Evolution of The Mindful Life Group
Adele Pacini - Founder
How it Began
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I have had a long-standing interest in mindfulness-based approaches to supporting older adult wellbeing. I trained in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in 2012 while working for the Norfolk Stroke Pathway within the NHS.
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After moving into NHS older adult mental health services in 2014, I began offering the Mindfulness for Later Life Programme to people with early-stage dementia and their carers. The outcomes surpassed my expectations. A significant number of participants showed improvements in their working memory capacity, as well as in their mood, after completing the programme.​​
Reaching the Wider Community
It quickly became clear to me that this was a potentially important programme for older adults. However, contractual restrictions within the NHS meant that I was unable to offer it more widely in that setting. In 2019, I approached Gatehouse Charity in Bury St Edmunds to explore the possibility of offering the mindfulness courses to the wider community through their premises. The courses were originally intended to be delivered face to face, but the COVID-19 outbreak brought all in-person gatherings to a halt. At first, I was told that “older people can’t do online!”, but I decided to contact some local U3As to ask their views. Their response to online sessions was very positive, and so the Mindfulness for Later Life programme (online!) was born.​
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Growth and the Creation of a Non-Profit
We delivered our programmes under the Gatehouse Charity until 2023. By this point, both our programmes and our team had expanded significantly, and it made sense to establish our own non-profit organisation with a specific focus on older adult mental health. Since then, we have continued to expand our programmes, established an advisory board, and supported many people in developing their healthcare careers.
Timeline of The Mindful Life Group
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