MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION WALES

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1 1 Issue 24, June 2014 MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION WALES Working together to improve mental health Welcome and wellbeing Welcome to Issue 24 of Mental Health Promotion Wales. This Newsletter is for anyone working or interested in mental health promotion and focuses on sharing ideas and practice examples. To contribute to future editions of the Newsletter please contact Marie Griffiths. Future of All Wales Mental Health Promotion Network I hope you enjoy reading Issue 24, the final issue, of Mental Health Promotion Wales. Public Health Wales has coordinated national public health networks for the topics of mental health, sexual health, physical activity and nutrition for a number of years the Mental Health Promotion Network is one of these Networks. These networks were established over a period of time, at the request of and funded by Welsh Government. The All Wales Mental Health Promotion Network along with All Wales Sexual Health Network and Physical Activity and Nutrition Networks Wales, will shortly form part of a new, professionally-centered All Wales Public Health Network. Hosted by the Policy, Research & Development Division of Public Health Wales, the All Wales Public Health Network (AWPHN) aims to consolidate and develop the four topic focused networks into one network that will support all sectors in Wales working on the protection, promotion and improvement of public health across all topics and settings. It will establish a single modern, dynamic and responsive national online resource that will provide timely, accurate, quality-assured and innovative access to news, research and other information and resources related to all public health topics. The AWPHN will provide a vehicle to incorporate a broad spectrum of stakeholders, from across sectors and disciplines that have an interest and contribution to make in respect of public health. The AWPHN aims to be the first place that people consider when they are seeking up-todate news, emerging developments or peer advice on public health issues. To keep informed on the developments as they progress, we recommend that you monitor the All Wales Mental Health Promotion Network website for latest developments, and ensure that you are on the All Wales Mental Health Promotion Network mailing list to receive the free e-bulletins. Please contact Marie Griffiths to be added to the mailing list if you are not already on it. Furthermore if you would still like to promote your initiatives from across Wales on the network website then please contact Marie Griffiths I hope that you have enjoyed reading Mental Health Promotion Wales and thank you to all who have contributed over the years.

2 2 Let s Get Physical! Campaign Launch Let's Get Physical!, a groundbreaking 2014 campaign led by mental health service users and carers in Wales, was officially launched at the Pierhead building in Cardiff Bay on Thursday 8 May 2014 by Health Minister Mark Drakeford AM. The event was attended by service users and carers from across Wales as well as AMs, policy makers and health professionals. During the launch event guests had the opportunity to:- Learn more about Let s Get Physical! and how they can get involved in the campaign Watch live demos of how to make healthy fast food on a budget Get a physical health check up from a qualified healthcare professional in the Mobile Health Centre Have a go at Nia, a sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts and dance arts Get information, advice and guidance from Hafal, Bipolar UK, the Mental Health Foundation, Diverse Cymru and the National Centre for Mental Health Network with service users, carers and professionals from across Wales. The Let s Get Physical! campaign sets a challenge to mental health service users and carers to radically improve their physical health by: sourcing and preparing healthy, high quality, good value food finding ways to become more active getting the right support from health professionals to stay well. People with a serious mental illness have a life expectancy around 17 years lower than the general population and this is mainly caused by preventable physical health problems. As for carers 80% have seen a negative impact on their physical health as a result of caring and many put this down to a lack of practical support. Let s Get Physical! will see service users, carers, health professionals, politicians and policy makers working together to change this. Launching the campaign the Health Minister Mark Drakeford said: "I am delighted to be able to launch the Let s Get Physical! campaign. I am particularly impressed by the way Let s Get Physical! is empowering service users to take control of their own physical health. I will be following the success of the campaign throughout the summer." Nigel Griffiths, a member of the Service User and Carer Panel leading the campaign, said: "It's been a fantastic day and a great start to a really ambitious and engaging

