Get in touch

Our answerphone number is 07923930352 (for info about a group or to book a space, please leave a message, or text us, and we will call back in the next week)Alternatively, please use the form below or email [email protected] to contact us - we'd love to hear from you and answer any questions.For urgent mental health support organisation numbers, click here.Our privacy policy can be found here.

About Art Journalling

Art Journalling- a "conversation with yourself"We ran a Zoom Art Journalling group through lock-down. People told us this was a really eye-opening and helpful technique. The Zoom group has now finished as we start our in-person groups, but please feel free to look through this information in case you want to try it out yourself.
This is a safe technique but as always, if you are under the care of a health professional, let them know you plan to try this out and check it's right for you.What is visual journalling?
There's lots of info here and some of our volunteers have made a video discussing the technique. You can see this on YouTube
Well-known psychologist and arts therapist Cathy Malchiodi has written a helpful article and we have her permission to share this with you click hereWhat is it?
Basically you take time to check in with your body and your feelings each day and make an image (it doesn't have to be a great work of art). Then you look at and think about what you have made.
Does this sound light-weight? Don't dismiss it! Simple things can be powerful and this is one of our favourite techniques for getting to know your own mind, so we'd love you to try it out.
It's an evidence-based, rewarding practice to promote good mental healthDo I need to be artistic?
No! Not at all. This isn't an art class and you don't need to be able to draw anything recognisable! You don't even need to show anyone else what you've made. There are options to take photos, make models or do scrapbooking if you hate drawing.What do I need?
A pen and some scrap paper is enough but you could use coloured pens, paints, old catalogues or you can use your phone. A plain drawing pad is really useful if you have one but not essential.Click here for basic instructions. Wishing you happy journalling and good mental health!

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More about us

We offer activity-based groups to support wellbeing and mental health.We aren't a crisis service and don't provide treatment. Click here if you need urgent help.Our groups are very simple. We meet once a week with the same small group of people do an activity and check in.Facilitators make sure groups are safe, respectful and welcoming for all and we have a code of conduct for participating.We are not linked to any church, religious or political group and are open to all.If you are a professional referring a potential participant, please click here for informationIt costs the charity at least £60 for one person to attend for a 12-week group (venue, admin/IT, insurance, materials, activity tuition etc)
If you can make a donation of any amount towards this cost or to pay for someone else to attend in future (quietly, using the button below) we would be grateful. We will not ask for money in the groups and donations are not needed to join.Please donate here

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Thank you for being in touch

Your message has been received.One of our team will be in touch, usually within in the next week. If you need urgent mental health help, please click here.

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Urgent Help

Finding support for mental healthIf you’re worried about your mental health, we warmly encourage you to seek support.In a health emergency, please call 999 or attend your nearest A&ESussex Mental Healthline:
0800 0309500
24/7 free telephone service offering listening support, advice, information, and signposting to anyone experiencing difficulties with their mental health.General health support and information:Contact your GP (or community mental health team if you have one)
Call 111 or see www.nhs.uk for physical or mental health adviceOther organisations/ charities who might be helpfulSamaritans
Free emotional support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
116 123 (Freephone 24 hours a day)
www.samaritans.orgMind
Mind provides advice, resources and support to empower people experiencing mental health problems
0300 123 3393 (9am-6pm Mon-Friday except bank holidays)
www.mind.org.ukSilverlineFor people over 55. Confidential, free helpline open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.
0800 4 70 80 90www.thesilverline.org.ukSussex Mental Healthline can provide details of other organisations which support mental health (0800 0309500) - there are many other organisations and this list is just a start.

