Let’s REACH for good mental health

Stories on the subject of mental health care have rarely been far from the headlines in recent months and the issues of access, waiting times and standards of care never far from our thoughts. But what about looking deeper than that? What about if we could solve those delivery problems and focus on what the fundamental pillars of good mental health care are made of? What makes a mental health service a good mental health service?

Looking back over my last twenty years supporting vulnerable people I believe there are just five basic areas that apply just as much to helping us stay mentally healthy as to those requiring intensive clinical support.

Relationships – Trusting, caring relationships are a core foundation of our mental wellbeing. To believe we are cared about we need to feel a human connection and too often public services focus on maintaining artificial boundaries between those delivering and receiving services to the detriment of both sides.

Environment – The physical environment people are living in. From those living independently to those being looked after elsewhere a poor environment encourages poor mental health. If people feel safe, secure and valued they are much more likely to stay well and recover faster.

Activity – We all need to feel we have a role in society and for most of us this comes from our occupation. Without it we too easily lose our sense of self and worth and any intervention that doesn’t address this vital area will always be temporary. Activity also improves our physical health; something still often overlooked in mental healthcare.

Compassion – Sometimes we’re just too hard on ourselves. We see media portrayals of what ‘normal’ is supposed to be and beat ourselves up because we don’t think we meet the standard. We need to get much better as showing compassion not just to others around us but also to ourselves. Sometimes it’s OK to be different.

Hope – The most important, and one often lacking for those with more severe mental illness is that of hope. Without a genuine belief that things can improve we get stuck and lose motivation. We all need positive role models in our lives and they should be a core part of any service we want to deliver.

You might notice that I’ve not mentioned drugs, the health service, hospitals or psychiatrists in my five points. That’s deliberate. Whilst all have a vital role to play too often we rely on medicine to be the only solution for our mental health. The health service certainly has a role to play but I’m convinced we can deliver better outcomes if we support people in the community closer to home.

You’ll also see that I didn’t talk about innovation, transformation, digital or apps. Too often I see these words bandied around as though they are solutions in their own right. They’re not. The ways we deliver good care will undoubtably change and evolve but the fundamental pillars will always remain. We know what they are, we know how to do them, we know they work and we know they’re right.

Let’s get on and do it!