Campaigns to reverse school counselling funding cuts in Northern Ireland and to help people spot the signs of depression in men have won BACP two awards at the Association Excellence Awards 2024.

The Northern Ireland campaign scooped the silver award in the category of Best Lobbying Campaign, while our R.A.I.S.E. campaign secured silver for Best Awareness Campaign. Our Children, Young People and Families Conference was also shortlisted for Best Development of an Existing Association Event.

Support for primary school counselling in Northern Ireland

We campaigned to reverse the decision to end funding for a vital primary school counselling programme that made a positive difference in children’s lives across Northern Ireland.

Healthy Happy Minds provided access to counselling and other therapy interventions - including art, music, drama, and play therapy – in 566 primary schools.

Our campaign led to more than 4,700 emails being sent to MPs and Members of the Legislature Assembly through our online portal, with almost 1,000 people signing up to the campaign.

The judges described it as “creative and targeted” and that it “brought together politicians, children services and mental health advocates which received positive engagement from politicians.”

Martin Bell, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “At its heart, the award signifies the power of collaboration, and the unique and powerful partnership which brought together, for the first time, representatives from the professional bodies for counselling, art therapy, play therapy, music therapy and dramatherapy, in coalition with leading providers of the full range of therapeutic interventions in schools across Northern Ireland.  We're indebted to those partners and we share this award with them.

“The campaign that we led enabled us to shine a light on the need to restore counselling provision to primary schools across Northern Ireland, by highlighting this critical issue on such a high-profile platform. We're hoping that this increased profile will help us in our fight to fully secure investment and ensure that vulnerable children across Northern Ireland get the support they need and deserve. We're delighted to be recognised by our industry peers for our work and receive this award.”

Highlighting symptoms of male depression

Our R.A.I.S.E. campaign, launched in partnership with PR agency 23red, aimed to help men and their loved ones recognise the symptoms of depression. It also sought to motivate men with depression to try counselling from a BACP therapist.

The campaign secured national media coverage and following its launch we saw a huge increase on our online directory in people searching for therapists who can help with depression.

It also prompted the Health and Social Care Select Committee to contact us to ask for a BACP representative to appear at a hearing about men’s mental health, resulting in our member Anthony Davis speaking in Parliament.

The judges praised it as: “A very worthwhile campaign to encourage men with depression to seek counselling.”

Adam Pollard, Head of Marketing and Engagement said, “Through the R.A.I.S.E campaign we were able to address the stark reality that many men suffer in silence, rather than seeking professional therapeutic support.

By raising awareness of this incredibly important issue, we’re helping to drive positive change in the damning statistics associated with men’s mental health.

To see these efforts recognised at a national level by our industry peers is hugely gratifying, particularly with such strong competition.

But the work doesn’t stop here. We’ll continue our work to raise awareness of BACP, the benefits of therapy, and importantly, ensuring those who need therapy are able to access it."