Amiko Cards

Working with Amiko Cards

The Amiko cards were made by Katie Elliot from Little Challenges. In this video she describes her own mental health challenges, and her eventual realisation that she needed to research the best ways to recover then put these into practice.

As she did a lot of reading and trying things out, she made small cards as a reminder for herself of what could help, as she quickly realised that when you’re feeling low, stressed or otherwise struggling, you stop doing things you might otherwise easily remember or access.

Once she felt well again, she saw the cards she’d made and thought they might be helpful for others. That was the beginning of the Amiko card pack.

Four suits, four topics

Wellbeing is a big topic, with lots of ways in.

The Amiko card suits can help people focus on which key area of wellbeing they can best give attention to on any given day.

We’ve arranged them as a compass, and the first activity is to ask yourself, ‘which area do I need to focus on right now?’

It could be you need to spend time with other people, tidy your space, eat something or listen to music.

Once you know which area of wellbeing you need right now, you can look at the cards and see if any of the ideas there will work for you.

Get to know the cards over time

At first with 52 cards plus bonus cards you’re unlikely to remember what they say.

However, if you keep looking at them, thinking about what you need and putting it into action, you’ll find you build your own relationship with the cards.

Doing something positive for yourself, you might realise – that’s on an Amiko card. That kind of external validation and feeling that you’re helping yourself positively is really helpful.

Similarly, you might not know what to do, and remember a card you’ve seen. Amiko means ‘friend’ – the idea is the cards are like friends, helpful and on your side, ready when you need them.

Helping others use the cards

The best starting point is to get to know them. The best way to do this is by using them for yourself. We can all benefit from a wellbeing journey, especially a self-led one!

The cards can help people learn language they need to talk about wellbeing activities, so you might use them that way, to practice new language.

You might use them to help work out what to do that day. Or you can chat about them. You can choose one each. You can just play card games with them!

The important thing is to have them out, being used, rather than left on a shelf or in a drawer and never opened. They’re full of a wealth of good ideas – but ideas need to be gently put into action to be useful.

Showing you care, that someone matters, that you have empathy, and want to help them make good choices for themselves – that kind of support relationship is one people will value and remember for a long time to come.