top!
I am extremely grateful to PSS for the opportunity they gave me! I was able to chat with many of you about how much this service means to you, and I will be able to take what I learnt here into my future career