@andybell-centremh.bsky.social
Works at Centre for Mental Health
Today @centreformh.bsky.social we’re sharing our bold new five-year strategy for a mentally healthier future. We’re determined to make a difference through our work. Please have a read and join us www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/our...
09.09.2025 11:29 — 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
We need to talk about wealth inequality and mental health (joint post with @andybell-centremh.bsky.social at @centreformh.bsky.social)
01.09.2025 11:03 — 👍 34 🔁 14 💬 0 📌 0
Quote from Person with lived experience of inpatient care: “Every time I have been admitted and then released ‘back into the community’, you have to start all over again… You have to pick up the pieces and come to terms and recover from having been in one of the most scariest and traumatic environments ever.”
Quote from Person with lived experience of inpatient care: “You can’t reinforce a state of feeling safe or wanting to open up, or wanting to engage with these services or enter into a practice of self love, because you’re in a state of fight or flight.”
⚠️ Crisis and acute mental health care saves lives.
But provision is patchy and inconsistent, and experiences of coercive care can be re-traumatising.
We explored what's needed to deliver inpatient care which is timely, compassionate and effective: tinyurl.com/yt2cn8y9 @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social
New today from @centreformh.bsky.social our policy briefing from @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social studies of crisis and acute inpatient care in England. Key messages: current provision is patchy and not always well aligned with evidence from research
20.08.2025 09:49 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
⚠️ Crisis and acute inpatient care needs to change.
People facing a mental health crisis too often struggle to get the right support. And alternatives to hospital care sometimes exclude the people who need them most.
We're urging @england.nhs.uk to invest in this vital system tinyurl.com/yt2cn8y9 🧵
📢New research 📢 Our new qualitative study provides the first in-depth study exploring individuals experiences and views regarding why people with eating disorders are at risk of suicide. bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
@saakshikakar.bsky.social @mrtzhrl.bsky.social
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Thank you to @nsunnews.bsky.social for funding the research. The full research article is available here:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Graphic of 8 icons of people. 7 of them are are a teal colour and one of them is yellow. Underneath the eight figures black text reads 'There are only enough mental health social workers in the NHS to support 1 in 8 people who have severe mental illness.'
🚨 There are only enough mental health social workers in the NHS to support 1 in 8 people who have severe mental illness.
Mental health social workers are vital professionals who can make such a difference to people’s life - but we need more of them.
#SocialWorkMatters
This looks like a timely report from the ever relevant @centreformh.bsky.social on the interface between the neighbourhood agenda and mental health. And it references a piece of work I did with them at @nationalvoices.bsky.social 'Ask me how I am'.
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications...
"What if every policy proposal, whether about housing, education or transport, was assessed for its impact on mental health?"
Laura Shields-Zeeman from the Netherlands' Trimbos Institute & @andybell-centremh.bsky.social consider what a mental health policy test could look like in practice 👇
The Government's vision of a Neighbourhood Health Service can only be achieved if mental health is at the heart of the model.
The Government has set out its vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service.
🎯 But this can only be achieved if mental health is at the heart of the model.
Our new resource sets out how neighbourhood teams can embed mental health support and tackle health inequalities: tinyurl.com/4zxuscyw
How do global catastrophic events – like climate change, war and pandemics – affect mental health?
And how can governments support those most at risk?
@davidwoodhead.bsky.social & @andybell-centremh.bsky.social explore in this special edition of @rsph.bsky.social's journal 👇 tinyurl.com/y5x88td3
Illustration of two people chatting in a library. Text: Mental health is made in communities. We’re celebrating what local councils are doing to support mental health around the country.
Illustration of a children's swimming lesson. Text: Tell us about your local initiatives that are making a difference.
🏘️ Local councils play a pivotal role in creating the conditions for our mental health to thrive.
We've shared a range of examples from across the country of council projects and policies which are boosting mental health locally. Want to share yours? tinyurl.com/v9jdv7ue
Could you lead our communications?
Want to shape the conversation around mental health - and drive change for those who need it most?
