Liselle Joslyn, Aspace Therapy
Meet Liselle Joslyn, a former teacher, now therapist and the owner of Aspace Therapy – a creative mental health service offering therapy to young people from deprived areas of London. After attending the SSE programme, Liselle discovered funding avenues, the legal implications of running a CIC and how to cost and price her sessions and workshops.
In a nutshell:
- Co-founder: Liselle Joslyn
- Organisation Name: Aspace Therapy (GIC) is a creative mental health service offering therapy to young people from deprived areas of London. Aspace Therapy helps young people between the ages of 7 and 25 by providing: creative workshops supporting children experiencing difficulty at school; one- on- one mental health support; group counselling sessions and qualified and appropriate supervision.
- Business model: Funding applications, grants and consulting work
- SSE programme: SSE Haringey Start Up 2022
- SSE location: London
“At Aspace Therapy, everyday mental health is just as important as physical health, and we strive to debunk the myths about mental health issues. Our mission is to transform the hearts and minds of young people by making access affordable and sustainable, and supporting individuals to reach their full potential. ”
Liselle worked in inner London boroughs over the last two decades as a teacher and now as a therapist, so, she understands how people from the global majority are sometimes treated by the authorities and public services. She worked within an A&E setting at St Thomas Hospital with Oasis charity helping young people find their way out of gangs and away from violence and knife crime.
“I have seen the need first-hand and would like to be a positive change by creating a provision that tackles early prevention.”
She completely understands how mental health provision is overstretched and oversubscribed in London. It is her desire – and Aspace Therapy’s goal – for psychotherapy to become accessible to marginalised communities.
About the Programme.
Liselle attended the Haringey Social Entrepreneurs Start Up programme in 2022, which helped her understand funding avenues, legal implications of running a CIC and how to cost and price her sessions and workshops.
One of the most useful aspects of the course according to Liselle were the group interactions and activities which helped her with problem solving and working through situations.
The speakers, the connection with others as well as the coaching sessions held at Linklaters office were other highlights of the programme.
The session at Linklaters was so positive that she felt energised and encouraged to:
- run a cohesive pilot
- approach local primary schools
- applied for funding
- shoot some video footage
- send a video promo out to her funders.
Top tip for social entrepreneurs:
“Keep dreaming big. There are others with the same vision – there is space for all of us to make a difference.”