ALMOST four decades after establishing its services in Fermanagh, Action Mental Health (AMH) continues to provide a lifeline for local people facing mental health challenges.<\/p>\n
As part of the \u2018Herald\u2019s monthly \u2018Making a Difference\u2019 feature, we look this week at how\u00a0AMH has evolved significantly since its beginnings in Downpatrick in 1963, starting\u00a0as a small service at a time of heavy stigma around mental illness, and growing\u00a0into one of the North\u2019s leading mental health charities.<\/p>\n
Today, it delivers a broad range of programmes combining therapeutic support, education, employability training and wellbeing services.<\/p>\n
Its New Horizons centres, located across nine sites including Enniskillen, offer structured programmes ranging from vocational skills and accredited learning to creative therapies and confidence-building workshops.<\/p>\n
AMH New Horizons Fermanagh was established in 1991 and was initially based in Enniskillen town centre, mobinh its current site in Cherrymount Road, Drumcoo, the following year.<\/p>\n
Alongside this, AMH also provides counselling for children, young people and adults, as well as wellbeing initiatives delivered in schools, workplaces and community settings.<\/p>\n
While the organisation\u2019s reach is wide, its approach is centred on the individual, supporting people to recover at their own pace.<\/p>\n
Finding hope<\/p>\n
For one Newtownbutler man in his late 30s, Don McDermott, the organisation has marked a turning point in a journey shaped by isolation, anxiety and recovery.<\/p>\n
After being referred to Action Mental Health in 2024, Don sought support for severe isolation and anxiety, having reached a point where even leaving home felt difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe counsellor thought AMH would be the right place for me, not just for professional support, but to be around others who understood what I was going through,\u201d he told the \u2018Herald.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019s first impression of AMH was uncertainty. Entering a new environment during a period of poor mental health was a challenge in itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you find your feet, you realise everyone there has their own reasons for attending,\u201d HE SAID.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody is judging you. It becomes a safe space where you can do as much or as little as you\u2019re able for that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building confidence<\/p>\n
That sense of safety, he said, is central to recovery.<\/p>\n
Don began with pottery sessions, which quickly became an important anchor in his routine.<\/p>\n
The hands-on nature of the activity helped him focus and step away from intrusive thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u201cPottery was brilliant because it gave me something tangible to concentrate on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t stuck inside my own head all the time. I was making something, learning something, and that made a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
As his confidence grew, he joined computer classes, personal development, exercise, yoga and Tiffany glass art, rebuilding structure and routine, attending creative writing workshops sharing poetry publicly at Enniskillen Library.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, writing has been incredibly helpful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows me to express things I couldn\u2019t otherwise put into words. That\u2019s been a huge part of getting better.\u201d >crosshead<<\/p>\n
Don believes attitudes towards mental health are improving, but says men still face particular barriers when it comes to speaking openly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve come a long way, but there\u2019s still a stigma for men,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this old idea that being \u2018manly\u2019 means burying your emotions and getting on with things. That if you admit you\u2019re struggling, you\u2019ve failed in some way. That kind of thinking needs to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking about my own experiences is important to me now. It shows that it\u2019s okay to ask for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour difficulties don\u2019t define you. They\u2019re something you\u2019re dealing with, not who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over time at AMH, he has gradually rebuilt confidence and begun re-engaging with everyday life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first went, I was frozen in a way. I couldn\u2019t see how I would get back to normal life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut slowly, step by step, things started to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no pressure there. You\u2019re allowed to move at your own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Support<\/p>\n
He says the impact of AMH comes not only from structured programmes but from the combination of professional support, peer understanding and simple human connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might sound simple, but it has changed my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helped me get back to living again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don is also quick to praise the staff who supported him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey go above and beyond what you would expect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like just a job to them, they genuinely care. Services like this are vital, especially in places like Fermanagh, where people need accessible support close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALMOST four decades after establishing its services in Fermanagh, Action Mental Health (AMH) continues to provide a lifeline…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[221905,13181,102,65251,1906,6623,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-661707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-action-mental-health","tag-fermanagh","tag-health","tag-making-a-difference","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}