Blogging about mental health issues
Each week we publish blog posts on a whole range of topics, relating in some way to mental health — written by Mind staff, service users and health and policy professionals. Some blog posts may not reflect official Mind policy.
We welcome comments and questions on our posts, but have a few ground rules to keep the site welcoming and interesting to every body. The first rule is the most important: be respectful of other commenters and bloggers.
England:
-
8 October 2010
Getting movingThis weekend marks the start of Time to Get Moving week where thousands of people across England will get together to get active and challenge mental health discrimination. Mind volunteer Andy talks about the benefits exercise has made to his own mental health.
2 Comments -
19 January 2010
Will pre-employment health checks be a thing of the past?According to psychologist Cliff Arnall, yesterday was the most depressing day of the year. Well may be so, but there was at least one reason to be cheerful: the government tabled an amendment to its Equality Bill which will ban pre-employment health questionnaires.
PEQs are routinely sent out with job application forms, and ask applicants to disclose information about current and previous health conditions, medications they are taking, and so on. Ostensibly employers need this information simply to ensure that the candidate is fit for the role in question, and a quick Google search will tell you that PEQs are a “vital”, “useful” or even “fundamental” part of the recruitment process.
Frankly, I’m not convinced. PEQs give employers an opportunity to ‘weed out’ the applicants that they don’t like the look of, because they have a mental health problem (or indeed any other health condition). And because it’s done at the application stage, this type of discrimination is virtually undetectable – you may strongly suspect that the reason you didn’t get invited to interview is because of your mental health history, but how on earth will you prove it?
Not all discrimination is quite so deliberate of course. Some employers might assume a person with mental health problems is unsuitable not out of malice, but out of ignorance, or misunderstanding. But the consequence for the applicant is the same – soul destroying, confidence-shattering rejection.
PEQs also deter many applicants from applying for jobs in the first place, because they predict that stigma towards mental health will mean their application form is automatically stuck on the ‘no’ pile. No wonder, given fewer than four in ten employers say they would employ anyone with a mental health problem.
There is simply no reason to include a health questionnaire at this stage of the recruitment process. Applicants should be judged on their ability to do the job, not on their medical diagnosis, and the inclusion of a PEQ detracts from this. If an applicant’s health condition means he or she will need extra in-work support to do the job, then so be it – but let’s ask those questions after the interview, not before. After all, employers have a statutory duty to provide reasonable adjustments for employees with mental health problems, to help them fulfill the role, but PEQs enable many to quietly shirk this duty.
The USA and several European countries already have legislation preventing employers from asking about health until after a conditional job offer has been made.
Thankfully, after many meetings and intense pressure, letters, and briefings from Mind and other health charities, the government has decided to address this loophole. The amendment tabled yesterday (69A* if you’re interested) prevents employers from asking questions about health prior to interview (except in very limited circumstances), and gives the Equality and Human Rights Commission powers of enforcement, to ensure employers comply.
We can’t crack open the champagne just yet; the Bill isn’t an Act and there are some who believe it never will be, due to lack of parliamentary time. But if it does go through, it will be a real victory for untold numbers of people with mental health problems who are trying to return to work.
Louise Kirsh, Parliamentary Officer
1 Comment -
7 December 2009
The coming decadeToday sees the publication of not one but four separate Government documents on mental health - a type of "Super Monday" for mental health policy.
Most are lengthy pieces of work, but they are all important reading. For the first time we have a cross-governmental strategy for mental health - this is a vital symbol of a change in approach. We know from the work we've done in recent years such as Another assault, on employment, and on men and mental health, that people who experience mental health issues need support from across the state - to find work, and to be treated as an equal citizen.
New Horizons and the Department for Work and Pensions commissioned the Perkins Review to focus on a more positive, recovery oriented approach to mental health and employment. For too long, we've just assumed that equality is not realistic, yet there are many people who work while managing a mental health condition. It's important that the basis of services should be on what people can do, rather than what they can't do.
We are now starting to see a recognition of the need to address wellbeing and mental health promotion. The early signs are promising - the Time to Change campaign is already having an impact, and work in schools on resilience is a step forward.
Together, they form a chance for people to be more empowered, and to change the way the state treats people with a mental health problem.
So here's the challenge - how does a vision for the next ten years become a reality when there's no money, fewer targets and an election looming?First, mental health services need to continue to improve. People's experiences of them are still too patchy, and speedy access to effective care is still vitally important.
Secondly, cross-governmental strategies need momentum to keep going. There is now no turning back from this and whoever wins the next election will need to ensure this works.
Finally, it needs resources - not necessarily new ones but a reprioritisation. For example, better mental health training for frontline workers and use of public health and communications budgets to tackle stigma and discrimination.
People with mental health problems have been marginalised and excluded for too long, we must seize the chance to change this.
1 Comment -
18 November 2009
Social care: saving the state moneyOver the past month I've been interviewing people about their experiences of social care services, to inform Mind's response to the social care Green Paper.
It's really opened my eyes to how vital these services are to supporting people with mental health problems to stay well and live independently in the community, and to preventing crises.
But at the moment far too few people with experience of mental distress are entitled to access social care. Those who do receive services often find they are not flexible enough to fit round their needs, or they are not offered a choice of services, due to pressures on the public purse.
