About Us
Partisan is a small, Black-led Community Interest Company, designing alternative help systems alongside Black and racially minoritised communities.
We were born out of a pull from communities for accessible and culturally sensitive mental health and wellbeing support, and a push from traditional mental health systems which were not meeting the needs of Black and racialised communities.
Why we exist
Evidence shows mental health and wellbeing support is not accessible for many children, young people, families and communities.
Consequently needs often go unmet, leaving people vulnerable.
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Traditional mental health services meet the needs of some people but are often not flexible enough to meet the specific and complex needs of those who are marginalised, stigmatised and excluded
For good reason these communities often have difficult relationships with help, and negative experiences with our current systems; where whiteness prevails, the evidence base for interventions is Eurocentric, mental health trainings are underpinned by theories that are rooted in slavery and colonialism, and racial trauma is pathologized
These services may have long waiting lists, be in areas where people feel unsafe, staffed by professionals with limited understanding of their cultural contexts and worlds, have rigid appointment times, and are bureaucratic
Marginalised, stigmatised and excluded communities are often left feeling judged, uncomfortable, unsure who they can trust, and further harm is caused as a result of our existing systems and services that are often trauma-inducting, rather than trauma-informed
As a result people often don’t engage and services lose resources.
Communities have long felt the effects of these discriminations
Our approach
We take a non-pathologizing view of mental health. We don’t believe that problems - and therefore solutions - exist within individuals.
Instead we believe change is needed at all levels of the complex system in which people find themselves.
“I knew that mental health and wellbeing services needed to look different, and so I started by doing something different.”
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“I started my career as a Youth Worker, before training as a Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. The intention for embarking on clinical training was to better support the people I was working with in the community. However the further along this route I travelled, the further I distanced myself from the people I’d sought to help in the first place. I found myself in clinics and working for organisations that had little flex, where attendance rates were low, and Black and Brown young people in particular were not engaging. I knew this couldn’t be it.
I started connecting and aligning more with community psychology approaches, which seemed to combine my youth work beginnings, with my clinical training, and my passion for equity, social and racial justice, and systems change. However putting the values behind this approach in to practice was difficult whilst working inside the system, my ideas and suggestions often weren’t heard and I was constantly reminded of my Psychotherapeutic boundaries when I tried to do something different. Being person of colour in such big, well established institutions where whiteness prevailed was tough.
I was still being asked by people from the communities I’d worked alongside if I could help out, and I missed being on the frontline. But it was the comments of three young people I used to work with that really stuck with me, I bumped in to them in the community and told them about the spaces I was now working: one said “you wouldn’t catch me in dem places”, another said “I thought you’d always be in the community”, and the other asked for my help… but I couldn’t think of a way he could access me or mental health support quickly.
At this point I knew that mental health and wellbeing services needed to look different, and so I started by doing something different. I set up Partisan.”
Our Principles
All our work revolves around our guiding principles: the four 4R’s.
These are our pillars, and have been chosen to help us to pull away from capitalist and colonial systems that recreate inequalities and harms in the world today (in particular for Black and racialised communities).
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We recognise that the current system doesn’t value the time it takes to build trust and relationships, which is core to change work at an individual, community and systems level.
Relationships move at the speed of trust; sometimes this is a two step dance between process and relationships, depending on what is needed. We take the time to understand ours and others relationship patterns and experiences before doing the hard work of change together. We expect rupture as a normal part of life and invest time in repair.
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We recognise that the current system has harmed and continues to traumatises marginalised and racialised communities. Repair requires a long term commitment; it is multifaceted.
We are re-defining what healing is with our communities. We are committed to learning more reparative practices and approaches to support the healing that needs to happen in order for people to live their preferred story.
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We recognise that the current system is extractive and continues to uphold white supremacy, heteropatriarchy and all the dominant practices that oppress.