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Privacy Document

Please find our privacy document attached below.GDPR
Organisation: The Ashdown Hub CIO, e-mail: [email protected].Volunteers and employees from The Ashdown Hub who process your personal data will be called “we” in this document.We are committed to protecting your personal information.This privacy notice relates to our use of your personal information.Personal data (any information identifiably about you) may be collected from you in person, by letter, e-mail or over the telephone.
We collect and process personal and sensitive data (for example data about your mental health) in order to contact you to inform you about our groups, to ensure safety and suitability of our service for you and other group members and to keep a clinical record of your attendances at a therapeutic support group.We will ensure that data is accurate, relevant and limited to what is necessary to run our group.What information we collectWe will collect and process information when you contact us to express an interest in our organisation.At the point of initial enquiry, we will respond by email to ask you for personal data, in order to arrange a phone call to tell you more about our service.We will ask for, and record:
- Details of enquiry
- Name
- Telephone number
- e-mail addressOur email system is Protonmail, which is a secure, encrypted email system. There is information available from proton mail about their security and encryption https://protonmail.com/security-detailsIf you are interested in joining a group, a trained member of the team will arrange a time for a brief, confidential phone call to seek more information. This includes details of your health background and your past experience in groups. This is to ensure safety to participate.We ask for the name of your GP surgery and your address, for use in the case of emergency only.After this phone call and each group session, we make a record.
We store your data from your assessment and group sessions on a password-protected clinical records system (smilenotes.co.uk).
This is not your NHS medical record.
Here is what Smilenotes says about the safety of data in their record system “All transmitted data is encrypted during transfer using SSL technology. Our data storage facilities (based in the UK and Amsterdam) maintain extremely high standards of security, and include safeguards such as biometric readers for access, 24/7/365 on site security and security cameras.All patient/client data (including uploads) is encrypted at rest using AES. All of your client/patient data stays within the EU and strictly meets the requirements set out by the ICO.” source https://www.smilenotes.co.uk/help/faq.html last accessed 24/10/2020
We will ask for your permission to contact you by phone, text and email. We will ask for your preferences about this. You can update and change preferences at any time. We will also ask for an optional emergency contact number and first name in the unlikely event you are incapacitated during a group session. Please seek your contact’s permission before providing us with their number.How we use this informationWe use the information you give us:- To provide a legal record of your attendance at a group and activities, support or advice we provide.
- To ensure continuity of care during your time with our service, for example transferring between groups.
- For accounts and grant-seeking purposes.
- To contact you about your ongoing group.
- To contact you, if you consent to this, when new groups or events with our organisation become available that may be of benefit to you.
- At your request and with your consent, to liaise with health or social professionals involved in your care
- To seek emergency help if we believe you or others are at risk of harm
- For quality feedback and audit purposes.Our lawful basis for processing your personal and sensitive data, is legitimate need in order to provide information about groups, contractual need in order to offer support group services and legal requirement to keep a health record of participation in therapeutic activity support groups.We do not pass on your information for commercial purposes.We take all reasonable steps to ensure that our information is kept up to date and rectified if necessary. It is your responsibility to inform us if any personal information changes, in order that our records are accurate.Links to External WebsitesOur website does not record your data unless you send us a message via "contact us”.On our website, there are links to external websites for mental health information or support. We also have links to JustGiving and Amazon Smile. We also have a link to sign up to our newsletter by providing your email address to Mailchimp.
These are separate organisations. Please see these websites' and organisations' individual privacy and personal handling information before clicking on these links or providing any data.How long do we keep personal information?We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary.
We are legally required to retain health records for 8 years after your last clinical contact.We may retain electronic records indefinitely for use if you return for another episode of care within 8 years and for analytical purposes.You are under no statutory or contractual requirement or obligation to provide us with your personal or sensitive data but failure to do so may mean you are not able to participate in group activities.Sharing your personal data.We do not normally share your data or information with any person outside our organisation.If you ask us to contact professionals involved in your care (for example your doctor, mental health professional or other health or care professional), we may share data with your consent.This information would normally be passed on in the form of a written letter which is given to you – if this is the case, the letter becomes your responsibility and the protection of its contents is your responsibility.If the information is passed electronically by email, it will be with your consent, by secure, encrypted email. We will take all reasonable precautions to transmit the information securely.We have a professional duty to share your personal information if this necessary to prevent serious harm to your health or safety, or that of another person.If we believe this is necessary, we will discuss this with you as soon as we can. If there is an immediate risk to health or safety and we cannot discuss this with you, we will share personal data to prevent harm (for example with the emergency services or adult safeguarding team) and will discuss this with you as soon as possible.How do we protect your information?We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.Controlling your personal informationYou are entitled to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to have any discrepancies rectified if appropriate. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us and we will promptly correct any information where legally possible.You are entitled to request that we transfer your data direct to another controller and to request that your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary to retain it.We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so.We confirm that we do not transfer data abroad or use any form of automated decision making in our business.Changes to our privacy policyAll changes will be notified on our website.
Any questions or complaints regarding this privacy notice should be addressed to:
The Trustees, The Ashdown Hub CIO (last reviewed 26/04/2022)

