Sinéad Welsh is Chief Executive Officer of Informed Minds Training & Consultancy Ltd. who are a Safeguarding and Mental Health Well Being Training Company based in Omagh, Co. Tyrone. We have created an App called Kind Minds in direct response to the seriously concerning self-harm and suicide rates in Northern Ireland.
You can visit the Informed Minds Website here
What are your main priorities and goals in your role?
Using multiple theory and research based programs, we are driven to help our young people and adults gain insight into their own thoughts, feelings and actions by using a multi-disciplinary approach. We are an early intervention, secondary prevention model.
What are your biggest challenges?
At the moment we have been interviewing all of our new trainers virtually and ideally, we would have loved to meet them in person over a coffee. But for now, we appreciate the seriousness of covid-19 and the real life meet ups will come.
How has your business strategy been adapted in the context of the Covid-19 crisis?
Yes, we have written a full Theory of Change document around improving the psychological well being of our people, and adapted it accordingly to covid-19 which means our initial in-the-room sessions have now been moved to live on line facilitation for now. This means we are avoiding any delay and are able to begin work with the students as planned.
What are the challenges facing your industry going forward?
Demand: our innovative App and first of its early intervention is suitable for everyone and anyone…so our recruitment campaign and finding the most informed and empathic trainers is a very important big task.
What new trends are emerging in your industry?
Old ways to respond to mental health well being are not working…Let’s try our new digital approach, based on historical values of empathy, trauma informed practice and positive relationships with self, others and our communities.
How do you define success and what drives you to succeed?
Happiness is success and happiness means something different to everyone. Success to me is lowering the self-harm and suicide rates in our people. If we can support students and adults to make more safe decisions and lower these rates- that is our true success and a social reform.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given, or would give, in business?
“If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room”. We surround ourselves with local and international experts in the field of mental health well being and seek to grow and learn every single day.
What have been your highlights in business over the past year?
We have networked and partnered with incredible professionals across various counties of Ireland both North and South in a full community approach and input into our Kind Minds App.
Our Kind Mind Conference that we held on Mental Health Awareness week generated brilliant feedback and all proceeds were donated to Action Mental Health Youth Sector and Support 2gether perinatal mental health charity that I am vice-chairperson of.
What’s next for your company?
Train the Trainer program roll outs and major recruitment drive, so that we can increase our reach extensively.
Where do you want your business/brand to be this time next year?
We will have launched the App and it will be available to all young people, academics and parents as an intervention and tool…the first major step towards “Changing The World By Spreading The Kind Mind”
