Time to Talk Day | Ipswich Talk Club

To mark Time to Talk Day, the Ipswich Town Foundation is highlighting the invaluable work of the Talk Club initiative.

Time to Talk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation. Happening every year, it’s a day for friends, families, communities, and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.

The awareness day is run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness in partnership with the Co-op and with support from Time To Change Wales, See Me and Change Your Mind / Inspire.

Talk Club, a nationwide and international programme that started in 2018, is a talking and listening club for men, offering talking groups, sports groups and therapy to help keep people mentally fit.

The Ipswich Talk Club is hosted in the Champions Lounge at Portman Road and takes place every Tuesday evening from 7pm-8.30pm, excluding first-team matchdays.

Joe Thompson, who leads the session as the Ipswich Talk Club’s Club Captain, provided further insight into the initiative.

“The biggest thing for Talk Club is that question of ‘how are you out of 10?’ which we begin every session with,” said Joe, speaking prior to Tuesday night’s session.

“Talk Club is here to act as a peer-to-peer support group in order to allow men to open up and talk about their feelings.

“Because we are peer-to-peer rather than a clinical environment, often people are much more capable of opening up.”

Joe was one of the founding Club Captains of Talk Club and he says that leading the sessions is as beneficial for him as it is for the other participants.

“I get as much, if not more, out of it than the guys themselves. I have huge gratitude for the fact that people come in and want to be involved in the sessions, but it’s also a significant part of my own mental care and mental fitness.”

Talk Club, aided by operating in small groups, offers a welcoming environment for men of all ages in the local community, whether they are football fans or not.

More information about the programme can be found by visiting talkclub.org.

Men who would to attend or learn more about Ipswich Talk Club, email joe.thomson1@gmail.com