Our Story
Free Your Mind CIC was founded in 2013 by Natasha Benjamin after Natasha herself suffered a mental health breakdown following the fallout of her own lived experience of witnessing Domestic Abuse at home. Natasha is not only our founder, but our Managing Director and Lead Practitioner, having helped thousands of children herself in the last ten years. Natasha says “All children and young people witnessing Domestic Abuse are being emotionally abused”.
Free Your Mind CIC is a small, not-for-profit grassroots organisation, specialising in providing bespoke therapy for child victims of Domestic Abuse and Violence. We are currently one of the only organisations in the UK that focuses specifically on children and young people who have witnessed Domestic Abuse and Violence. Our current focus predominantly are in the London Boroughs of Redbridge & Waltham Forest, and the City of Birmingham.
In addition to therapy, we also run focus groups during half term and holiday activity programmes during the summer holidays for our young service users. Please find more information about the services we provide for young children/people, adults and families here.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month Step Challenge:
Antonia and Claire from Free Your Mind CIC will be participating in a Step Challenge by reaching their goal to hit 155,000 from the 1st of October- 31st of October 2024. Which will result in hitting 310,000 steps together by the end of October, for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
We want to raise £155 each and hit the goal of £310 that will go towards travel expenses for 2 young children/people to our Safe Space/Therapy room and provide 6 therapy sessions with a trained practitioner from Free Your Mind.
It can take a victim SEVEN TIMES to leave an abusive relationship, which can be scary and sometimes fatal if the perpetrator is aware. Each day brings uncertainty, never knowing what might happen next when the victim and their child/children have left.
In the UK alone, more than 1.8 million children suffer from the effects of Domestic Abuse and Violence. This can manifest negatively in their physical and mental health into adulthood.
From April 2023-March 2024 we have delivered approximately 2,808 hours of therapy, please read further from our Impact Report.
"I'm talking about my feelings much more now. I sleep better now since I’m not worrying so much."- From our young service user
So many young individuals need support and we would like to give them an opportunity to receive it. Please help us with any amount to achieve this. Thank you so much in advance. We appreciate you! :0)
Donation Breakdown for £310:
- £5 x 2 for travel to get to our Safe Space/Therapy room
- £150 x 2 for 6 one-to-one therapy sessions with our trained practitioner