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  • 40 years of history
  1. About us
  2. Our Story

40 years of history

2023 marks 40 years since Bipolar UK was founded. Since our formation in the early 1980s, we’ve had a proud tradition of offering support to everyone affected by bipolar.

‘Celebrating 40 years of peer support for people affected by bipolar’


A pair of pioneers

1982

Sheila Woodland of Wimbledon, South London put an ad in ‘The Guardian’ asking people affected by manic depression (as bipolar was then called) to get in touch.

Soon after, Philomena Germing from Barnes, London (whose husband had manic depression) placed similar adverts in ‘The Times’, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ and ‘The Observer’ newspapers. When the two women found out about each other, they decided to join forces.


The Manic Depression Fellowship

1983
February

The 180 respondents to these ads were contacted individually to suggest they meet to form a society. And so, The Manic Depression Fellowship (today, called Bipolar UK) was founded on 25 February 1983 when the first meeting was held at Church House, Westminster Cathedral. 43 people attended.

A steering committee was set up with Sue Proctor from Cheshire as Chair.

Among the views shared, a number of common concerns and questions were raised:

  • GPs and psychiatrists were evasive about the illness
  • Conflicting advice was being offered by legal and medical professionals
  • Is manic depression inherited?

A report of the meeting included the following appeal: ‘We should work to dispel the stigma, secrecy and widespread ignorance of manic depression. Manic depressives should be more open about the condition and still find suitable jobs’.

May

The first newsletter was posted out to 200 people, calling for self-help groups to be set up, and also for funding, with the subscription set at £5 a year.

The Manic Depression Fellowship was also in correspondence with the recently formed National Schizophrenia Fellowship and Depressives Anonymous.

It was recorded that 86 letters were received about lithium and its effects.

October

By the time of the second newsletter in October, a new Chair was appointed, Michel Syrett.

Membership stood at 239 and there had been a good response to the pen friend scheme that had been introduced (an early version of remote peer support).


Expansion

1984 

Two open public meetings were held and there was a lot of publicity to recruit new members. Michel was instrumental with this drive – it helped that he worked as a writer on ‘The Times’!

In June, the Manic Depression Fellowship’s first peer support group met in Barnes in London at the home of two of the founders Alan Mitchell (who later also became the third Chair) and his wife Margaret, who lived with bipolar.

There were several news items about bipolar on the BBC, and in December a documentary series called 'The Claire Rayner Casebook’ featured the families of two Manic Depression Fellowship members.

1985

The Manic Depression Fellowship became a charity and opened up its first office in Richmond. A medical board of senior psychiatrists was created and by June that year, there were 52 groups all over the UK.

It was also a family affair. Sheila’s brother, Victor Keegan, a journalist at ‘The Guardian’, who is still a Statutory Member of Bipolar UK, was actively involved with the charity from the start.

Philomena’s husband, Gerry Germing, acted as the charity's first Treasurer and played a key role in the charity's growth during the first five years of its existence.

Notably, an early supporter and advisor of the charity at the time of its founding, was Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International, although he never served as a committee member.


A focus on peer support

1986

Open meetings were held in Bristol, Manchester, London, Birmingham and Exeter. 55 groups were established in England, there were six in Scotland, and four in Ireland.

Bob LeBaigue, the first group organiser played a pivotal role in this group activity, travelling at his own expense throughout Britain to help set up the groups.

Due to the geographically wide membership, a National Council elected on a regional basis was set up.

1989

The Manic Depression Fellowship received a grant of £15,000 that enabled the appointment of a professional director. This came after six years of massive strides forward – all achieved by volunteers and very limited funds.

1990s

Expansion continued with a new open-plan office in Elephant and Castle in London, and the recruitment of more staff.

Thanks to the charity’s fourth Chair, David Young, Spike Milligan, revered among comedians and a mental health trailblazer decades ahead of his time, became the first Patron and attracted some much-needed publicity.

The charity’s fifth Chair was David Guinness, from the notable brewing dynasty.


Growing pains

2000s

The Manic Depression Fellowship was renamed ‘MDF - The Bipolar Organisation’ to combine the old name with the new reality. This was due to a change in terminology by the medical profession who by now were calling manic depression bipolar disorder.

In 2006, through former Chair Michel Syrett, the charity was very involved with the screening of the two-part, award-winning BBC documentary ‘The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive’ written and presented by actor, comedian, broadcaster, writer and director Stephen Fry. Michel also wrote the booklet that was distributed by the BBC to accompany the documentary which was widely considered a turning point in the public’s understanding of mental illness and a significant step towards banishing some of stigma surrounding the condition.

