Suicide prevention charity to open Bristol centre

A suicide prevention charity that supports men is set to open three new centres.

Charity James' Place is expanding its operations with one of the centres opening in Bristol, Newcastle Gateshead and Birmingham.

The charity offers free therapy to men in suicidal crisis, and already operates in Liverpool and London.

Men typically receive six to eight face-to-face sessions with a trained therapist.

Ellen O'Donoghue, chief executive of James' Place, said: "We know that our model works and our aim is that by 2026, half the male population in England will be able to access our life-saving services.

"We've helped over 1,200 men to date with our short and focused one-to-one therapy and are determined to reach more men that need our help."

One client, Michael, contacted the charity when he was struggling after his mum died and felt the treatment really helped.

"My mental health issues began with the loss of my mum," he said.

"I just felt like everything was on top of me and I really just couldn't feel.

"If I drew a picture, I would have just been sat in the corner with a rock on top, just weighed down by things.

"Now, I feel so light, and a different person."

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