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(Photos: Ani Sarpe)
For the second year running, with the help of your charitable donations, the ‘Superheroics Volume One’ textbooks have been expanding their reach. Based on my dad’s philosophy and teachings, the freshly printed hard copies have found their way to more mental health-related organisations, charities, hospitals, prisons, and now HM Young Offender Institution detention centres (15 – 21 years old), hoping the words and ideas contained inside will help someone out there in need of a sign to not give up.
Adding to last year’s recipient list, here is the 2024 updated version which shows where the physical copies have been sent:
MIND Mental Health Charity, Westminster Magistrates Court, Ealing Magistrates Court, HMP Belmarsh, HMP Bronzefield, St Andrews Healthcare, Capital Project Trust, Together for Mental Wellbeing, HMP Ford, HMP/YOI New Hall, HMP/YOI Styal, St Giles, HMP/YOI Foston Hall, Wimbledon Magistrates & Youth Courts, HMP Wymott, Training Trust and HMP Stafford, distributed to on-site libraries, common areas, wards, individual clients, patients, service users, prisoners and/or healthcare professionals.
(Photo: Muhammed Imraan)
I recently asked a few of my clients what had affected them most upon reading ‘Superheroics.’ Although each gave their own answer, the recurring similarity was how it had felt like talking to a friend, someone who cares. And that was my goal: to offer the reader love & compassion, especially those not lucky enough to have had a loving parent or guardian when growing up, someone that protected them and guided them along this journey called life. I wanted the reader to experience the way I’d felt when my dad taught me this. I hoped to make them feel better about themselves and remind them that they do matter.
My dad would often tell me to think of myself as a cup that can either be filled with mud or gold, depending on the choices and results of my actions. “But, as they say,” he’d add, “you can’t fill a cup that’s already full.” Our clients come to us filled with mud due to the painful and traumatic events they’ve experienced, one after another, eventually breaking them and their spirit, mudding (pun intended) their ability to see or think clearly. Their light has gone or, in some cases, never even had the chance to shine.
Client example: Born in prison, both parents young and heavy drug users, my client was put in foster care, abused by social workers and foster parents. He kept rebelling and misbehaving, and at age 15, he ran away from his final foster home and turned to the world of crime. Do you blame him? I don’t. He didn’t know any better, and had no one to take care of him or protect him from the evil of this world. Now, after replacing mud with gold, he’s focused on rebuilding his life, providing for his family and working hard at mastering his trade as a handyman.
(Photo: Muhammed Imraan)
Superheroics is meant to act as a guide in these tough times, helping you make better life choices despite your past, and become in tune with your inner superhero. For practical reasons I made it available on amazon as someone wanted to buy a hard copy. It would be quite expensive to buy it from me directly (with the printing price plus the shipping etc), so amazon was the more cost-effective option. It’s also available as a free download below.
I’m not sure what 2025 will bring, but, based on the past couple of years and the wonderful people I’ve met along the way, I dare to feel excited, hopeful and optimistic. I know positive change is possible, and, specialising in psychotic, post-psychotic and suicidal individuals, I am available for a chat. If this resonates with you or you know someone who might benefit from talking to me, please do get in touch.
Thank you.
“Time heals some wounds, but love heals them all.”
*Due to the printing process, the page numbers on the hard copy differ from those on the free download
“Working with Liv has been a pleasure – the work that she does as a Peer Supporter is crucial and her passion for it is inspiring.”
“Working with Liv has been a pleasure – the work that she does as a Peer Supporter is crucial and her passion for it is inspiring. When it comes to supporting clients, she has boundless empathy, energy and enthusiasm and I find that this motivates others and helps them to see what important work we all do, and the pride we should take in delivering it.
Liv and I have worked with some of the same clients now and the feedback from them that I get is always overwhelmingly positive – they often talk about how nice she is and how comfortable they feel talking to her from the get-go. It is rare to see someone who cares so much about the work they carry out coming from such a sincere place – Liv genuinely has a passion for helping others and it is evident that this is what she loves doing.
She always has a positive spin to contribute or a useful piece of information to share from her personal or professional history that helps one to think more deeply and more laterally about someone’s circumstances and how best to offer support.”
– Isobelle Johnson, Criminal Justice Community Link Worker, Together for Mental Wellbeing Community Liaison & Diversion Service (West Cluster)
“Liv gives everything she has to everything she does, be it supporting people she works with or advocating for her clients as a Peer Supporter”
“I work at Together for Mental Wellbeing’s Criminal Justice Team as a Community Link Worker with Liv as a Peer Supporter. Liv has demonstrated via online and in-person interactions what a pure-hearted and amazing Peer Supporter she is.
