Delivered in partnership with Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC), Anchoring Minds (run by Solent Mind) service recently visited Scotland, highlighting its commitment to supporting Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel and their families across the UK. This activity is delivered as part of the Strengthening Families – West of Scotland project, made possible through funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
Anchoring Minds is a national service, designed from the outset to provide mental health and wellbeing support nationwide. Families in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, or England can access the same range of resources, toolkits, and one-to-one support from the team.
The two-day visit to Scotland by the team underscored the service’s dedication to reaching every corner of the naval community, ensuring distance is never a barrier to accessing vital support.
Anchoring Minds offers:
- Friendly, informal conversations with staff who have lived experience of mental health issues and understand the pressures of service life.
- Additional listening sessions.
- Navigation expertise to other services/NHS access and ongoing support networks.
- Resources and practical toolkits on their website for coping with anxiety, stress, separation, and other issues faced by service personnel and their families.
Mental health wasn’t something people talked about when I was a military wife. Relatively simple things, such as a document explaining the emotional cycle of deployment, didn’t exist. Thankfully, that’s changing, and there is now so much more support for military families and personnel than there was when I was a military wife. There’s also a lot less stigma around accessing it.
Yvette, Mental Health Navigator at Solent Mind and ex-military wife
Mandy Lindley, Director of Relationships and Funding at RNRMC, added:
We are proud to continue our support for Solent Mind and the Anchoring Minds service, which is a vital lifeline for Royal Navy and Royal Marines families. Service life brings unique pressures, and it’s essential that personnel and their loved ones have access to dedicated mental health support.
Mandy Lindley
Anchoring Minds, first established in Hampshire, has already made a measurable difference to the wellbeing of hundreds of naval families. The visit to Scotland highlights that this essential service is available and accessible to the entire UK naval community.
Find out more about Anchoring Minds, including resources and contact details, on the Solent Mind website here: Anchoring Minds | Mental health and wellbeing support for Navy and Marines serving personnel and military families
