Our Summer 2026 issue of Being Alongside magazine is out! (Click on the image above to read it).
After a retrospective of his first year in post by our new chair, Dr Clive Timehin, setting out his aims for the charity, our news section reports on the fundraising walk we held in Battersea Park in July, an update to our grants scheme, and the publication of Personally Speaking, a new book in which 22 psychiatrists share how their own life experiences have shaped their approach to care.
As this is our 40th anniversary year, we then look back at the beginnings of our association, our first few tumultuous years, and the shaping of Being Alongside into its current role as a small charity with a vision which remains special inamongst the many other admirable organisations and initiatives which have proliferated in the field over the past few decades.
A report of our 2026 conference on the theme of “Light in open space” follows, with summaries of the presentations by our two guest speakers, Revd Stephen Radley and Sara “Siggy” Parratt-Halbert, plus an introduction to the wonderful venue in which we met – the Bethlem Museum of the Mind.
The magazine’s centre spread and following pages are taken up with striking paintings by Karen Fielding, a member of the weekly art group at The LINK (Croydon APCMH). Her artwork helps us to gain an impression of her experiences of psychosis and expression.
A soothing contrast is provided by inspiring words and beautiful photographs introducing us to the peace and tranquility of Bridewell Gardens in Oxfordshire, where the invitation to work with one’s hands, growing and nurturing plants, is helping people rebuild their lives in a safe and supportive environment.
We complement the gardening theme with a poem entitled Roots and Leaves Themselves Alone by Walt Whitman, reproduced in the beautiful original typography of a 1905 edition of his collection Leaves of Grass.
Our indefatigable administrator Revd Lucy Roose recently stepped down from the post to concentrate on her work as a Church of England minister and hospital chaplain. Our gratitude for her five years of dedicated service is expressed in a tribute by trustee Ben Wilson, and we also print a farewell piece from Lucy herself with an inspiring conclusion drawn from the gospel of Matthew.
We round off this issue of Being Alongside with a visit to the wonderful Cellar Camino Café in Godalming, which has been a place of welcome, hope and community for an amazing 47 years.
Our magazine is freely available to all digitally. If you would like to enjoy it in glossy paper form, you are warmly encouraged to become one of our supporters.