SAMH launches first walk-in mental health hub in Glasgow

We’re thrilled to be working with health and social care professionals, peer workers and people with lived experience across Wales. Together, HEIW and NHS Performance and Improvement are beginning the journey to develop a strategic plan for lived experience within the new mental health model of care in Wales. Lived experience and mental health peer support involves people who have personal experience of mental health issues, helping shape and deliver mental health services and using their experiences to support each other. Their experience enables them to deliver care on a personal, compassionate and relatable level which helps people feel more comfortable to talk through their own mental health challenges and to find the support that they want and need. Yesterday saw the first of three events where we came together to discuss the importance and impact of lived experiences and peer support. The day was full of great discussion, fantastic insight and the start of an impactful journey in mental health care in Wales. To find out more about the wider mental health plan visit: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e8XMQdjU #MentalHealth #LivedExperience #Healthcare #NHSWales

The Productivity Commission's work repeats their findings from 2020 - nothing has improved in those five years. In fact according to the National Mental Health Commission 2024 Report Card "many...core indicators are not showing improvement or have shown some deterioration in recent years." The 2008 National Mental Health Policy's aims were to: - promote the mental health and wellbeing of the Australian community and, where possible, prevent the development of mental health problems and mental illness - reduce the impact of mental health problems and mental illness, including the effects of stigma on individuals, families and the community - promote recovery from mental health problems and mental illness -assure the rights of people with mental health problems and mental illness, and enable them to participate meaningfully in society." The 2012 Mental Health Statement of Rights and Responsibilities outlined mental health rights and responsibilities of consumers, carers, support persons, service providers and the community. And "A national framework for recovery-oriented mental health services: guide for practitioners and providers" detailed guidance to mental health practitioners and services on recovery-oriented practice and service delivery" published in 2013 with its Foreword noting: "It began as people with lived experience, carers and advocates sought greater influence and control over their experiences in mental health services. Then individual practitioners and organisations began to incorporate the recovery approach into their practice and service provision. What started as a grassroots movement led to government policy as national, state and territory governments formally adopted a recovery approach. A national recovery framework agreed by all governments across Australia is the next important step along the path. Work on a national framework began in March 2011. Since the very beginning, people with a lived experience of mental health issues, their carers and families have participated enthusiastically in its development. Their passion and optimism have been inspirational. The process was a truly collaborative one with state and territory mental health service directorates and chief psychiatrists working in partnership to share research, gather evidence and create opportunities for participation by leaders, managers, practitioners, peer workers and volunteers in mental health services across Australia." And here we are just over a decade later - a system "inadequate, ill-informed and under-resourced". Why?

The world is reimagining mental health care — not as a distant clinic, but as a space you can access from the comfort of your home. Our latest blog explores how virtual therapy for anxiety and depression is transforming counselling into a more accessible, compassionate, and stigma-free experience. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gJHQRAf7

💻 How does telehealth therapy make mental health care more accessible? In this Ask a Counsellor, Katie Larkin and Clark Robertson from Vision Counselling discuss how online and telehealth sessions remove barriers for clients — from travel and time constraints to living in rural or remote areas. With secure, confidential video sessions, individuals and couples can access professional support from the comfort of their own home — making mental health care more flexible and inclusive for everyone. 🌿 Vision Counselling – Peace. Relief. Hope. A way forward. 👉 Learn more at visioncounselling.com.au #AskACounsellor #VisionCounselling

Every person has the right to good mental health care. The WHO Course on Policy and Leadership in Mental Health is designed to empower leaders to build mental health systems that protect rights, reduce stigma, and deliver support where it’s needed most. 📖 Learn more: https://bit.ly/4kPutOo #MentalHealthLeadership

Sint Maarten has taken a major step by institutionalizing lived experience within its national mental health strategy. The Ministry of VSA received the final draft of the "Stronger Minds, Stronger Communities" (2025–2035) plan, which was shaped by two years of consultation with individuals who have lived experience of mental health and substance use challenges. The plan's "Network of Support" focus area formally integrates peer support as a core function of lived experience professionals, marking a significant policy-level commitment. Read full article here: https://lnkd.in/ewzR4XK7

In Massachusetts and across the nation, there is an urgent crisis that too often remains in the shadows: mental health and suicide. We see every day how access to behavioral health services can transform one’s health, and we are committed to ensuring that all our members, including first responders and public safety professionals and their families, can easily access confidential mental health services. In a https://ow.ly/6vMX50Xm0xS op-ed, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Wellpoint General Manager David Morales outline why we must all work together to break the stigma and change the culture around mental health. https://ow.ly/2L3c50Xm0xT #MentalHealth #BehavioralHealth #WholeHealth

This Healthwatch report underpins the work we are doing under the Co-occurring mental health and substance use (COMHSU) programme of work, seeking to remove barriers to care and improving the outcomes for those in Hertfordshire suffering with both substance use and mental health issues.

SSWR member Dr. Michelle Munson, Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work, was featured on WBUR’s On Point discussing the alarming rise in young adult suicide rates. Her research focuses on how adolescents and young adults access and experience mental health care, and how to make those services more relevant and responsive to their lived experiences. Through her innovative “Just Do You” intervention, Dr. Munson and her team are helping young people stay engaged in treatment by reducing stigma and creating culturally attuned mental health supports. Listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/enm_NWWf

Living with a mental health condition can make it difficult to #TalkMoney. For day 2 of Talk Money Week, learn how MaPS have worked in partnership to distribute a Mental Health and Money Toolkit. You will also discover how frontline practitioners from Scotland and Northern Ireland have used it to #StartTheConversation about mental health and money difficulties 👇 https://ow.ly/mXIh50XkRJJ