Powys-based mental health service rescued outdoors enthusiast from depression
“I found the new me.” Powys-based mental health service rescued outdoors enthusiast from depression
When severe back pain curtailed Cally Ware’s passion for gardening and country rambles, she grieved for her old life and feared an empty future.
But a chance meeting at a wellbeing event changed everything when Cally was introduced to a transformative NHS Wales service blending online learning with human support.
“I went through the programme and came out the other side completely changed,” says Cally, from Knighton. “I found the new me.”
Cally, 75, had been a keen walker until 2021 when she was diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis.
The condition can cause chronic leg and back pain. In Cally’s case, the symptoms had a devastating impact on her active lifestyle.
“All of a sudden, I couldn’t do anything that I wanted to,” she explains. “I couldn’t do the things that defined me.
“I was at a very low point, thinking ‘this is all I’ve got to look forward to’. It was like grief, like losing somebody – only I’d lost myself.”
Cally diagnosed herself with depression before meeting a practitioner from the mental health charity Mid and North Powys Mind at an event in Knighton Community Centre.
The practitioner introduced her to a service called Blended Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), delivered free to Powys residents by key partner charities working alongside NHS Wales.
The service combines online courses on the mental health platform SilverCloud® with support from a human practitioner - either in person or via telephone or video call.
Anyone aged 16 or over living in Powys and experiencing mild-to-moderate mental health symptoms can access the blended service, without the need to see a GP.
Says Cally: “I was willing to try anything, and it certainly turned me around.
“Above all, I was no longer dwelling on the past. I forbade myself to think about what was and started to think about what could be.
“I looked for the things that I could do, rather that mourning the things that I couldn’t.
“I got myself a mobility scooter, which meant my husband and I carried on having holidays and going on walks – so long as they were fairly flat.
“Over a period of time, I came to terms with it. It was a direct result of SilverCloud.”
Cally says the support from Mid and North Powys Mind’s practitioner was a huge plus point.
Says Cally: “We chatted regularly on the phone. If something happened and I felt really down, I knew I could phone her.”
SilverCloud’s convenience was another bonus.
Its 12-week programmes can be completed on a laptop, tablet or phone, anywhere and at any time of the day.
“It didn’t matter what the weather was doing, or if the car was in for repairs. I could do it where and when I wanted to,” Cally says. “It fitted in with my life – it was so convenient.
“I was in my own space, with a cup of coffee and my dogs around me, and that sense of comfort made it so much easier to open up. I could reach inside and work out what the real problems were.”
Although Blended Online CBT is available only in Powys, anyone in Wales can access SilverCloud’s standard service free through the NHS.
Everyone who signs up is allocated a trained NHS supporter who offers guidance and encouragement via message.
Mary Griffiths, Mid and North Powys Mind CEO, commented: “Thank you Cally for sharing your inspiring story.
“The Blended Online CBT Service delivered by ourselves, Ponthafren and Brecon & District Mind in Powys combines the excellent information and tools within SilverCloud® with a person to talk it all through with, either in-person or by phone, which is what makes the blended service different and so effective".
To sign up for Blended Online CBT in Powys contact Mid and North Powys Mind, Brecon Mind or the Ponthafren Consortium.
To access SilverCloud’s standard service in Powys or throughout the rest of Wales, self-refer by signing up here: https://nhswales.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/
Published: 22/09/2025