MMI Campfire Chats

The last few years have been tough. With covid restrictions in place, people have missed out on vital opportunities to form meaningful human connections. We all know that isolation can be damaging for our mental health, so we wanted to introduce something to support the entire veterinary community throughout this unpredictable time.

In 2021, we introduced our Campfire Chats – a safe space for the veterinary community to come together for informal discussions on some of the crucial issues affecting veterinary mental health and wellbeing. These chats consist of a panel of individuals, each of whom have a particular connection to the topic being discussed. The panellists share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences on the subject in question, whilst attendees can participate in the discussion as little or as much as they like.

We wanted to create a stress-free environment to allow people to learn from each other, support one another and find a sense of connection at a time when this is so vitally needed.

Since the first Campfire Chat in January 2021, we have hosted many sessions on a variety of different topics:

Series 1 topics:

• Online Communities and Beating Isolation
• Pandemic Parenting
• Chronic Health and Covid-19
• Supporting Students and New Graduates
• Leadership

Series 2 topics:

• Managing Mental Health and Menopause
• Combatting Climate Change Anxiety
• Men’s Mental Health
• Working Through Winter

Series 3 topics:

• Celebrating Diversity
• The Joy of Creativity
• Overcoming Self-Doubt and Stressing Out
• Identity – who am I away from work?
• Tackling Loneliness in a Hyperconnected World

Series 4 topics:

• Navigating Change
• Social Media and Mental Health
• Translating Words into Action: What could the future look like for BAME students and professionals?
• Letting Go of Perfect

We will be running a variety of Campfire Chats throughout the year, so do keep an eye on our events page.