3 3 campaign. It s heartening to see the support Let s Get Physical! is getting from politicians, policy makers and health professionals as well as service users and carers. I can already see the Let s Get Physical! message capturing people s imaginations. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in the 22 county events throughout the summer!" Let s Get Physical! events are taking place across Wales. Further details of forthcoming events can be found by visiting lgp.hafal.org/events/. Alternatively please contact Emma Billings, Event Coordinator at emma@hafal.org or visit Our Work in Wales Beat and Welsh mental health and wellbeing charity Gofal are working in partnership to enable Beat Cymru to continue to deliver and develop support services for people with eating disorders and their families in Wales. Set up in 2009 and funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Beat Cymru was the first dedicated service providing information, help and support to people living in Wales affected by eating disorders. The five year project aimed to establish Beat s presence on the ground in Wales as it was recognised there was a lack of specialist care and training in the country. Beat and Gofal will be working in partnership to maintain some of the vital services that Beat Cymru currently deliver in Wales. We will also be exploring opportunities for future collaborations which will strengthen and enhance these services. The work is led by Michelle Bushell, Wales Project Development Officer, based in Gofal s RCT office based in Trefforest. Support provided in Wales includes: Local, volunteer led services to ensure people can access the health and support they need to beat their eating disorder including self help and support groups for both sufferers and carers Working alongside Welsh Government and statutory healthcare providers to ensure that people affected by eating disorders can access the treatment and support they need when they need it Campaigning to challenge the stigma and misconceptions that can prevent people affected by eating disorders accessing treatment and support Raising awareness through attending events, talks and presentations at schools, colleges and universities; GP practices and third sector organisations To find out more contact Michelle on m.bushell@b-eat.co.uk or call

4 4 Beat Cymru self help groups Beat has a network of self help and support groups across the UK including a number in Wales. Groups provide an opportunity for anyone with eating distress in various stages of their illness and recovery, or carers, families and friends, to meet people who may be in a similar situation. People support each other by sharing experiences, thoughts, successes and problems or by simply listening. Each group is facilitated by at least two Beat registered Group Facilitators. You do not need to be referred to our groups and there is no pre-registration process, please just come along or get in touch beforehand. They are free to attend and are for adults over 18 years old. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer group facilitator, here is the link volunteer/ Visit HelpFinder (link to HelpFinder), our online directory to search for support groups and other services in your area. Volunteer for Beat Cymru Are you interested in volunteering for Beat? Beat Cymru have volunteering opportunities available as a Group Support Volunteer supporting an existing Beat self help and support group or as a Beat Ambassador. Click here to read about the latest opportunities About Beat Leaflet Beat 25th Anniversary Leaflet Beat 25th Anniversary Manifesto registered in England and Wales (801343) and Scotland (SC039309). Company limited by guarantee no New 'Working Guide' to mental health policy and legislation in Wales Launched Mental Health Wales - the online information service managed by mental health charity Hafal - has launched a new 'Working Guide' which promises to make it easier to monitor and understand mental health policy and legislation in Wales. The working guide summarises the Mental Health (Wales) Measure, the Together for Mental Health Strategy, and the Strategy s Delivery Plan, setting

5 5 out how the policy and legislation affects:- 1. The whole population of Wales 2. People in Wales receiving primary care services for their mental health 3. People in Wales receiving secondary mental health services. This guide has been written by Phil Thomas who began working in mental health services in the 1970s and has held a wide variety of posts over the last 40 years. Phil said: "There's a lot of new mental health policy and legislation in Wales and some of it can be fairly difficult to grasp. The new guide breaks down all of the information, setting out who is responsible for delivering what, and who the targets and objectives apply to - whether it's the whole population, people using primary services or those using secondary services. "The current version of the guide reflects the original documents but the guide will be updated periodically to reflect updates in the policy and legislation. We hope it will be a really useful resource for commissioners and health professionals, and also for service users and carers interested in what the new policy and legislation promise to deliver." To download a copy of the new guide please visit: Can Mentoring help with Mental Health? We have all heard about peer mentoring and the benefits that can be gained by those with personal experience of life issues helping to support others who are going through similar problems. This is a very common approach in substance misuse and in carers support, but can mentoring in general help those who are experiencing mental health challenges? The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board clearly think it can and in an innovative piece of commissioning have joined up with two third sector organisations in Conwy to deliver mental health support through the medium of mentoring. The approach of Mentora Conwy, a partnership of Tan Y Maen Wellbeing Centre and PRIME CIC Mentoring will be to engage with people in the community who need support for their emotional and mental health and wellbeing and match them to other individuals in their own community (or further afield) who are willing and able to give regular support. It will be possible for people who join the scheme to make contact by phone, or face to face and also to attend a monthly mentoring group. As with all mentoring the relationships will be closely monitored and supported. They will be time limited, with all who are involved signing a mentoring agreement showing what level of support will be provided. Mentors will help mentees set goals and will stand alongside those they are supporting to help and encourage progress towards these.

