These will be funded by a Safer Dorset Fund COVID-19 grant, provided by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Dorset.

The charity wanted to introduce the sessions after noticing a substantial increase in issues such as anxiety, panic, grief, stress, isolation, depression and anger during the COVID-19 outbreak, among people working for blue light and frontline services as well as members of the public.

The sessions will be provided virtually by an expert practitioner and will enable people taking part to recognise symptoms of mental health problems and provide them with coping skills to support wellbeing in their daily lives.

Each session focuses on a different area, including anxiety, stress, depression, grief and loss, anger, and loneliness.

Dorset Mind’s chief executive, Marianne Storey said, “Even before the COVID-19 situation, evidence stated that one in four people live with a diagnosable mental health condition. Mind recently reported that the coronavirus pandemic has caused ‘a mental heath emergency’.

“As we move past COVID-19, we know that the number of people affected in Dorset is high as we’ve witnessed a considerable rise in demand for our services. The size of the problem is extremely concerning – and we don’t believe we’ve seen the worse yet.

Those especially affected are those on the frontline – emergency service staff and key workers. We believe the key is to educate people at an early stage of their concerns – before if possible. By doing so, there is a chance that we can stop small issues becoming considerable problems.”

Anyone who wants to take part in the sessions should register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/dorset-mind-16061932967.

For more information about the support Dorset Mind offers across Dorset, please see https://dorsetmind.uk/.