Hugarafl

Hugarafl is an organization of people who have experienced mental illness. At the core of Hugarafl’s work stands the ideology of empowerment, that is put into practice through every activity and interaction, either formal or informal. Peer support is one of the main tools we use for empowerment and recovery. Hugarafl is an activity center where users can enjoy several forms of service and facilities, including personal interviews, group meetings, exercise and artwork. Members of Hugarafl work on recovery by sharing their experiences of living with mental illness. Besides the activities in its center, Hugarafl works to be visible in the community, to erase the stigma against people with mental illness and to influence the mental health services. This is done through a series of public actions, campaign and events, visibility in the press and social media and educational programmes for high school students and companies. Young Minds is an informal group inside Hugarafl for young people aged 18-30 who want to meet others in similar situations, discuss well-being, recovery, empowerment and peer support. Young people also work on projects, organize events, open discussions on mental health and meet in social situations. Hugarafl also participates in and coordinates a number of international projects supported by the EU. Participation in these projects has involved, among other things, organizing courses with foreign trainers, going abroad in training, developing study materials and board games and participating in other events in Iceland and abroad. Activities in our center: • Groups for study, discussion and experience sharing about empowerment, recovery, trauma, dependency, the mental health system; • Educational groups on psychology topics such as self-confidence, autonomy etc.; • Gestalt group therapy; • Yoga, mantra, gong relaxation, drum circle; • Music making and playing; • Coffee chat to facilitate connection between members; • Grassroots action group for active participation in the organization´s activity; • A weekly radio podcast on various mental health topics; • Movement, dancing; • Non-formal education on social and emotional topics.