In episode 382 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Ian Goodship.

Ian is the CEO of an organisation called Man Time.

Based in Stone in Staffordshire, Man Time provides a weekly safe space for men to talk, connect and support each other.

The organisation was founded in 2022, and Ian was initially a service user, before taking over the organisation in 2023/24.

In this episode we first discuss Ian’s mental health journey, and his 30 year career in the Ambulance Service as a Paramedic.

Throughout that career, he witnessed many serious and traumatic incidents. Around 25 years ago, he had to deal with one fatality in particular. He thought nothing of it but around 10-12 years ago he began struggling significantly with his physical health and mental health.

His colleagues began to worry about him and he was recommended to contact the Staff Liaison Service and the Ambulance Service Charity for additional support.

He received some Talking Therapy off the back of it but it didn’t work for Ian.

He was then diagnosed with Complex-PTSD, or PTSI as we prefer to call it and accessed something called Rewind Therapy, which was hugely beneficial for him and his recovery journey.

From there, he took more positive steps with his recovery, joined Man Time and the rest is history.

For Man Time, we talk about its purpose, the role it plays in the men’s mental health space in Stone and their collaboration with friends of the pod Headspace FC.

As always, #itsokaytovent

TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains deep, detailed and at times graphic descriptions of fatalities and incidents a paramedic would encounter. This includes car accidents and suicides. Whilst we have taken care to remove details of some incidents, in order for you to understand the reality of the profession, we have kept some details in we wouldn’t normally do. Some listeners may find these details distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In episode 381 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Jide Ehizele.

Jide is a writer and the Founder of the SubStack South East London Psalms, where he writes about class, race, politics and faith.

Jide first came on in JCIP #252 in August 2024.

In Part 1 we discussed a range of topics, including growing up in South London in the mid-2000s, navigating gang culture in his school and local area, his Christian faith, race and even a nostalgic chat about gaming sites like Miniclip.

Since we last checked in, Jide has been commissioned to write articles on a range of outlets, including The New Statesman, The Spectator, Plough and UnHerd.

In Part 2, we discuss a range of new topics, including a term Jide has coined to describe a phenomenon happening within Gen-Z called ‘Urban Nihilism’, why he believes we are now living in an ‘Entertainment Society’ and an article he wrote on his SubStack called ‘The God of Efficiency’.

In Jide’s continued mental health journey, we discuss how and why he’s been kinder to himself in the last two years, his struggles with Seasonal Affective Disorder, (we prefer to use 'Sadness' instead of Disorder) how he’s learned to manage it better, and how his faith has helped him with it too.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can read all of the articles we discussed in full below:

• Urban Nihilism and the Search for Hope
• Urban Nihilism and the Spectacle of Disorder
• The Entertainment Society
• The God of Efficiency
• Which London Are We Talking About?

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In episode 380 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Luke Slater.

Luke is the Founder and CEO of Modern Tribes Collective C.I.C. and is a Wilderness Psychotherapist in training at time of recording.

Before he was a would-be psychotherapist, Luke used to work in sales for luxury brands, but didn’t find fulfilment in it.

He went travelling for 3-4 years on and off, teaching English to make ends meet and fund his travels. However, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic cut his travels short and he had to return to his home of the North West of England.

However, despite his love of travelling, Luke is not your stereotypical private school lad on his gap year, but a working-class lad from a council estate in Manchester.

We came across Luke through his work with great friends of VENT and the podcast Mandem Meet Up. Luke was initially a service user of MMU and a facilitator of their Talking Circles before CEO Jamie Dennis asked Luke if he wanted to get involved in their youth programme, Youtdem.

Luke helped develop the programme, created the right group dynamic and shaped the conversations they wanted to have with the young men.

In this episode we discuss Luke’s professional career, what the role of a wilderness psychotherapist entails vs a traditional therapist, the skills he’s learned along the way and his work with Youtdem.

For Luke’s mental health journey, we discuss social class, how travelling expanded his horizons beyond his council estate, and the life and death of his father, who died when Luke was just 21 years old. His dad was 44 when he died.

Luke was studying for a Psychology degree at university when his dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. His dad would live six months before he died.

Luke wanted to use the learnings from his degree to navigate his grief. We discuss the addiction issues his Dad had throughout Luke’s childhood, how he feels about his grief now vs when his dad died and the legacy he is hoping to leave for his Dad through becoming a psychotherapist.

As always, #itsokaytovent

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