In the elegant surroundings of The Lanesborough on Hyde Park Corner, Spear’s hosted its first event focusing on mental health, in association with SilverBell Global.
[See also: Breaking the cycle of addiction]
More than 70 leading advisers and experts from the Spear’s network gathered in the palatial Belgravia Room and mingled over breakfast before editor-in-chief Edwin Smith convened the expert panel.
The discussion centred around what SilverBell Global founder and CEO Natasha Silver Bell described as ‘the elephant in the room’: the mental health and wellbeing issues that can particularly affect young people in wealthy families or those under pressure to achieve.
Natasha’s own experiences inspired her to set up SilverBell Global – a company that is breaking new ground in techniques for supporting sufferers of addiction and substance use disorder and the underlying issues that can lead to it.
[See also: SilverBell Global: a transformative approach to addiction recovery]
Proceedings began with a short meditation practice led by Sir Anthony Seldon, the leading contemporary historian, author, educationalist and head of Epsom College. His career in some of the country’s leading schools, including Brighton College and Wellington College, gives him an invaluable insight into the challenges facing young people.
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They were joined by New York-based family office adviser Frazer Rice, the president of Wealth Actually LLC, and psychologist Dr Cosmo Duff Gordon, an addiction treatment specialist and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society.
[See also: Introducing Spear’s Magazine: Issue 91]
The thought-provoking discussion drew a through-line from early warning signs to recovery.
The panel offered their thoughts on some of the factors that are conducive to mental health issues and the ways in which they develop, and examined why children of wealthy families might tend to be more depressed and anxious than peers from less affluent backgrounds, as some studies suggest.
There was also practical advice on when and how to step in, as well as paths to treatment.
‘Members of wealthy families often feel as though they are under huge pressure to achieve certain things, or to measure up to the expectations of parents or peers,’ said Spear’s editor-in-chief Edwin Smith. ‘That means the advisers who enjoy the trust of these families can be in a unique and privileged position. It’s by better understanding these pressures and by connecting with true experts in the field, such as the professionals at SilverBell Global, that they can provide guidance in the most appropriate and responsible way.’
A version of this feature first appeared in Spear’s Magazine: Issue 91. Click here to subscribe
