2019-21 Annual Round-Up

Published: April 2021

This period for us was naturally dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and was a time where we had to adjust to operating almost entirely online.  Aware that mental health support cannot stop (especially during a global emergency), when our London in-person peer support sessions were shelved during the first national lockdown we tried to stay connected with everybody by hosting YouTube livestream events.  But we were also discussing internally whether it was realistic to reintroduce the peer support programme online, and in December began offering monthly virtual sessions – all of which have since quickly reached capacity, with substantial waiting lists forming for places.  We will monitor these lists in the coming months and, if necessary, look to offer additional sessions to meet the demand.  We also implemented internal peer support groups using this same format reserved for members of Unreal, to better look after the wellbeing of our trustees, board members and volunteers.

The charity performed similarly healthily in terms of our online presence.  Comparing the financial year 2019-20 to 2020-21, the number of visits to our website rose by approximately 235%, with overall page views up a similar 193%.  The feedback to our virtual peer support sessions has been overwhelmingly positive – one early attendee emailing us afterwards to say, “I cannot stress enough how positive and important an experience this was for me.  Finally, I had the chance to speak and listen in a forum of people who understand this condition.”

Recently, Unreal has been a co-applicant for a NIHR-funded study into specialised CBT for DPRD, which we are currently awaiting the outcome of.  Should this be approved and funded, the charity would be directly involved in a first-of-its-kind randomised control trial, involving the training of NHS clinicians to treat the condition.  The results of this study would hopefully pave the way for larger studies of this nature in the future.

We are now in the final stages of preparing to formally launch as a charity in May, when we will be hosting a live ‘webinar’ with our charity ambassadors for invited members of the press.  We hope that this will result in more media coverage for both the charity and the condition, as well as making Unreal ‘official’ in the eyes of the public.

One of our trustees, Joe Perkins, has also completed writing a self-help book for those living with DPRD this past year, which will be published globally by Jessica Kingsley Publishers – in conjunction with Unreal – later in 2021.  We hope this will be a much-needed new resource for those living with the condition.