6 6 Phil Griffiths, the Project Co-ordinator and Manager of lead body Tan Y Maen has been involved in setting up and managing peer mentoring projects in the past and sees a move into mentoring for mental health and wellbeing as a natural extension of the benefits which mentoring has already brought to the lives of those supported hitherto in other areas. This is more than peer mentoring and is a move to engage with the whole community to put supporting people with mental health and wellbeing challenges right at the top of community priorities, Phil said, Our Wellbeing Without Walls initiative throws down a challenge to us all to make mental health and wellbeing the responsibility of everyone. We hope that, through this project, people who might have previously shut themselves away can now come out into the open and get the support they need to re-engage with both the community and with their lives, in the knowledge that they have a champion who can help them to achieve their aspirations and move quicker towards recovery The success for individuals involved in the project relies heavily on making appropriate matches between individuals. A spokesperson for PRIME said, We have learnt what works and what doesn t by direct engagement on a day to day level with mentors and mentees and considering the feedback we have received from both groups. We are confident that those engaged in this project will achieve a high level of satisfaction with the support which can be provided through this new approach Phil Griffiths added, We are not trying to supplant or compete with existing support arrangements that people are accessing now, either from statutory or voluntary services, but to complement these so that individuals can get more out of them. We feel that our model sits between advocacy and support and will enhance the opportunities for both For more information about the Mentora Conwy service please go to the website at where you will also be able to make referrals for support for yourself or for others and where you can apply to become a volunteer mentor. Volunteers will receive full training and support for their role. The project team can be contacted by calling or by at mentoraconwy@gmail.com. The project makes regular posts on twitter on so please follow us for the most up to date information.

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8 8 Place2Be Level 3 Certificate Course Forthcoming Events Public Engagement: Theory and Practice (Accredited by Agored Cymru) 18 June June July 2014 Rhyl This comprehensive, three-day accredited course is aimed at providing a greater awareness and understanding of participative engagement. For more information please click here

9 9 Forthcoming Events Safeguarding Children in Asylum Seeking Refugee Families 18 June 2014 Trinity Church, Newport Road, Cardiff A Day of information, workshops and activities for asylum seekers and refugee families to celebrate the work of the Including Family Project. For more information please click here A two-day course September 2014 Cardiff Delegates will explore the role of the group facilitator, and be able to use facilitation skills to engage constructively with group participants from a variety of groups running in different settings. The course will enable delegates to base their work on the principles of equal opportunities. For more information please click here A one-day course Working With Groups Working Positively With Autistic Children in the Early Years 23 September 2014 Cardiff This course offers participants a broader understanding of how autism can impact on early development, play and social interaction. This deeper understanding can underpin positive and progressive relationships with autistic children. For more information please click here Mental Wellbeing in All Policies September 2014 Imperial College, London The 8th World Congress on the Promotion of Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders For more information please click here

10 10 Future contributions If you would like to contribute to future editions of Mental Health Promotion Wales please contact: Marie Griffiths All Wales Mental Health Promotion Coordinator Public Health Wales Hadyn Ellis Building Maindy Road, Cathays Cardiff CF24 4HQ Tel: Register free To join the network: Visit the website and complete a short online form. Please be assured that your details are kept in the strictest confidence. However, if you wish to unsubscribe from receiving Mental Health Promotion Wales then please Marie.Griffiths2@wales.nhs.uk