TV and radio presenter Katie Thistleton says she 'couldn't be more impressed' after visiting our services in Grimsby this week.
Katie joined us to meet staff, tour facilities and speak at our Annual General Meeting.
A TV and radio presenter, journalist and author, Katie is best known for her work on BBC Radio 1, BBC One’s Morning Live and CBBC.
Passionate about mental health awareness, she is an ambassador for charities Place2be and YoungMinds and is currently training to be a counsellor.
Meeting staff and touring our sites, Katie commented on the innovative support provided: “I could not be more impressed with NAViGO services. I’ve never seen mental health facilities like it and I’ve visited a lot of mental health facilities.”
The NAViGO Annual General Meeting demonstrates best practice, new projects and achievements in mental health.
This year’s event had a young people focus after we were successfully appointed the new provider of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in North East Lincolnshire earlier this year — one of the key reasons why Katie was invited to the event.
She added: “I’ve always been really passionate about children’s mental health. I used to be a kid’s TV presenter and meet kids all the time and see in them the same signs of the same mental health problems that I experienced. So I just always wanted to get involved in mental health and try and make a difference.”
NAViGO chief executive Simon Beeton added: “Katie is so passionate about mental health awareness and is so open and engaging when discussing issues affecting young people as well as her own personal mental health journey – it’s been lovely meeting her and hearing what she has to say.”
Katie has written for Psychologies Magazine about issues regularly faced by twenty-somethings and hosted numerous documentaries for the BBC, on topics ranging from anti-depressants to the Kardashians, and recently a series called ‘I’ve Been There’ for the teen audience, on topics such as knife crime, cosmetic surgery, anxiety and depression.
Building on her ‘agony aunt’ experience, Katie’s debut book 'Dear Katie: Real Problems, Real Advice' was released in February 2018 and offers warm yet honest advice on the multitude of struggles the UK’s children are facing.
Our AGM was held at the Grimsby Auditorium and live streamed via YouTube on Thursday 28 September 2023.