One person I spoke to was refused an art therapy evening class costing just £80 for the whole term, because she was already doing a vocational training course for two days a week, and her social worker said she could only have one thing at once.
To me, this approach is misguided. We all know that because of the recession there are greater pressures on public spending than ever before. But investing in preventive social care services now will save the state money in the long run, helping people with mental health problems towards recovery and reducing the need for expensive crisis care interventions. A smart Government will take this forward in its proposals for a future social care system.
Amy Whitelock, Policy and Campaigns Officer
Read more on Mind's response to the Green Paper
Start the discussion -
6 November 2009
Mental health services for refugees and asylum seekers - a messy pictureFor many years, Mind has stood up for (and with) people who are marginalised in our society.
We stood up for people in institutional care in the asylums, we stood up for people who faced a loss of liberty because of their mental health, and we continue to tackle the stigma faced by 90 per cent of people who experience a mental health problem.
But it is the plight of people who are seeking refuge in our country which has been highlighted by two new Mind reports (A civilised society: mental health provision for refugees and asylum seekers in England and Wales and Improving mental health support for refugee communities) which were launched yesterday. The product of two years of research seeking to understand the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers who experience mental health problems, the results make for interesting reading.
And it's a pretty messy picture. There's a lack of joined up policy between the Home Office and the Department of Health. Refugees and asylum seekers are entitled to access very limited services, and evidence shows that even these are being provided in a patchy way. There are cultural and linguistic barriers, and in many cases there is a lack of expertise and understanding.
Perhaps this quote from an Afghan refugee best summarises what we found:The relationship with mental health services is one of extremes - from nothing being available on one hand, to overreaction and sectioning on the other. It is often difficult to find the appropriate middle ground.
Many people arrive in this country fleeing war and persecution because of their beliefs - they may well arrive without having had a chance to seek help for their mental health, because at home they feared for their lives. And so they may well arrive with an existing mental health need.
However it is also possible that the asylum process can add to this distress, and exacerbate poor mental health, as this Iraqi mental health advocate explains:
Family and other support systems may have been left behind...people can become very isolated.
Yet, our reports suggest it doesn't have to be like this. A Somali Advocacy Project, run by Mind in Harrow, works with the local community to ensure that people get the help they need, that interpreters (both linguistic and cultural) are on hand. Funded and evaluated by the King's Fund it offers hope of a long-term sustainable model.
Abdi, who runs this project, describes passionately the help he offers:This sort of self sustaining model is what we have been looking for and it's giving people their life back.
So where next? Our own funding for this work, from the Lloyds TSB Foundation and Department of Health has enabled us to map available help, develop a training course for refugee community organisations, and recommend ways forward. It's a great start, and a unique piece of work but there's much more that needs to be done.
The issues around immigration are often politically sensitive, and it's not always a popular cause, but Mind is committed to helping refugees and asylum seekers find the help and support they need. We need to stimulate debate and discussion, through this blog and beyond.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive, Mind
Mind's reports
A civilised society: mental health provision for refugees and asylum seekers in England and Wales
Improving mental health support for refugee communities
Start the discussion -
7 October 2009
Thousands sign Disability Living Allowance petitionUPDATE: Disability Living Allowance will not be scrapped!
Over 12,000 people have now signed the petition on the Number 10 website calling on the Government to protect Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA). The petition was launched by Mind in partnership with other disability charities and it's really great that so many people have signed up in just a month! It just goes to show how incredibly important DLA and AA are for people with mental health problems and other disabilities.
Now we really need to hammer home the message to this Government - and any future Government - that DLA and AA must never be scrapped as part of any reform of the social care system.
Please sign the petition now if you haven't already. You can also have your say on this issue, and the wider social care debate, by responding to the Government's consultation which runs until 13 November.
Please campaign with us and add your voice to the thousands already calling for the protection of these vital disability benefits.
Amy Whitelock, Policy and Campaigns Officer
7 Comments -
17 September 2009
Why the wellbeing of NHS staff is so importantSo, NHS staff take the more sick days than anywhere else in the public sector? Anyone who has had any experience with the day to day running of NHS services can't be that shocked by this.
Growing up in a household of medic parents, I know the stress that these professions can entail. I imagine that if I told my mum that a quarter of NHS staff go off sick due to stress, depression and anxiety, she would simply look a bit baffled and reply "Surely stress, depression and anxiety are part of the job?!"
Speaking with people who use NHS mental health services over the last few months, as we consult on the Department of Health's plans for New Horizons, the next 10 year strategy for mental health, the issue of NHS staff wellbeing keeps cropping up.
The general opinion is that there are some great people working in mental health services but too many of them just aren't treated properly. Instead, they can be overworked and left with little support of their own. The resulting absenteeism then goes on to have a very negative effect on clients who, even in a crisis, are told that their psychiatrist isn't available or that their community psychiatric nurse will be changing for the umpteenth time. In fact, more than 80 per cent of NHS staff questioned admitted that their health affected the quality of care they gave to patients.
Users of NHS services deserve better continuity with mental health professionals who are well enough to provide the right care, and mental health professionals deserve a better working environment that practices what it preaches.
As the Department of Health begins to draw up plans to improve wellbeing across the whole population, let's hope they remember the needs of their own. You can have your say on the Department of Health's plans for New Horizons.
Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer
3 Comments