News / The Green House
Charity calls for urgent mental health reform for young abuse victims
The young person’ sexual abuse charity The Green House is calling for urgent reform of mental health services.
Through a festival they have created in collaboration with young people, they hope to draw attention to the impacts of the lack of appropriate mental health services.
The festival known as Beyond Therapy Festival 2025 will take place on Tuesday at Watershed.
is needed now More than ever
A young persons singing their own music at the Beyond Therapy Festival 2024 – photo: Lee Cooper Photography
The St Paul’s charity founded Beyond Therapy in 2021 and has become an annual cross-sector event designed to break the silence around child sexual abuse.
Between 2023 and 2025 they will be delivering the festival as part of Upfront Survivors, a partnership project supporting the child sexual abuse community to lead cultural change through creating visible survivor-led spaces.
They worked with festival director Thea Woodrow to ensure that the festival is a meaningful, thoughtful and powerful space for survivors of all ages.
Several of the young people who use the service and are a part of the Beyond Therapy Festival Shapers Group said: “We started talking about plans for this year’s festival in September and since then we’ve made decisions on the festival theme, the workshop and panel applications.
“Our voices really have shaped every element of the day. We’ve tried our best to make sure the festival feels welcoming for all – and can’t wait to welcome people to the Watershed for the joyful, life affirming space that is the Beyond Therapy Festival!”
Participants and contributors will include other young people, health professionals, parents and carers, experts from specialist services and charities, academics, health practitioners from CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), NHS commissioners and staff from the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.
The Beyond Therapy Festival combines arts, activism, and research, to challenge attitudes toward child sexual abuse and re-imagine society’s existing response.
Organisers say that the festival and the wider Beyond Therapy movement is aiming to create system change around treatment of child sexual abuse.
A Tardis console will be at the Beyond Therapy Festival 2025
This year the festival’s theme is “What does mental wellbeing mean for young people following experiences of sexual abuse? What jeopardises it, what supports it and what changes are needed by services and communities?”
The day will feature creative workshops, research presentations, panel discussions, musical performances and cuddly therapy dogs.
Attendees will be invited to explore a purpose-built interactive Tardis console with activities supporting mental health with the encouragement to ‘play, imagine, travel, ground, and explore a creative response to surviving child sexual abuse and exploitation.’
One workshop will involve creating ‘Hope Boxes’- a personalised multi-sensory emergency box to help manage crises, stress and anxiety.
Another entitled ‘Righteous Rage: Exploring anger and social justice with the ancient practices of drumming’ will use rhythm and movement to ‘create a safe, supportive environment where anger is recognised not as a burden, but as a catalyst for justice and healing and song.’
Dr Gemma Halliwell, CEO of The Green House
The event is organised by best friends and fellow survivors of child sexual abuse, The Green House’s CEO Dr Gemma Halliwell and Candice Harris a lived experience consultant at The Lighthouse, a multi-agency service for children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse.
Gemma said” “There has never been a more important time to shine a spotlight on mental health for our festival.
“Every year, 500,000 children under the age of 16 in the UK experience sexual abuse. In Bristol alone it is estimated that 13,000 children and young people are currently living with experiences of sexual abuse
“But nationally, huge numbers of young people referred to their local CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) are turned away either when they disclose sexual abuse or because their needs are considered ‘too complex or unstable’ to access therapies so they are referred to specialist services like The Green House”.
“However, over the past ten years specialist sexual violence service provision for children and young people across the UK has decreased, with a significant number of regions decommissioning support or reducing capacity.
“ As a result, waiting times have more than doubled since 2015. Currently over 55,000 children who have experienced sexual abuse are sat on waiting lists for access to specialist support services like ours.
“There is a critical and urgent need for reform in the accessibility and quality of mental health services for children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse.
“Many children with complex trauma-related needs are not receiving timely, appropriate care. These children are at increased risk of developing long-term mental health issues, which could impact their ability heal from sexual abuse experiences later in life.
”The Beyond Therapy Festival is a chance to listen to what the young people have to say, collaborate with them on new service design and start delivering the vital support they need to heal, grow, connect and thrive after experiences of sexual abuse.”
Registration on the day of the event will open at 09:00, with the welcome session starting promptly at 10:00. You can find the full programme here.
To buy tickets head to eventbrite.co.uk.
All photos: The Green House
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