150th Blog Special! Meet LJP Founder and Executive Producer, Lily-Jo

We’ve made it! It’s our 150th article on The Lily-Jo Project blog!

To celebrate, we thought that we would interview our founder and executive producer, Lily-Jo.

Both a pop artist and qualified counsellor, Lily-Jo founded The Lily-Jo Project in 2016 as a way to help people begin to help themselves with their mental health.

Over the last 5 years, she has stood in front of over 250,000 children and adults across the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States; performing her music, giving mental health lessons, and empowering people of all ages to live their lives to the fullest.

Here’s a bit more about the story behind The Lily-Jo Project, Lily-Jo’s perspective on mental health, and what she gets up to outside of The Lily-Jo Project.

An Interview with Lily-Jo

I was working as a counsellor in the NHS and started to get itchy feet. I’d just had my second child, and was reevaluating my life. In a nutshell, I started to write some songs, got signed to a friend’s record label, and at my first festival performance I mentioned from the stage my thoughts around mental health. After the show I had a whole queue of people wanting to share their experiences and their mental health struggles with me.

In that moment, I had the inspiration to create a website where people could access mental health tools, tips and resources that would help them begin to help themselves.

Don’t be swayed by others. Follow your intuition and be kind.

I tell this story often, being in school and receiving two blades from a year 9 girl who decided she didn’t want to cut herself anymore. It was an unforgettable moment that inspired me to take action to help as many more young people and adults as possible.

In light of England losing the Euro 2020, the effects of racism on mental health is back in the headlines. When we lost, the first thing I thought was ‘oh no, this is going to turn nasty.’ And sadly I was right.

We are doing better than we were, I am seeing much more representation of people who look like me on screen. However, we still have a long way to go, and to anyone feeling unsafe, low, or anxious out there, don’t give up hope. Love always trumps hate.

Below Deck Mediterranean! Did you expect a deeper answer?! My workload is heavy, and for the last 18 months I’ve been undertaking a big caseload of counselling clients through my business Unstoppable Life Coaching, and so when the day is done, I like to switch off, go to a sunny climate and relax!

I’ve been excited to work on my upcoming single “Diamond” which is out on the 6th of August.

I wrote this song with Christmas number one hit writer Chris Eaton, and it was produced by Tim Gosden and my husband, Dave Fidler.

I’ve been in crisis mode for the last 18 months, so to be able to relax into this single release and be creative again has been life giving! I hope everyone loves it as much as I do!

More from Lily-Jo

Looking for more? Check out some of Lily-Jo’s recent blog articles for The Lily-Jo Project below.

• Boosting Your Confidence: 5 Simple Steps from Lily-Jo
• Mastering Anxiety: 6 Simple Steps from Lily-Jo
• What it Means to Be Resilient: 6 Tips From Lily-Jo About Bouncing Back
• Lily-Jo’s Top 5 Tips for Finding a Counsellor
• The Power Of Flexibility: Top 5 Tips for a Positive and Flexible 2021

You can catch Lily-Jo’s podcast here. Book a one to one session here. Or, stay connected by following her on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

More About The Lily-Jo Project

Looking for more from The Lily-Jo Project? Here are some links that may be helpful!

• Check out our core mental health resources for children and teens/adults.
• If you work in education, check out The Lily-Jo Project’s online learning platform which has over a year’s worth of mental health curriculum for schools.
• Learn more about The Lily-Jo Project’s 5th anniversary campaign and impact over the last 5 years here.
• Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Or, subscribe to our mailing list here.