Today (Thursday 10th October 2024) is World Mental Health Day. A day where we all come together to talk about mental health and show everyone that mental health matters.
This year’s theme, set by the World Federation of Mental Health, is workplace mental health. Whilst the theme highlights the importance of addressing mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, we wanted to highlight an additional angle. We are shining a light on some people within our own workplace… Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (MHWP)!
Did you know: At Inclusion, we are the largest NHS organisation to have Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners in all of our community drug and alcohol services. We have even expanded the role into prisons through our health in justice services too, as well as our gambling harms service.
To provide some background information, The NHS Long Term Plan set out proposals to rapidly expand access to psychological therapies and interventions in England. This led to the creation of a variety of new roles across, with Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners being one of them.
The role was intended to work in secondary care adult community mental health services. However, spare capacity on MHWP training courses was offered to NHS drug and alcohol services for the second cohort in 2023. Further pilots have since commenced in our West Midlands Gambling Harms Service and in some of our prisons too.
Ela is a trainee Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner and shares some insight into how she bridges the gap between those needing support with their mental health, as well as their gambling difficulties.
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Having the opportunity to build the Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner workforce into community drug and alcohol services, within Inclusion, has helped to bring effective talking therapies to people who have traditionally fallen through the gaps of services. The benefits to those who use our services is twofold. Firstly, they are receiving the appropriate care for their mental health conditions. Secondly, these interventions are supporting people to engage and stay in treatment for their drug/alcohol use, improving their recovery outcomes.
- Tracy Braddock – Deputy Head of Operations (Drug and Alcohol Services)
Next up, we hear from Debbie – a qualified Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner working within our Shropshire-based community drug and alcohol service, Telford STaRS.
Debbie shares further insight into the role itself, how she works and how the new role has embedded itself within the service.
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When I started my role as a Trainee MHWP in Inclusion Community Drug & Alcohol services, it was clear from the start that I would be entering a role that would be fulfilling an unmet need within these services. There has been a longstanding difficulty when it comes to people with problem drug/alcohol use being able to access the evidence-based mental health treatment they need. They are often told that their use is the reason why they can’t access these services, even though this use is usually a symptom of their mental health needs.
A key part of being an MHWP in these services is breaking down that barrier to access…the feedback from these individuals has been nothing but positive. I am grateful that I have been able to play a part in helping improve access to mental health treatment in this service and I look forward to seeing this role grow!
- Fiona Loy - Trainee Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner
Whilst there’s still work to do to improve links between mental health and drug and alcohol services, it’s clearly having a profound impact on the people that use our services. Our feedback on Care Opinion certainly speaks for itself too.
If you want to read more about Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners within our service, check out our feature in the Drink and Drug News magazine (pages 20-21).