When offering advice to clients on their well-being, Liv is a great listener, empathetic and helpful. Liv is the most pleasant individual to work with overall; she is kind and supportive. Liv gives everything she has to everything she does, be it supporting people she works with or advocating for her clients as a Peer Supporter – she gives it her all.
Liv has been honest and committed to the practice of Peer Support. Sharing her personal experience with us has not only benefited me personally, but also other CLWs who are advocating for and promoting Peer Support.
Being with Liv is always an enjoyable experience since she is happy and there for others. Anytime I am allocated a new case and they have requested peer support, I inform them of Liv because I know that they would love and appreciate her input as a Peer Supporter. Liv truly is a star and always delivers her best!”
– Leverlyne Abbey, Criminal Justice Community Link Worker, Together for Mental Wellbeing Community Liaison & Diversion Service (East & West Cluster), Uxbridge Magistrates Court & Willesden Magistrates Court
“more impactful than any other MH service I have been prescribed…
literally, saving people at their most vulnerable”
“Hello Christine, I want to say thank you for all the work you, and others do at Together. Within this turbulent and political environment we find ourselves in, I do honestly believe that without Together, individuals who find themselves in dark times should never be alone, and the rehabilitation the Peer Supporters (namely Liv) provide, has been more impactful than any other MH service I have been prescribed. Therefore, to me, Together is vitally important and its funding, crucial.
Since working with Liv, she has shown me such compassion, inspires motivation, and ensures safety is paramount. There is something special about Liv, she’s a true empath which is frighteningly uncommon these days. Her knowledge of the system is a gift, and for people like myself who find ourselves on the wrong side, and struggle to understand the implications and actions our mental ill health can manifest, having someone like Liv to support to help navigate through that, has been a blessing.
As a result, I feel a lot more able to identify the potential causes and triggers in my aggression and nihilism, to appreciate and have gratitude for the things I have in life, which was our focus. I seemed to have lost that over the decades and my respect for humanity was at an all-time low. Liv turned me around and explained that life doesn’t have to be that way, and I will be better for it.
Since working with Liv, she has enabled me to confidently say, I am now a much better person. My outlook, my mood, and acknowledgment of myself has vastly improved over the course of the months. Helping me to build a new framework to build upon, while I cannot speak for others, I strongly believe only a person who has had personal experiences themselves can do so vividly, appreciating all the nuances and complexities of MH.
As we approach (politically and socially) complex times, having someone who treats me as a person and not just someone who has MH issues, is something the NHS and other services get wrong. So I thank you, Liv and the other Peer Supporters for their work for, literally, saving people at their most vulnerable.”
“Liv is one of the most dedicated individuals I have had the pleasure of working with in the support of my recovery, she is a true asset to society and more specifically to those who need the support she provides.”
“I have been working with Liv since January, the peer support she has provided me with during this time has been truly outstanding.
Upon initially engaging with Together, I found myself overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and shame which previously led to irrational, volatile and sometimes violent projections.
Reflecting on this past year, I have observed a positive change in my capacity to comprehend and manage my emotions more effectively.
This has been a direct result of Liv’s ability to help me decode and reconfigure my internal discourse, which regrettably gets the better of me.
While new challenges emerge daily, knowing that Liv is there to offer support during our conversations reassures me that I have someone who really understands my circumstances and can articulate them in a manner that resonates with me whilst providing numerous coping techniques, whether that is referring to SuperHeroics or from the learning of personal experience.
I believe the latter is absolutely critical in creating an open and safe dialogue rather than having a formulaic one, which I have experience with from previous services where I often felt discouraged by or disengaged from entirely.
Liv is one of the most dedicated individuals I have had the pleasure of working with in the support of my recovery, she is a true asset to society and more specifically to those who need the support she provides.”
“the world would be better if more people like Liv were around to help people to the right path”
“Before I met Liv I started my time generally stressed and depressed, I was lost without purpose living life very isolated. I felt I was just sitting around doing nothing if I was not at work, my life was very much work, sit alone, work, sit alone and repeat. I was talking to another team who was supposed to help me with my issues, but they made me even more self-hating of myself causing me to do a lot of self-harm.
When I was assigned to Liv she did not act high and mighty or that she knows best or that she is perfect. She introduced herself to me as a friendly person who wants to move at a pace that suits me. Over time we talked about so many things. World issues, music, hobbies, nature and many other things. This made me feel I had a general friend supporter who knew me and I got to know her. This made me feel easier at talking about all things on my mind and we discussed her father’s philosophy of super-heroics. A policy of how doing good things for others no matter how small can affect your own mental health and those around you. I would talk about small things that wound me up that I hated and she would ask how these would make me feel angry negative and it would also make the person I was aiming to feel.