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Visual JournallingWe want to share this technique with you that we have used with other people for some time. It was part of a Zoom group over lock down.
Clinical volunteers Jeanne-Claire and Jo had a chat on zoom about this practice around this time and we keep this recording below in case it's helpful
YouTube video
We don’t know you in person yet, and so don’t know your background. If you are reading along and having a go, and something doesn’t feel comfortable or suitable for you, don’t do it. If you are under professional care, please discuss your plans to try this technique and its suitability for you at the moment
If you need to change something in these instructions to make journalling more comfortable to do, this is fine. If you are worried about your mental health, please click here1. Finding the right time, being readyGive yourself the gift of some time each day for this supportive practice.
We know this can be easier said than done. 30 minutes to an hour is ideal, but 10 minutes would do. It can help to aim for the same time each day.
Try to find a quiet period where you won’t be disturbed, at a time you won’t forget. Make sure you are comfortable, and aren’t hungry or cold. You can even set an alarm to remind you of your practice time.
Gather together some materials before you start (these could be pen and paper but if you have the following then they might be helpful and fun to use: coloured pencils, pens, old catalogues, scissors and glue, modelling clay or materials, phone for photos)2. Check in with yourself, with curiosity and kindness.Your body:Here are some basic instructions we find helpful in checking in with the body, but if they don’t suit you, feel free to adapt them.Sitting upright in a supportive chair with your feet comfortably on the floor
Check in with your body: ask how is my body feeling today?
Really trying to notice what is there, with a friendly curiosity, without trying to change anything. Can you feel your feet today? Perhaps the soles of your feet are resting on the floor. How does this feel? Are you able to feel your toes? All of them? Perhaps you aren’t. That’s OK. Perhaps there are intense feelings, or buzzing, itching, hot or cold. That’s all OK. Scan your body. Are there areas of muscle tension, perhaps in the hips, in the tummy area, in the shoulders or jaw. It’s OK if there are. Just noticing and not trying to change what you find. Which parts of your body are you most aware of? Are the feelings intense? Pleasant? Are they there all the time or do they come and go? Being curious about the areas of the body you aren’t noticing at the moment. How is your tummy feeling today? Is there churning, or rumbling? How about the breath? Can you feel the rhythmical movement of the chest wall and tummy? Perhaps you notice the steady flow of breath in and out past the nostrils?Your feelings?Ask yourself “How am I feeling today?”.
If I had to find some words for my mood, what would they be? Are the feelings intense? Are they a mixture of feelings, partly feeling one thing and partly something else? Really try to look hard and be curious without criticising what you notice or trying to change it.
Are you perhaps feeling nothing at all? It is fine to feel whatever you are feeling, whether this is pleasant or unpleasant, strong or even not there at all, and also to struggle to put words to what you are feeling. Just noticing with kindly attention
You might like to glance down a list of feeling words to help with this (you can find these online easily by googling “list of feelings”. The Hoffman Institute has a good list, for example and it might help to print it out)3. Try drawing or making an image of how you feel.
This sounds hard, but there are lots of techniques to help and it’s important just to have a go- you can’t get it wrong.Here are three simple options:
Scribble what you feel in your body:
Take a pen and scribble on the paper. If you feel churning in your tummy, maybe draw a swirl in the middle of the page, and maybe you have a heavy head so you draw lots of lines at the top of the page“I made the image below on a day I didn’t know what I felt, and bits of me felt different, so I just tried to draw what I felt as best I could”

Choose one colour
Have a few different coloured pencils and chose just one or two colours each day to make any marks or drawing that comes to mind after checking in with body and feelings.

“I drew the picture above on a difficult day, when I couldn’t feel anything, but as I wondered about feeling nothing, and tried to think exactly how I could tell I was feeling nothing, I became aware of my feet and warmth over my head. I felt better after making it”

Cutting out or using photos:
Tear or cut out images from a paper, or chose a photo from your album that most matches how you feel. It doesn’t matter what it is- so long as it appeals to you and seems to match how you feel in some way.“The picture below was something I cut out of a catalogue and stuck in my journal. It was an image of Christmas lights. I felt it was hopeful, sparkly, sociable, comfortable”

“When I drew the picture above, I was feeling scratchy and irritable, and also hurried. I poked the pencil hard on the paper. It was quite aggressive. I felt better after doing this”

