Why Choose PsyCare UK?
We are a vibrant community that fits into the festival ethos. Although many of our volunteers have professional qualifications which assist with welfare provision, one of our many strengths is our volunteers are seasoned festival goers who create a warm, empathetic, and compassionate environment. We are very selective about our crew and train them to a high standard. All our volunteers are committed to helping people and are not just looking for a free ticket. Our team includes doctors, psychiatrists, mental health and drug workers, therapists, and many other skilled professionals.
Peer Support
Our peer-based approach to support and education means we ‘speak the language’ – we are approachable, trusted and the information we give is credible. We can reduce the risk of overdose and harmful drug interactions by providing comprehensive harm reduction advice and drug information to festival attendees. To extend our reach we offer workshops and flyering to interact with festival goers and engage them in issues around safer partying.
Crisis Prevention
We are experts in managing the challenging psychological states which can emerge as a result of drug use, especially psychedelic drugs. These can prove difficult for festivals to manage; requiring a large number of personnel from medics, security, and event organisers. We pride ourselves on our ability to manage these situations to result in the best outcome for all involved. By providing intensive support for challenging presentations we are able to reduce police involvement and psychiatric hospitalisations. This can help avoid the negative press and licensing issues that are associated with the involvement of emergency services (as well as ensure a better outcome for the individuals involved)
Purpose Built Spaces
We are able to provide our own purpose-built spaces which take into account ‘set & setting’ to create a calming, warm atmosphere suited to a festival environment rather than standard white tents which can seem clinical and make people uncomfortable.
Mental Health
We are the first welfare service specialising in psychedelic crisis in the UK, but we’re also highly skilled at dealing with other legal/illegal drug issues as well as psychological, emotional and behavioural problems.