01722 325 294
Would you like to be
a volunteer listener for the Listening Place?
Trainee Listeners are asked to attend five evenings of training in listening.
The next course will be on Tuesdays:
April 22nd and 29th and May 6th, 13th and 20th
from 7pm to 9.15pm
at Salisbury Methodist Church,
St Edmund’s Church Street, SP1 1EF.
To register for the course:
Email: salisburylisteningplace@gmail.com
Online: www.thelisteningplace.org.uk
or telephone 01722 325 294.
Please can you help us publicise our service?
We know that there are many people who would benefit by coming along to The Listening Place to talk through their worries, concerns and problems. You may know someone yourself. Maybe they need your help to take a step through the door. Please bring them for coffee one Wednesday or Saturday morning when they could have an informal chat to a Listener and decide if it’s for them.
Or perhaps you could help us publicise our service by:
If you are willing to help in this way, please get in touch and we will get posters and/or leaflets to you.
Contact Jill by text or phone: 07718 796 533
Or email: salisburylisteningplace@gmail.com or thelakemans@hotmail.co.uk
The Listening Place is a free confidential drop in service, for face-to-face appointments. It is open on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, 10am-12noon and Monday evenings from 5.30pm-7.30pm at Salisbury Methodist Church, St Edmunds Church Street, Salisbury SP1 1EF.
You talk – We listen
Celebrating 20 Years of Listening
Salisbury’s own ‘Listening Place’ celebrated 20 years of listening to the local community on Tuesday 10th September with a cake and an interesting talk given by Caroline Cavanagh, Anxiety Specialist, titled ‘Anxiety is a Gift’.
Sue Robbins, Manager of The Listening Place welcomed the packed audience, which included Listeners, both past and present. She recalled the struggle to get the whole enterprise off the ground and how determined the Founders of The Listening Place were to realise their vision of a free, accessible service where people from the local community could be listened to without interruption or judgement.
The Rev Canon Ann Long, one of the original Listeners, described how she followed in the footsteps of the late Julia Waters who was inspired to establish The Listening Place. She said it had been a privilege to work alongside those Listening and being Listened to. Sue thanked Ann and also presented Mary Mitchell, who was retiring after 20 years of service, with a gift and flowers, in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to The Listening Place.
Caroline Cavanagh, who donated her talk in memory of her father, followed with a lively and challenging talk, ‘Anxiety is a Gift’. She gave the audience three key ways to transform anxiety (or fear) into positive energy in our own lives. Firstly, by considering whether the risk is real or imaginary. Secondly by taking small steps out of our comfort zone to challenge the perceived risk and thirdly by ‘flipping’ negative thoughts into positive ones. Most ‘what if?’ thoughts are negative and it’s easy to fall down the negative ‘rabbit hole’ and become anxious. Given practice, anxiety could be seen as a gift, by using it to train our minds to think positively. Many questions were posed by the audience in response and Caroline engaged in a discussion of the points raised. As a ‘thank you’ for being the speaker, Caroline was presented with a basket of Fairtrade goods by Sue Robbins.
The evening ended with the cutting of the Anniversary cake, light refreshments and an opportunity to chat with Caroline and each other.
The Listening Place is based at Salisbury Methodist Church in St Edmunds Church St, Salisbury SP1 1EF. It provides a free confidential drop-in service on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, 10am – 12noon and Monday evenings 5.30pm – 7.30pm. Alternatively, appointments can be made by phoning 01722 325 294 within these hours, or by leaving a message on the answer phone. Or by emailing: salisburylisteningplace@gmail.com
For further information: www.thelisteningplace.org.uk
Caroline Cavanagh, Anxiety Specialist helps people to understand anxiety and to use this knowledge to increase mental resilience and performance.
Caroline is a Professional Speaker, Published Author, National Award-Winning Therapist, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Master NLP Practitioner.
Above all she’s a lady who loves to help people feel mentally stronger.
For more information: www.carolinecavanagh.co.uk
The 20th Anniversary Cake
The Rev’d Canon Ann Long
The Rev’d Dr Mark Cheetham, Superintendent Minister, Salisbury Methodist Church with Sue Robbins, Manager of The Listening Place, Caroline Cavanagh, Anxiety Specialist and The Rev’d Canon Ann Long, Founder Member of The Listening Place.
Sue Robbins, Manager of The Listening Place presenting a basket of Fairtrade goods to Caroline Cavanagh, Guest Speaker
Sue Robbins, Manager of The Listening Place with Mary Mitchell, retiring Listener after 20
The Listening Place 20th Anniversary Christmas Tree was displayed at the Christmas Tree Festival 2024 at St Thomas’s Church and afterwards in the foyer of Salisbury Methodist Church. Apart from generating a great deal of interest and publicity for The Listening Place, the event itself was a resounding success again. 12,000 visitors from the local area, different parts of the country and visitors from as far away as America and Australia helped to raise a massive £22,000 for local charities.
Awareness Raising Market Stall
On Saturday 30th September Listeners from The Listening Place manned a market stall to raise awareness of their work. It was hailed ‘a great success’ by Publicity Officer, Jill Lakeman. She said “We had a brilliant day. Members of the public visited the stall and we were able to explain our service. Some expressed interest in training to become Listeners and some people came up to say ‘thank you’ for the help they had received from The Listening Place. That was particularly heartwarming.”
Established nearly 20 years ago, The Listening Place provides a friendly and safe place where people can share whatever is on their mind with a Trained Listener. Listeners don’t interrupt, advise or judge but, by listening, can often help to find a way forward. The service is completely free and confidential. No notes are taken or kept and only first names are used.
‘Now, more than ever, people need our Listening service’, commented Sue Robbins, Manager of The Listening Place. ‘We are probably unique in Salisbury, as we provide walk-in, face-to-face sessions, where people can talk through their problems, worries or concerns’