This #NoMoreWeek and #InternationalWomensDay, we caught up with Gona, Chief Executive of one of our vital Domestic Abuse Development Project (DADP) partners, The Maya Centre. Gona reflected on the impact of holistic mental health support, how the Maya Centre takes women through a journey, and the importance of widening their networks and partnerships.
At a glance: The Maya Centre’s Impact
🔸40 years of support: Providing holistic mental health services for women in Islington since 1984. They now support 300+ women annually, primarily from Islington.
🔸Around 85% of women who access their services annually have experienced domestic or sexual violence. Other challenges are poverty and cost-of-living struggles, legal barriers such as complex divorce and justice system cases, and mental health issues including PTSD, anxiety, long-term trauma, migration trauma, and bereavement.
🔸Through psycho-dynamic, intercultural counselling and holistic support, the Maya Centre provides 1:1 counselling (10-24 sessions each), group therapy, workshops, and complementary therapies like reflexology and massage.
🔸The Maya Centre are keen to expand their networks and partnerships to help women rebuild their lives beyond recovery.
Watch the Maya Centre reels
“The Maya Centre was set up in 1984 by the early feminist activists in Islington who decided that there was a need amongst women in the borough for mental health support services.
Last year we celebrated our 40th anniversary – 40 years of being in Islington and providing holistic mental health support to women in Islington and other north London boroughs.
Our services are holistic in the way that it supports women’s journeys in their recovery from traumatic experiences, including domestic abuse, childhood or recent sexual violence, migration and loss, bereavement or other mental health issues they may be facing.
“We take women through a journey of healing and recovery – and that’s where our impact comes in.” ~ Gona, Chief Executive, The Maya Centre
Through psycho-dynamic intercultural counselling, we provide up to 10 to 24 one to one sessions. We also provide group therapies and psychoeducation workshops in which they aim at raising awareness and supporting women to heal and recover in groups.
We do art therapy, drama therapy which are done in groups, as well as different type of complementary therapies which could be reflexology, reiki, and fully body massages. All this takes women through a journey of healing and recovery – and that’s where our impact comes in. It supports them to move and cope with the mental health symptoms they may be facing.
Now we want to partner with other organisations where women can get more support. We aim to widen our network and partnerships to help women move on from The Maya Centre, access other support services and start to rebuild their life beyond recovery.”
“We aim to widen our network and partnerships to help women move on from The Maya Centre, access other support services and start to rebuild their life beyond recovery.” ~ Gona, Chief Executive, The Maya Centre