During this decade the charity was in a perilous state on all fronts, with financial difficulties, poor management and a high turnover of Chairs of Trustees.


Turning a corner

2010

Thanks to the help of Professors Nick Craddock and Ian Jones from the Bipolar Disorder Research Network in Wales, the charity was able to stage its annual conference, which was almost cancelled due to lack of finances.

Robert Westhead was the Chair of Trustees at the time and recruited eight enthusiastic new trustees and appealed to long-term supporters, the Tudor Trust, to help save the charity.

The Tudor Trust was wonderfully supportive – they appointed and paid for a recruitment consultant to advertise in ‘The Guardian’ and elsewhere for a CEO and pledged to support their salary for the first two years. They also provided additional funds for the upkeep of the charity.

Dr Clare Dolman was appointed as the new Chair of Trustees.


Ch-ch-changes

2011

First on Clare’s agenda was to make use of the newly recruited, invigorated Board to raise funds and lure back some of the supporters the charity had lost through neglect.

By using Clare’s high-profile connections and good luck, the charity held a number of receptions hosted by Viscount Linley at Christies headquarters in St James in London.

During this time, the charity also publicly consulted on key strategic planning issues. The phenomenal response led to the development of a new five-year strategy and a new charity name – Bipolar UK, with new branding, logo and website to support the growing online community.

2011 - 2017

Thanks to the involvement and dedication of staff, trustees and volunteers, there was a comprehensive restructuring of the charity followed by the development and expansion of its services and communications in response to the rising demand for support. 

In 2017 CEO Suzanne Hudson was awarded an MBE for her work developing bipolar services.


A new era

2018

Simon Kitchen was appointed as the new CEO of Bipolar UK. His main goal was to restore stability after another period of financial turmoil. This was achieved by restructuring the staff team, refocusing the charity around its core mission of peer support and scaling up its support using digital technology.

In that critical year, the finances were restored thanks to the incredible generosity of two major donors and the long-standing support of a number of large trusts including City Bridge, Mary Kinross, Bupa and St James Place. The charity has continued to grow year on year ever since.

Guy Paisner was elected as the Chair of Trustees and still holds the position today.

Whilst a version of the eCommunity had existed for some time, the current format of the eCommunity, which currently has over 11,000 users was launched.

The Peer Support Line, which provides a 1-1 call back and an email service, was also launched.

2019 - 2022

At the forefront of the latest technological developments, thanks to Comic Relief and Futr.AI, Bipolar UK launched a chatbot in November 2019. This digital tool provides a rapid response to common questions and signposts visitors to the website for further information and support. All the responses were drafted by people with lived experience – combining AI and peer support.

Thanks to the investment in digital technology over the years in providing many of its services, Bipolar UK was able to adjust, survive and continue to provide peer support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, most notably switching peer support group meetings over to Zoom.

One of Simon’s most significant achievements so far has been to launch and lead the Bipolar Commission in 2021 with the dual aim of reducing the risk of suicide and transforming healthcare for people living with bipolar.

The Commission is co-chaired by Professor Guy Goodwin, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University, and Dr Clare Dolman, a researcher at King’s College London specialising in how bipolar affects women. The project is also supported by a dedicated team of commissioners.

To date, the Commission has published three reports and hosted two Bipolar Commission parliamentary receptions. 

In 2022, the charity launched its Mood Tracker app created by developer Andrew Thompson to help people living with bipolar record their daily mood, medications and emotions.


40th birthday celebrations

2023

Bipolar UK is the only national charity dedicated solely to people affected by bipolar. Without its campaigning and peer support services, thousands of people affected by bipolar would be left neglected and without a voice.

Bipolar UK has always been a small charity that aspires to punch above its weight in providing support and a voice for our community. Its success lies in mobilising the incredible talents and generosity of those affected by the condition.

Today, the charity is going from strength to strength, growing its community of people committed to empowering everyone affected by bipolar. This includes those living with the condition, their friends, families and colleagues, doctors, nurses, NHS Commissioners and trust funders, employers and journalists. Working together, change is finally happening.

It is an honour to be building on such a long tradition and to be celebrating 40 years of peer support for people affected by bipolar throughout 2023.

Bipolar UK remains committed through the trials and tribulations to continue to drive forward and achieve our vision that everyone affected by bipolar can live well and fulfil their potential.

To get involved with the birthday celebrations click here.


Last updated: 21 February 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published: 17th June, 2020

Updated: 1st March, 2023

Author: Michael Morgan

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