We recognise that communities hold ideas and strength, and believe in the Ghanaian principles of ‘Sankofa’; going back to acknowledge and learn from what has been done, so as not to make the same mistakes. This builds on ancestral and cultural wisdom, as well as existing strengths in the community to create change that can be sustained, retained and built on.
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We recognise that power, knowledge and resources are currently held by a few.
We use approaches that actively disrupt this, focusing on participation of those who are most marginalised and racialised. We prioritise redistribution and give collective agency to make changes, not only because this is fairer, but because it makes most sense to centre those most affected by these issues as they have the most insight, ingenuity and value to add.
Both the individual and combined use of the principles helps Partisan to create a different way of being between ourselves as a team, and those we work and partner with.
Testimonials and Statement
"Partisan lives and breathes its core values and four pillars; working with Black and racialised communities to tackle institutional racism and oppression, and looking to share power and change the system with us. When I was going through a rough period of my life they helped me therapeutically and helped me transition from a boy to a man, and now I'm even working with them. It's genuine and honest work, done with love and care. It's important that organisations like Partisan exist, it's a detriment to community when they have to close."
Young Person and Harambee Community Member, 2026
We are best known for our work on the borders of traditional mental health systems; alongside children, young people, families, and communities.
"Partisan's approach is unique as it is rooted in the disrupting of Westernised eurocentric pathologisation and in understanding that healing systemic wounds requires more than policy change. Its work has, for all intents and purposes, been rooted in the wisdom of our ancestors — Black ways of knowing, remembering, and caring as medicine for trauma. Partisan dives deep into that knowledge base and uses that consciousness as medicine for trauma, disconnection, and the wounds left by oppressive systems. Organisations like Partisan don't just fill gaps in services, they actively reach out and meet the communities where they are, providing a healing balm for generational wounds. Without organisations that are culturally rooted, there will continue to be an abject absence of genuine care."
Dr Yansie Rolston, BAYO and The Black Mental Health Manifesto, 2026
"Working alongside Partisan in Lewisham has been invaluable in strengthening how we engage with and support our global majority communities. Their contribution to the multi-borough Vanguard programme particularly the depth and integrity they brought to the scoping exercise has helped shape a more responsive and culturally-grounded approach to youth safety. Their leadership during moments of serious violence ensured that voices too often overlooked were centred, heard, and acted upon. The impact of their work will continue to resonate long after their doors close."
Anthony Powell, Strategic Youth Offer Manager, Families, Quality and Commissioning (Children and Young People), Lewisham Council, 2026
“Introducing therapy to young people in locations they chose and where they felt comfortable, rather than the usual traditional settings meant they were more open to engaging. It was adaptable to meet the needs of them… It was a good experience for me; working alongside specialists gave me the opportunity to develop my knowledge and learn new things in the field of mental health … they seemed to also learnt a lot from me too. It gave me a different outlook on the work I do and gave me the confidence to better support with low level mental health difficulties.”
Youth Worker, 2023
"Working with Partisan, a Black-led mental health and community-led systems change organisation, was an obvious and important strategic partnership for us. Partisan has demonstrated in practice what a different model for mental health looks like — one that champions the expertise and voice of leaders and families. They have moved the health sector forward significantly in the last five years and they can be proud of their achievements. But the work is not done and Impact on Urban Health will continue to urge the NHS and support communities to make further progress."
Laurie Lee, Chief Executive, Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation, 2026
"Where social conditions create an uphill battle for some communities, organisations like Partisan help level the playing field and give young people like us, who face more hurdles, the power to overcome them, offering them a place to land."
Young Person, MyEnds, 2026
"It is 100% a trust-based relationship now from our side as funders. I don't need to know what's happening within the organisation to feel confident continuing to partner with them."
Funder, 2024
"Understanding that there is another way to serve the community and challenge the status quo has been revolutionary. Partisan's approach has never been about surface-level change or short-term visibility. Instead, they have consistently created spaces where honesty is expected, power is examined, and organisations are supported to confront the realities of inequity with depth and integrity. Partisan has played a critical role in pushing organisations beyond statements and into action, particularly in spaces where race, power, and mental health intersect."