“I took the photo above on my phone when I was on a walk, feeling a bit numb, flat and like I was “up against it”. It was cold and grey, and the wind had blown this hawthorn over, but it was still growing. It seemed to connect with how I was feeling”4. Reflection timeOnce you’ve done your drawing/ photo or other image, check back in with yourself.
How did it feel while you were making the image? If you couldn’t make an image and are staring at a blank page, that’s OK. How does this feel? If you forget to make an image one day, that’s OK too- try getting back to it the next day
How do you feel now? Has anything changed?
Are you pleased with the image? If it could talk to you, what might it say?
If you like, make a few notes about this (but you don’t have to)Looking at the record over time:
Keep an eye on your journal over time. Sometimes an image that didn’t seem important at the time feels important looking back.
If you are making loose images, try to keep them in a folder or box, or take photos. Sometimes looking at the image the next day can be interesting, or taking a time to look back over a week. Are you seeing any themes? Do you feel the same each day or do your feelings change?
If things are difficult, do you need any help? We aren't a treatment or emergency service but click here for urgent help
It can be really helpful to join a group and discuss your journalling experience with others. A group won’t be critical of anything you have noticed and your experience might help others.
There is evidence that this kind of mindfulness of your feelings, and the experience of connecting to them in this creative way, can be very helpful to mental wellbeing.The ScienceThere is scientific evidence for this practice, and we’re happy to share some of what we’ve enjoyed reading, and learning about this area (below):Visual journalling is the kind of practice it is difficult to study and is based on years of clinical experience, for example many art psychotherapists will use it. It is hard to evaluate the benefits of being really in touch with how you are feeling and put figures to this, but here are some studies you might be interested in.Mercer, A., Warson, E. and Zhao, J., 2010. Visual journaling: An intervention to influence stress, anxiety and affect levels in medical students. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 37(2), pp.143-148.
This study followed some medical students who kept a visual journal. They reported their mood improved and they were less anxiousMartin, L., Oepen, R., Bauer, K., Nottensteiner, A., Mergheim, K., Gruber, H. and Koch, S.C., 2018. Creative arts interventions for stress management and prevention—a systematic review. Behavioral Sciences, 8(2), p.28.
This was research looking at a number of different artistic practices for stress management and reported that arts can be very helpful in stress reductionKaimal, G., Ray, K. and Muniz, J., 2016. Reduction of cortisol levels and participants' responses following art making. Art therapy, 33(2), pp.74-80.
This study looked at stress hormones before and after art making and found they went downThe practice we are doing before doing our journalling is a type of mindfulness. There are lots and lots of studies showing the benefit of mindfulness for mental health. Here are a couple of recent studies:Reangsing, C., Rittiwong, T. and Schneider, J.K., 2020. Effects of mindfulness meditation interventions on depression in older adults: A meta-analysis. Aging & Mental Health, pp.1-10.
This showed mindfulness is helpful in depression for older peopleBlanck, P., Perleth, S., Heidenreich, T., Kröger, P., Ditzen, B., Bents, H. and Mander, J., 2018. Effects of mindfulness exercises as stand-alone intervention on symptoms of anxiety and depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 102, pp.25-35.
This showed that mindfulness has a positive impact on depression and anxietyThese books might be useful for background readingHeaversedge, J. and Halliwell, E., 2012. The Mindful Manifesto. Hay House, Inc.Leavy, P. ed., 2017. Handbook of arts-based research. Guilford Publications.Cameron, J.ed 2016. The Artists’s Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative SelfPlease let us know how you get on with your visual journalling, and if you need any help. We wish you well!

“I found these 6 toy ducks. Every day for a while, I spent some time being mindful of my feelings and then moved the ducks around and took a photo. Sometimes the “ducks were in a row”, and sometimes they weren’t. I enjoyed this practice and it was really quick. I kept the ducks on the table and did this just after breakfast most days for a few weeks”

Code of conduct for participants at The Ashdown Hub
We want our group to be safe and friendly.
These are rules we have agreed together for all participants, volunteers and staff.
Please ask if you want any more details or if you have suggestionsAlcohol or illegal drugs must never be brought to the group.Anyone noticeably under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs will be politely asked to leave that session.Everyone is equally welcome. No form of discrimination will be tolerated. This includes discrimination on the basis of race, gender, colour or religion.We are a kind group. Bullying or intimidating behaviour of any form is not OK. We give each other our kindly attention and silence phones.We are a safe group. Violence or threat of violence (physical or verbal) is not OK.We are a confidential group. Any personal information shared by participants must remain strictly confidential. We don’t take photos of anyone in the group, or of their work, without permission. For online groups, we ensure we access the group in a private space.
There are a few exceptions. All participants must agree that Ashdown Hub staff work as a team and can share information with each other.
Participants understand staff must break confidentiality and disclose information to a third party, if staff believe a participant may be at significant risk of harm to themselves or others. Examples of a third party include the police, health or social services.We are a caring group. If a participant is worried about the health or safety of another participant, they agree to encourage that participant to seek professional help and/ or speak to a member of staff or volunteer. Participants will not support others alone or keep concerns secret from the group.
Whilst participants may form friendships outside the group, they will keep discussion of issues raised in the group to the group. Group members will not start intimate relationships with each other whilst attending the group.Under no circumstances must any participant ask to borrow money from any other participantSwearing is not OK.This is a safe, considerate space for all. Sexual behaviour, whether physical or verbal, is not OK in the groups.