What are Empath Centres?
Empath Centres are a bold, practical response to a national crisis in mental health care - especially among people from low socioeconomic backgrounds. They are six-month residential programmes designed to bridge the gap between clinical treatment and real world reintegration.
Why Empath Centres?
Empath was founded by Jeremy Dixon, who has bipolar affective disorder and has been hospitalized in NHS mental health facilities multiple times. His firsthand experience revealed a fundamental gap in post-hospital support, where talented individuals were often left without guidance, skills training, or opportunities—leading to long-term reliance on benefits. Recognising this systemic issue, he set out to build Empath Centres as a solution that combines mental health care with practical rehabilitation.
Empath will reshape the UK’s mental health landscape by unlocking the potential of those who have talent, ambition, and intelligence but lack connections and support. Our model ensures that individuals with poor mental health—particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds—are given the opportunity to thrive, rather than being trapped in a cycle of hospitalization and dependency.
With the right support, some of these individuals could become leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers in their fields, reversing the £118bn per annum cost of mental health on the UK economy. Empath is the missing piece in the mental health system, transforming lives, communities, and the economy for the better.
How?
Our Empath Centres will provide a daily rhythm of purpose and structure.
We will provide support and facilities in sport, exercise, cooking, nutrition, music, financial planning, life skills, careers advice.
The team will host trauma-informed support and peer community groups and 1-1 sessions. Our end goal is to carve out pathways to jobs, apprenticeships, or education on to graduation to empower people with the correct tools to live a full and independent life.
The centres are backed by private-sector infrastructure and social impact investors that believe that this is a positive step to reducing relapses back into mental health care.
We are aimed at creating taxpayers, not lifelong service users.
I’ve learned that you can rebuild almost anything — a career, a family, a sense of self — if you start with honesty and purpose.
Empath was born from that belief. After losing almost everything, I realised recovery isn’t about returning to what was; it’s about building anew.
Empath exists to prove that renewal is possible, not only for individuals but for whole systems. It brings together sport, nutrition, creativity, and work — practical tools for rebuilding lives from the ground up.
I want to be living proof that anything can be built from scratch. Not through privilege or perfection, but through compassion, courage, and the will to begin again.
— Jeremy Dixon, Founder of Empath Centres
“1 in 4 adults in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.”
— Mind