Enabled by an initial generous donation from the estate of the late Anne Richardson, our Step Forward Fund has been set up to help provide access to a programme of nutritional therapy for those who are suffering from a diagnosed mental health condition (including depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders and/or autism and ADHD), living on a low income.
Nutritional therapy is a complementary therapy, which aims to identify the underlying drivers of symptoms of poor health. This is done through consultations, in which a thorough analysis of a patient’s health history, diet, lifestyle and symptoms will be performed, as well as biochemical testing, which can give valuable information on an individual’s health such as nutrient deficiencies, neurotransmitter imbalances and food intolerances, that may be playing a role in the individual’s symptoms. This allows us to tailor a nutrition programme to the patients’ needs.
We are not taking any applications currently and expect to open the next phase at the end of this year. If you’re interested in applying, please sign up to our mailing list below.
You can donate £5 (or another amount) by sending a text message (SMS) with the message ‘STEP’ to 70085.
TEXT ‘STEP’ TO 70085 TO DONATE £5
For other amounts you can state STEP and the amount you wish to donate to 70085 e.g. STEP10 to 70085 or STEP25 to 70085.
I am grateful for the care and attention given to my mental health thanks to The Step Forward Fund. It can be difficult with depression to summon the energy by yourself to make changes or to believe that they are worth making. But the regular support from my nutritionist, made it much easier to make changes and to feel the benefits. A few months on, my diet is now quite different and the changes have become new habits. I now rarely experience the bouts of low blood sugar, which would affect my mood and I have overcome a reliance on caffeine. When I do eat something I have otherwise cut out, my concentration and my mood feel worse again so the benefits of the changes are obvious. I can now see the role that food has to play in my mental health.