Overall she has spoken to me about many things, of how I act around people, coached me to be better at socialising with even the small things and how to cope with stress more, this has enabled me to try being a lot more social with others and has helped me be less angry and depressed at myself and try always work to better those around me and myself as both benefit each other.
Honestly, it was nice having someone who I could talk to, it felt like I had a real friend in my life, something I felt like I never really had. And her guidance and wisdom has pushed me to keep striving to try and keep doing better. I have learned a lot of lessons from her and I continue to put these to use. I would strive not only to keep pushing super-heroics on myself but to those around me. The benefits to myself and those around me I really can’t stress enough and how nice it was to have someone that worked at my pace and just worked with me to give a general push in the right direction.
The world would be a better place if many people could just be open minded to supporting each other. In fact the world would be better if more people like Liv was around to help people to the right path in life by guiding and supporting. So, I say thank you Liv, you really have been a light helping me navigate my life in the right direction.”
“I thought I knew it all but the talks we had gave me hope.”
“Dear Christine, as you may be aware I was found not guilty of two accounts of GBH.
Regarding Liv, I personally as a troubled person want to thank you for the support I received from Liv.
Having spent many years behind prison doors and in mental hospitals over the past 40 years I have never shared stuff inside my mind with what I shared with Liv.
There were times over the past 18 months on bail that I have wanted to end it all. But having that weekly session, not connected to me as a friend or family, I believe is the reason I’m still here.
I find it hard to trust people with the way my life turned out over the months I let my wall down. A brick at a time I confess but even when sectioned with no one to talk and help, Liv was always there.
I thought I knew it all but the talks we had gave me hope. I believe Liv came into my life to guide me through this horrid time. But most of all taught me to love the alleged victim which at the beginning I found hard to comprehend.
I could talk forever about the support and kindness you and Liv have shown me, but just want to say from the depth of my spirit: Thank you both! I wish you good luck for the future. You saved my life and thanks for your guidance.”
“Our conversations have changed my thinking and view of the world for the better, and I found a purpose!”
“Thank you, Liv, you angel, for turning up in my life after my husband’s passing, when I got sick and everything fell apart, and when I needed you after my breakdown.
You and your superheroic message are a blessing to everyone, and may God bless you for bringing joy back into my life.
Our conversations have changed my thinking and view of the world for the better, and I found a purpose!
I want to start a bereavement group in my area for people who have lost a loved one, and I got inspired by you Liv, and your kindness. Bless you, child.”
“like a magician she instantly changed my mindset…
Liv is one of those people you need to meet to believe they exist, and I’d recommend her services to everyone who needs them.”
“When I started talking with Liv I couldn’t get out of bed, leave the house and function in society. After I snapped everyone abandoned me and nobody understood what I was going through. Even my partner of 15 years told me she couldn’t be with a ‘lunatic,’ and took our dog and friends with her turning them against me, everybody calling me toxic, crazy, difficult and unstable.
The truth is I was all those things because I was in pain and wanting to disappear, but instead of helping someone in need they just left me to rot ignoring me, my calls, texts, emails and cries for help.
Then I got paired up with Liv. I had no expectations whatsoever, but she came highly recommended, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try and see what the fuss was about.
After listening to me complain and explain for the first 30 minutes, like a magician she instantly changed my mindset like a tuner tuning me up, and in the first session she shifted my mindset from ‘a total loser’ to ‘not a total loser,’ and with time thanks to Superheroics made me believe I could be a winner.
With patience she guided me through my many mental health crises, and each time I’d feel less and less bad. Now I’m feeling much better working as a gardener enjoying my life, going out, doing sports, and it’s thanks to Liv!
Liv is one of those people you need to meet to believe they exist, and I’d recommend her services to everyone who needs them. Especially those who feel lonely, isolated because I know she’ll be able to help and guide them to a better mindset. I wish Liv all the best and I’m looking into social work on the side to give back. Thank you Liv.”
“In my darkest moments she’d always manage to make me laugh.
Liv is a superhero who helps others”
“My daughter, 17, has suffered from an eating disorder since she was 12, and after a few sessions with Liv, her attitude to food, and to life in general, has already drastically changed for the better.
Now, she eats every day and is going through this recovery without feeling guilty. It’s as if Liv removed guilt out of the equation so that my daughter could think and feel better.
I asked my daughter to describe her experience, and she wrote: ‘Liv is someone you can share your secrets with, and who always knows what to say to make you feel better. She makes everything sound simple, she makes you feel good, and she’s also very funny. In my darkest moments she’d always manage to make me laugh. Liv is a superhero who helps others, and when I finish school, I’d like to help others too.’”
