Every year on 10th October, people around the world mark World Mental Health Day — a time to pause, reflect, and talk openly about how we’re really doing. This year, Cleeve School invited the chaplaincy team — Revd Ben Williams and Amy Todd — to help students explore what it means to build resilience and care for their mental wellbeing in today’s world.

As part of this, the team invited a local psychotherapist, who is also a Christian, to join Ben for a thoughtful Zoom interview. Together, they explored some of the most common emotional experiences that many of us share — whether young or old, believer or not.

Their conversation touched on deep and very human themes such as:

• Depression – understanding the spark that can cause the fire of depression.
• Shame – noticing this self talk as lies.
• Willpower – learning to challenge ourselves with difficult tasks.
• Anxiety – leaning into gratitude as the antidote to anxiety.

Throughout the conversation, the psychotherapist offered practical principles and top tips for supporting positive mental health — simple, grounded ideas that anyone can try.

You can listen to the full audio of their discussion below. We really encourage you to take a moment to listen, reflect, and maybe share it with a young person in your life. Let it spark a healthy, honest conversation about how you and they are truly doing.

🕊️ Even in the darkest moments, light exists if you have faith to see it. - Dean Koontz

As a chaplaincy team, our hope is that this conversation helps build understanding, compassion, and resilience within our school and church community — reminding each of us that we are never alone in what we’re going through.

Listen to the audio below: