For many people, telling your place of work about a mental health issue is a terrifying prospect. But employers can play a vital role in supporting recovery and raising awareness. Chris Lynch, a Rethink Mental Illness group coordinator from Cheshire, shares his story about how his employer Pizza Hut helped him through his illness...
The Christchurch and Southbourne Community Mental Health Team has teamed up with
Velo Domestique on Seabourne Road to provide second
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hand bikes for people recovering
from depression, personality disorders and other conditions which can strip away self
conf
idence.
Conclusions
The administrative elements of care co-ordination reduce opportunities for recovery-focused and personalised work. There were few shared understandings of recovery, which may limit shared goals. Conversations on risk appeared to be neglected and assessments kept from service users. A reluctance to engage in dialogue about risk management may work against opportunities for positive risk-taking as part of recovery-focused work.
The health and work champions pilot programme, which has been developed by the College of Occupational Therapists and Public Health England, will use peer-to-peer staff training sessions delivered through health and work champions to encourage NHS staff to routinely discuss employment with their patients as part of their care plan.
My name is Zara, and my illness struck me at the tender age of 18 and carried on into my adult life. An illness like psychosis challenges your sense of self and how you relate to others and the world around you. I am now passionate about education around psychosis and extinguishing stigma. Here are some of the ways life is different after you've experienced psychosis.
The occupational therapy and rehabilitation therapy services working at Broadmoor Hospital, West London Mental Health Trust (WLHMT), have recently come together under one management structure. This merger led to the idea of measuring the work environment of both services to establish any differences or commonalities to provide a baseline measurement to inform future service developments. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Although the negative association between discrimination and recovery has been established, only a few studies have attempted to investigate the underlying mechanism of how perceived discrimination dampens both clinical and personal recovery among people with psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of self-stigma and mental health service engagement in the relationship between perceived discrimination and recovery. : Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Research into patients’ experience in mental health hospitals has focused on acute settings. The authors of this study have explored the experience of patients on rehabilitation wards. Data were collected through focus groups led by service users acting as experts by experience. This helped to encourage participation by this group, which can be difficult to engage. Themes from the data were identified from the perspectives of staff, carers and service users. Two primary themes were identified by all reviewers – inflexible, authoritarian regimes on the wards and patients’ fears about being unable to cope in the future after leaving the rehabilitation ward. The implications of the findings and suggestions for improving care in rehabilitation wards are discussed. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you requesting.
Open access. To evaluate outcomes for patients during their admission or in the first year of treatment in two in-patient recovery units. Changes in health and social functioning, service use and need (rated by patients and staff) were evaluated.
Mental health disorders have a negative impact on the individual, society and global economy. The prevalence of mental disorders is increasing in young people, if unaddressed, they may develop into severe and chronic illnesses. Despite this, research into youth mental health recovery is limited. The current study aims to develop a theoretical framework of recovery in youth mental health and identify what facilitates this process.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Balby based New Beginnings has celebrated the completion of its first allotment to support the physical and mental wellbeing of people in recovery from drug and/ or alcohol addiction.
New Beginnings which provides a specialist rehab and detox service for people experiencing substance misuse is using the allotment to promote a sense of purpose and foster strong bonds for its clients and service users.
Few employment programmes exist to support forensic service users with severe mental health problems and a criminal history. Little is known about how best to achieve this. The Employment and Social Inclusion Project (ESIP) was developed and piloted to support forensic service users into employment and vocational activities. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you requesting.
Although supported employment increases job acquisition for people with serious mental illness, data on participants’ job tenure have been variable. This study evaluated the effects of a standardized work skills training program (the Workplace Fundamentals Module [WPFM]) on job tenure and other work outcomes among individuals receiving individual placement and support (IPS). The effects of two atypical antipsychotic medications on side effects were also tested. The primary hypothesis tested was that participants in IPS plus WPFM would have increased job tenure compared with those enrolled in IPS only, and the secondary hypothesis was that different antipsychotic medications would yield unique side effects. Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice47.5 (Oct 2016): 347-355.
The recovery movement, a paradigm shift in mental health care, recognizes that individuals diagnosed with even the most debilitating and long-standing disorders may still go on to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. Symptom reduction is only part of the recovery process. In this article, we discuss principles of recovery and recommendations concerning the application of these principles to the treatment of individuals with trauma-related difficulties to improve hope, meaning, and overall quality of life. We conclude by identifying diagnostic and treatment approaches that are consistent with principles of recovery, and we discuss how practitioners can incorporate recovery principles into their evidence-based care planning. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Clinicians indicated that they use apps for a wide variety of reasons, including to promote skill building and to support the therapeutic process. Preferred features included the ability to grade difficulty up/down, multiple uses and accurate feedback. Recommendations from peers were the most commonly reported way respondents found new apps. The results suggest that occupational therapy practitioners employ clinical reasoning when implementing apps in therapy. Possible ways to improve access to apps for therapists who would like to implement them are discussed. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
Cognitive functioning affects employment outcomes in supported employment. This study examined which cognitive parameters are associated with employment outcomes for persons with mental illnesses and discusses possible mechanisms involved. Login at top righthand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text . SSOTP -You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
Open access. This study examined whether two types of provider communication considered important to quality of care (i.e., shows respect and explains understandably) are associated with mental health outcomes related to personal recovery (i.e., connectedness, hope, internalized stigma, life satisfaction, and empowerment). This study also tested whether these associations varied by the type of provider seen (i.e., mental health professional versus general medical doctor).
The team vastly improved the way care is delivered for women in the Trust’s medium secure unit, Newton Lodge. Their work has seen a typical stay drop by 3.4 years since 2015, meaning women are recovering quicker and are able to return to their communities and families sooner.
This included developing a separate rehabilitation ward area specifically for women who are ready to start developing the practical and social skills needed for more independent daily living.
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LYPFT South CMHT has been progressive and innovative in their thinking. This is in terms of developing links with their third sector agencies in delivering Mental Health support in the community, through the evolving role of the Creative Practitioner.
The role of the Creative Practitioner is to work in a collaborative manner with users of services and community organisations, in taking a holistic approach to someone’s mental health needs.
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry87.5 (2017): 567-574.
The role that people with serious mental illness (SMI) play in making decisions about their own treatment and rehabilitation is attracting increasing attention and scrutiny. This attention is embedded in a broader social/consumer movement, the recovery movement, whose agenda includes extensive reform of the mental health system and advancing respect for the dignity and autonomy of people with SMI. Shared decision-making (SDM) is an approach for enhancing consumer participation in health-care decision-making. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal Vol. 41, Iss. 1, (Mar 2018): 29-38.
Objective: The study examined factors associated with community integration experiences of adults with serious mental illness who were members of psychosocial rehabilitation clubhouses in New York City.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Open access. Recovery-orientated care is becoming generally accepted as the best practice, and continued development in the ways it is practiced is necessary to ensure improvement of ongoing care. Forensic patients often experience double stigmatization (the dual stigma of mental illness and offending behaviour) and during admission to hospital may lose touch with their community supports. While working through their personal recovery, patients develop therapeutic relationships with their multidisciplinary team members. When positive, these relationships can enhance a patient’s recovery.
Livewell Southwest, a provider of physical and mental healthcare services in Plymouth, South Hams and Devon, offers work placements to people in the local community in roles including admin, catering and estates. In a model developed with mental health services, the organisation works with partner organisations, including Jobcentre Plus, to find suitable applicants, After an initial four week work trial, successful candidates are offered paid work placements on a fixed term contract for six months.
Local people using drug and alcohol support services have enjoyed a ‘Celebration of Recovery’ hosted by Cheshire East Substance Misuse Service.
The service, part of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), held its second annual event to recognise the efforts of staff and service users over the past 12 months.
More than 100 people attended CWP’s Celebration of Recovery at Clonter Opera Theatre in Congleton. The event showcased interactive stalls and a theatre production before the service premiered an inspirational video highlighting its recent work with local people.
Prisoners with mental health difficulties need better help following release from both health and probation services, according to a report published today by Centre for Mental Health.
Setting up an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment service can change people’s lives and revolutionise mental health care in a local area, says a report published today by Centre for Mental Health.
People with long-term mental health needs are facing stays of many years in inpatient services because of a lack of community services to help them to recover, according to a briefing paper published today by Centre for Mental Health.
Staff from Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Wellbeing Through Work team use the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach to help service users into jobs that are right for them.
The team volunteered to join a Department of Health funded pilot project by the Centre for Mental Health last year, to utilise IPS and help people with severe mental health conditions into 60 paid employment opportunities within 18 months.
Changing Our Lives, a rights-based organisation that work in partnership with people with disabilities and mental health needs, recently issued a Quality of Life Review detailing the work achieved by Shropshire Council’s employment service, Enable.
Inpatients at Lime Walk Rehabilitation Unit have been constructing and decorating furniture to be displayed at Macclesfield’s Barnaby Festival later this week.
Chairs, tables, birdhouses and mosaics have all been created to be displayed at the local event. The group have also created more than 30 signs that will be placed around the town to advertise each exhibition.
The work is part of the event’s ‘Yardens Project’, hosted by community group Reach Out and Recover (ROAR) to showcase the work of a variety of local people recovering from mental health trauma, addiction or personal issues.
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) recently joined together with local charity The Bren Project, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Chester Constabulary to give people accessing mental health services the opportunity to refurbish and recycle a second hand bike, as part of a course to develop practical skills.
A woodland garden project in Camden that is a regular destination for service users from our mental health rehabilitation wards at St Pancras as part of their therapeutic activity, has won a top award that celebrates the use of church gardens and churchyards for wellbeing.
We wanted to find out what helps and what hinders care planning for people with mental health problems to be collaborative, personalised and recovery-focused.
Reed in Partnership and CNWL’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service called Take Time to Talk has co-produced an IAPT and Employment Support Services Toolkit.
The toolkit contains a best practice guide of integrating mental health and employment services. It has been designed for staff and managers of both IAPT and employment services to support collaboration with people experiencing mental health difficulties.
The CNWL Employment Services supports people in mental health and addiction services who would like help with finding and keeping a job.
The Service has published a booklet designed to help people decide whether they would like to explore employment and/or training opportunities, including a check list of documents needed when applying for work, as well as information about employment resources available.
Health and wellbeing at work is a top priority for CNWL staff – including when people have serious but treatable illnesses.
This latest initiative means that staff with a serious and enduring mental illness can be supported when problems or issues arise, to keep their skills at CNWL and to help resolve - and dissolve - issues.
Liesbeth Tip on a qualitative study of Norfolk-based community singing project Sing Your Heart Out, aimed at people with mental illness & the general public
Conclusions: Diagnosis appears to differentially impact on reconviction, readmission and mortality rates. Services could tailor pathways to prioritise symptom management and promoting healthy lifestyles for patients with MI, and reducing reoffending for patients with PD. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text.
Open access. This is a narrative review of validation and outcome studies using the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale (WFIRS). The objective of the review is to establish a framework for understanding functional impairment and create a definition for functional response and remission.
Open access. This is a narrative review of validation and outcome studies using the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale (WFIRS). The objective of the review is to establish a framework for understanding functional impairment and create a definition for functional response and remission.
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal (Mar 7, 2019). DOI:10.1037/prj0000356
Objective: Recovery, defined as a personal process of living with mental illness, has become a prominent concept in mental health care. We aimed to map the state of the art of conceptualizing recovery, its promoting and impeding factors, recovery-oriented practice, and the assessment of recovery.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.