resources

The NSF for five years on

Department of Health, 2004

Free from NIMHE: www.nimhe.org.uk

Louis Appleby, national director for mental health, provides a five-year progress update on the national service framework (NSF) for mental health. The NSF for mental health was published in 1999, setting out a vision for mental health care in England.

Choosing mental health

Mental Health Foundation, 2005

Free from Mental Health Foundation website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk

This report provides a critique of Choosing Health, the government's recent public health white paper, from a mental health perspective. It notes that Choosing Health includes very few specific actions relating to mental health, in comparison with proposed actions on smoking, obesity and diet. It offers a series of recommendations to shape the future direction of public mental health.

Beyond the water towers: the unfinished revolution in mental health services 1985-2005

Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2005

£10.00 from Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health t 020 7827 8352 www.scmh.org.uk

This book examines the dramatic changes in the UK mental health services landscape over the last 20 years, covering the lifespan of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. It examines the key issues facing mental health services in the course of the transition from a system dominated by large Victorian hospitals to one based primarily on a growing range of community-based services, and looks towards the future. Contributors include many of the country's leading experts in mental health care.

New thinking about employment and mental health

Grove B, seeker J, seebohm P (eds)

Radcliffe Publishing, 2005

ISBN 1 85775 667 3. £24.95 from any good bookshop.

With a nod in the direction of the government mantra, part one of this book is entitled: 'Work with security when you can, security when you can't.' The four chapters in this section challenge prevailing myths about mental health and employment: it is not the symptoms or severity of a person's mental distress that determine whether they are able to work, but motivation; far from being unmotivated, most mental health service users do indeed want to work. Part two, 'Hitting the bottom and getting back up,' examines what security in work actually means. It explores how people who find themselves at the bottom of the slippery slope to long-term unemployment and social exclusion can be supported to make the journey back up to a fulfilling working life. The focus of part three, 'Avoiding the slippery slope,' is on strategies delivered further 'upstream' - attempts to avoid this descent and erosion of hope in the first place. Contributors to the publication include service users, researchers, practitioners and service managers.

FST project participants' and their clinicians' perceptions of the impact of having access to work opportunities through the first step trust (FST) project in Broadmoor

Lockett H, Seeker J, Grove B

Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health/Anglia Polytechnic University, 2005. Available (free) from [email protected]

This is the first time research has been undertaken to assess the impact of work opportunities in a high security setting. The results of this qualitative study indicate that the provision of 'realistic' vocational preparation, as delivered by the FST project, can have a positive impact on individual rehabilitation and preparation for discharge - as evidenced by the perceptions of the FST project participants themselves and their clinicians. Enabling the renewal of existing skills may be as important as facilitating new skills - both for maintaining engagement in the FST project and for increasing people's potential to find work once discharged. The study recommends further research to develop our understanding of the effects of work rehabilitation in secure settings.

Paying a real wage to people in work projects - a good practice guide for work projects, day services and social enterprises on enabling service users to become employees in response to the national minimum wage.

Judy Scott

MCCH Society Ltd, 2005

Available (free) from: Gordon Boxall, Chief executive officer, MCCH Society Ltd e [email protected] 101622 769171. A donation to cover p&p would be appreciated. This guide responds to the Low Pay Commission's report by providing advice and guidance to work projects, day services and social enterprises on how to make the appropriate payments. It is based on real experiences and is written by consultant Judy Scott, a national authority and adviser to government, SCIE and other organisations on issues of payments and benefits.

Better must come video From mental health services to employment: black men moving on

Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2004

£25 (statutory services), £15 (voluntary agencies) from Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. Includes a discussion booklet for trainers. Postage and packing 10%. www.scmh.org.uk or 10207 827 8352.

This video, produced in association with the Mellow project in East London, shows black men talking openly about the problems they face in moving on to voluntary work, training and paid employment after using mental health services. It tells the stories of seven men overcoming stigma, discrimination and the myth that people with mental health problems cannot work. The men take different approaches to getting work - some go to college, some do voluntary work, while others go straight into employment. The video shows how the men successfully tackle barriers to work, with a range of support and advice.

MSc vocational rehabilitation

Sheffield Hallam University.

Details from Colette Fegan t 0114 225 2581 e [email protected]

This course addresses the growing need for advanced studies in vocational rehabilitation. It aims to equip professionals working in health, employment, rehabilitation and allied services to support the government agenda for enabling people with disabilities to gain or regain employment. A wide range of barriers to employment are explored, as well as ways of addressing them. The course is underpinned by a philosophy of social inclusion. It focuses on attitudinal, behavioural and organisational change, and on intervention strategies that can assist people to maximise their potential for employment or other meaningful occupation.

Core modules include: context of vocational rehabilitation; impact and experience of disability; pathways to employment; research for the working world, and work-based project work. The course is most relevant for occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nurses, social workers and also non-health professionals and service users working with disabled people in, for example, employment or rehabilitation services.

This is a part-time course taken over three years for a full MSc award (maximum five years), and delivered through interactive workshops and seminars. Interim awards are available, including a PG Certificate (normally one year) and PG Diploma (normally two years). You can also take individual modules for continuing professional development.

Copyright Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Ltd. Aug 2005
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