Qualco UK celebrates World Mental Health Day in partnership with Harlequins at The Stoop

Qualco UK welcomed more than 60 clients and partners to its World Mental Health Awareness Day in partnership with Harlequins at The Stoop on Thursday 10 October. The event took place on World Mental Health Day, and it offered guests a variety of informal sessions to enhance their mental wellness.

The day kicked off with a mental health quiz in order to highlight some of the issues that impact it on a daily occurrence, and to encourage guests to speak out and be comfortable with the subject matter.

Hard hitting facts were revealed by Qualco UK’s head of sales, Jan-Michael Lacey; that one in four people in the UK every year suffer from a mental health problem and 90% of people with a mental health problem experience stigma and discrimination.

Former Royal Marines Commander and current head of business academy at Harlequins, Roderic Yapp, enthralled attendees with his Mental Health Resilience session. He explained how his experience in Afghanistan, Libya and Somalia still plays a vital role in his own mental wellbeing.

High pressure situations and quick decision making put Roderic at the top of the pile when it comes to understanding not only his own state of mind, but that of others, as he took attendees on a journey through the evolution of human psychology.

Guests enjoyed a Q&A with members of the men’s and women Harlequins teams, including Brett Heron, Santiago Botta, Deborah McCormack, Renaldo Bothma, Gill Bourke and Alex Dombrandt. The players revealed how they keep their own mental wellbeing in check, both on and off the pitch.

The group divided into six teams to take part in a tag rugby world cup tournament on the hallowed turf at The Stoop. Members of the Harlequins team led the warm-up and coached the players. Teams included Ireland, Japan, Argentina, Namibia, England and Scotland, with Japan coming out on top to claim the competition by beating Namibia in the final.

Qualco UK’s managing director, Christian Jacob commented, “Thank you to everyone who attended our Mental Health Awareness Day, and thank you to the team at Harlequins who gave our clients and partners such an insightful day of sessions on a topic that is often hard to talk about. We were delighted to offer the opportunity for our guests to bolster their mental, emotional and physical resilience at the impressive home stadium of the Harlequins.”