A Place To Be Heard

Group Meetings

We host regular meetings in St Denys Community Centre in Southampton on the first Wednesday of each month. The community centre is a short walk away from St Denys train station and has ample free parking.

Due to current conditions with COVID-19 we are not holding meetings at St Denys at the moment, please get in contact with us as we are holding 2-1 virtual check-ins on Wednesday evenings. We will keep you updated when this changes. 

We welcome anyone of any background, whether you’ve been diagnosed with an eating disorder or body dysmorphia or not; a worry or concern is enough!

We Believe Support Should Be For Anyone Who's Struggling

WHO WE SUPPORT

At Acacia Dreams we mainly talk in terms of eating and body image difficulties and there’s a big reason for this. We want to be inclusive of everyone on their individual journeys; a slight worry or concern is enough!

Mostly, when we say what we’re about, many assume we’re a space for people with diagnoses of eating disorders or body dysmorphia. Additionally, the first thoughts that we’ve encountered is that of supporting only Anorexia or Bulimia. We decided to create the image below to give an idea of the scope of what we cover.

Who We Support Visual Guide

Looking At The Bigger Picture…

Healthy Thoughts & Behaviours

You may identify as living mainly with healthy thoughts and behaviours but are concerned that thoughts and behaviours are shifting towards the eating and body image difficulties side or you may identify with some of them already.

 

Eating and Body Image Difficulties

You may identify with living with eating and body image difficulties but could also identify with the healthy thoughts & behaviours, conversely you may question whether there may be a need for a diagnosis or wanting to reach out for further help.

 

Official or Unofficial Diagnosis

You may have been diagnosed with an eating disorder or body dysmorphia and actively struggling, are leaving or waiting treatment, or you may be in recovery but are worried about set backs or relapse.

 

Our View
Wherever you fall, we believe in treating everybody equally and all are welcome here.

 

Note:
Official Diagnoses are those recognised by the DSM-V and Unofficial Diagnoses are those that are known in the media like Orthorexia, Bigorexia etc. which may fall under an Official Diagnosis

We Believe Support Should Be For Anyone Who's Struggling

WHO WE SUPPORT

At Acacia Dreams we mainly talk in terms of eating and body image difficulties and there’s a big reason for this. We want to be inclusive of everyone on their individual journeys; a slight worry or concern is enough!

Mostly, when we say what we’re about, many assume we’re a space for people with diagnoses of eating disorders or body dysmorphia. Additionally, the first thoughts that we’ve encountered is that of supporting only Anorexia or Bulimia. We decided to create the image below to give an idea of the scope of what we cover.

Don't Want To Come On Your Own?

That’s okay! If you feel more comfortable having someone to support you at the meetings then you’re more than welcome to bring them along.  Due to safeguarding restrictions we request that if you’re 16/17 that you bring someone over the age of 18 with you.

We are also looking to support those who support people with their difficulties and have an online group at the moment.  Take a look at the Know Someone Who’s Struggling Page for more info.

#thepowerofbeingheard

Over To You!
Active Listening Beyond Acacia Dreams

In our groups we use Active Listening to ensure we are really listening to what people have got to say so that we can best assist them.

We want people to rise up the the challenge and embrace #ThePowerOfBeingHeard by taking the practice of Active Listening Further. With Time To Talk changing the way people are talking about mental health our community need to come together and make sure we’re hearing what people have to say. You might even find that this helps you improve relationships with your family, friends and colleagues!

Let us know how you’ve found the challenge by using #thepowerofbeingheard and tagging one of our social media accounts.

Other Work

Additionally, we periodically organise workshops surrounding mental health and well-being, community events and talks from health professionals and influencers. If you are a professional looking to get involved in some capacity let us know! You can also see if our safe spaces and places are of interest to you here.

We have a network of people from a variety of disciplines (alternative and conventional therapies) so we can signpost people open to exploring these options.