Danielle Bridge, Chief Executive Officer, Black Minds Matter UK, 2026
"What has resonated with us has been Partisan's pillar-driven approach to the change work. This has enabled them to recognise what they want to move away from — practices that repeat the trauma marginalised communities have been subjected to — and toward practices codesigned with communities that enable nourishment, relationship and repair. This kind of work matters as it values historical community practices and enables these practices to be woven into the spaces created with young people and the wider community as part of the journey to develop sustainable community driven alternative help systems."
PG Collective, Strategy Consultants, 2026
Partisan's work has resonated with us because of their unwavering commitment to creating spaces where young Black people can feel seen, heard, and supported. Their ability to hold space, build trust, and create therapeutic environments outside traditional clinical settings enabled honest dialogue and meaningful insight — insight that will continue to shape how Mind designs services from the margins and with communities, not just for them. Organisations like Partisan play a vital role in reaching people who are too often underserved or unsupported by traditional services. Mental health support is not one-size-fits-all — Partisan understood this — and we need more organisations like Partisan to meet the needs of those most at the margins because the need does not disappear. In fact, it grows."
Dr Sarah Hughes, CEO, National Mind, 2026
“I felt very comfortable, I was given all the choice; where I wanted to meet, what I wanted to talk about, how I wanted to go about things. It made me feel more free and less overwhelmed… I’ve had therapists before and I never really felt a connection nor the satisfaction of speaking to that person. I was just there because people would tell me “you need help” or “therapy helps”… this was different, [my therapist] would always try to make me feel okay and reassure me that I shouldn’t suppress certain emotions just because I am a man… It came to the point where I was looking forward to going to the sessions and I ain’t ever felt like dat before about therapy.”
Young Person, 2020
"if you guys wasn't here, more times we'd be outside, standing around. This is a much better alternative."
Young Person, 2024
"What has resonated most with me about Partisan's work is its unapologetic commitment to centring Black communities as leaders, not subjects. For too long we have seen our communities over-analysed, over-diagnosed and under-supported. Partisan shifts that dynamic by recognising lived experience as expertise and placing power back where it belongs with the people most impacted. This work is not optional, it is essential. The structural inequalities facing Black communities, particularly in mental health, are not new — they are persistent, systemic and deeply rooted. The continued need for sustained investment, real power-sharing and a commitment to dismantling Anti-Black racism is clear at every level. Without that, we are simply managing inequality, not transforming it."
Professor Patrick Vernon OBE, Pro Chancellor Health University of Wolverhampton and Patron of ACCI and Nafsiyat, 2026
"The flame has been lit, it is ours to keep it alive. In many spaces, ideas are discussed in theory but Partisan moved beyond conversation into meaningful, active practice. They have paved the way for people like me, who lead community initiatives, to continue developing and expanding this work. We carry this work forward with deep respect and gratitude."
Candice James, Director, Loughborough Community Centre — Max Roach, 2026
“I am truly grateful to you for instilling hope in young people and supporting me with my own self care practices too… You have been instrumental in changing my mindset, and shifting how I view everyday situations with the young people we come into contact with... especially those who have encountered traumatic experiences. I’m truly humbled to have you supporting our charity, and my hope is that more young black men in particular experience the benefits of therapeutic support from you.”
Charity Managing Director, 2021
“I appreciated the flexibility of this therapeutic approach… working outside of clinics, but still thinking and following clinical processes just the same. The biggest learning I took away from this work is the importance of good trusted relationships; with the people we support therapeutically, but also the community who often hold existing relationships with the people who need our support the most, but who often go unseen. This was key to the success of the work.”
Mental Health Specialist, 2021
Our vision is a future world where help systems centre Black and racialised communities, and where power, knowledge and resources are shared as part of a more connected, just and equitable world.
This means unlearning that the current colonial and capitalist systems are fit for purpose, and relearning how to act, live and be.