Today we published our third forecasting briefing on Covid-19 and mental health, which highlights the real need to prepare for rising mental health demand so that people do not find themselves without support when they need it. Our analysis finds that up to 10 million people may need support for their mental health in the wake of the pandemic. You can also check out my blog on the topic, exploring what the collective response should be to such concerning figures.
We’re delighted to share the news of some very exciting additions to our team. Poppy Jaman OBE has joined our Board of Trustees! An internationally respected mental health advocate, it's a real privilege to have her wealth of experience and passion for eradicating mental health inequalities on our board. We’re also delighted to welcome Ramone Whittle as our new Writer in Residence – check out his first piece here.
Our third forecasting briefing on Covid-19 and mental health uses a model built with NHS colleagues to forecast how many people may need mental health support as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The model predicts that up to 10 million people in England will need either new or additional mental health support as a direct consequence of the crisis. 1.5 million of those will be children and young people under 18.
The Government and the NHS must take steps now to prepare for this additional need among people of all ages.
We're thrilled to have published the first batch of submissions to ourwriting project. Your responses have been really thoughtful, insightful and honest and we're very grateful to everyone who has taken the time to get involved so far.
Have a readof these fantastic pieces of writing and get inspired to write about your experience during the pandemic. We want to hear from as many people as possible to capture different perspectives, so please share the project with your networks and friends. Find all you need to know about the project here.
We are delighted to have Ramone Whittle on board as our new Writer in Residence and it's our pleasure to share his first piece with you: Behaviour change and its context. Ramone explores concepts of identity, purpose and personal change through the lens of mental health, displaying his unmistakable gift for untangling the knots of life's big questions.
All of us will be affected in different ways by the seismic events of 2020, with some of us more at risk of experiencing mental ill health or trauma. With City Mental Health Alliance we have produced a guide to help employers support their people through the psychological and emotional traumas they may have experienced this year.
In order to respond to growing demand in the wake of the pandemic, more mental health practitioners must be recruited. This short briefing explores the recently published interim NHS workforce strategy and highlights the need to invest in recruitment and to protect workforce wellbeing within the NHS.
Primary care services are most people’s first and most frequent point of contact with the NHS. In this report we look at some services which demonstrate the therapeutic and cost benefits of clinical psychology being offered directly in communities, and make the case for clinical psychology to be more routinely available as a front-line health service.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the lives of people with mental health difficulties and on mental health services. This briefing provides a summary of studies on the experiences of people who access and work in mental health services, and the implications for policymakers.
We have developed a virtual version of our popular “Doing What Works” course which trains Mental Health Employment Specialists on how to help people with serious mental illness find employment and stay in work. This course is delivered virtually across 4 mornings using a mixture of presentation, group work, digital breakout rooms, polls, pre-work and homework.
We are also really excited to have launched two new virtual courses:
Supporting what works: Introduction to IPS for non-Employment Specialists - providing information and skills to mental health staff to enable them to support IPS workers
Anxiety and OCD: onset aged 5, treatment aged 55 David Monk looks back at the early onset of his struggle with anxiety, and shares his thoughts on what is needed to improve the wellbeing of young people
Punjabi communities, Covid-19 and mental health Shuranjeet Singh explains how his organisation Taraki has looked beyond reductive labels to explore the pandemic's impact on the mental health of Punjabi communities