💼 We're looking for an Associate Director of Communications (Maternity Cover) - learn more and apply: www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/centre-... #CharityJob #Communications #MentalHealth
Illustrations of local community initiatives: two people chatting in a library; two people working on an allotment patch; a children's swimming lesson; two people in a park, one is in a wheelchair. Text reads: Local councils are doing amazing work to boost mental health. Tell us about your local initiatives that are making a difference.
📢 Local councils can’t make us all mentally healthy. But they can give us the best possible chance of having good mental health.
💡 Across the country, councils are taking action to boost mental health locally. We've drawn together some examples of these projects and policies: tinyurl.com/v9jdv7ue
"Our mental health is getting worse. And younger generations are being especially hard hit. What we now need to understand is why, and what can be done to reverse it."
@andybell-centremh.bsky.social considers what we can learn from the new Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 👇 tinyurl.com/3skckzc4
Stood before the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt at Tate Modern and felt fury and sorrow coil together. Grief for those lost.
Rage at the silence that let it happen
My blog on remembering—not passively, but defiantly.
Grieving loudly. Loving fiercely. Refusing erasure.
thepolyphony.org/2025/07/02/q...
The new ten-year health plan makes some positive proposals to improve mental health care - but it falls far short of the transformative vision we need for the nation’s mental health.
Our response in full 👇🧵 www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/news/item/te...
📢 We’re pleased that, after robust challenge from disabled people, charities and politicians, the Government has decided to amend these changes so that people who currently receive PIP are not affected by the cuts. 🧵
27.06.2025 11:51 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
⚠️ Today's new Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey shows that mental health in England has deteriorated in recent years. Rates of common mental health problems have risen sharply, from 17.6% in 2007 to 22.6% in 2024.
We're urging the Government to take action to turn this around tinyurl.com/32wwvhmv
📍The geography of disability benefit cuts & jobs
Some of the places with the highest rates of claims have fewest vacancies to go round.
Cuts will make sick and disabled people poorer.
From @data.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/51d2...
An older Black man is sitting in a wheelchair in a relaxed space having a cup of tea and a slice of cake. He is smiling and in conversation with another older person. Text: Growing the grassroots: The impact of South East London Mind's engagement with voluntary and community organisations
📢 New report: Larger charities can tackle mental health inequalities by working alongside grassroots organisations 👇
Our evaluation of @selmindcharity.bsky.social's programme shows how grant funding enabled community groups to effectively support marginalised communities: tinyurl.com/y8z6979y
"How do I see a doctor?” Screening for mental health problems so that refugees can get the help they need buff.ly/8VGxwLE
Excellent as always from @rrowanolive.bsky.social
🧵 THREAD
Dad-of-four Mike tells Big Issue how his uses the PIP benefit to pay for the therapy that keeps his depression and suicidal ideation at bay.
23.06.2025 05:53 — 👍 17 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 1
Changing culture, one voice at a time: MPs speaking out on mental health
“13 years ago, for the first time, sitting MPs spoke about their own experiences of mental illness. Led by Kevan Jones, four MPs detailed past and present experiences of depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and perinatal depression. Before it, no MP had ever spoken in this way. Indeed, until that same year, people who had been subject to the Mental Health Act were barred from ever standing for Parliament.”
“Thanks to their efforts and those of many thousands of people in other walks of life who have done the same, it is now more possible than ever for people to share their experiences of mental distress without fearing being treated badly or shunned. While this is sadly still not the case for everyone, we’ve come a long way in just over a decade.”
“In her speech, MP Jen Craft called out the othering of people with mental illness which has held back mental health policymaking. Too often, people with mental illness only reach the attention of policymakers when a lack of support leads them to emergency services or the criminal justice system. It’s the same othering that means access and waiting time standards for mental health care are not given the same priority as those for physical health treatment.”
🗣️"People who speak out about their experiences to challenge the othering of mental ill health make a difference one step at a time. They help to foster the culture change that will make mental health equality a possibility one day.”
@andybell-centremh.bsky.social
Read in full 👉 tinyurl.com/y3h8s5pp
Black woman with shoulder-length hair is speaking to a person. Text: Changing culture, one voice at a time: MPs speaking out on mental health
🗯️ 'Changing culture, one voice at a time'
Reflecting on MP Jen Craft's recent speech sharing her lived experience, @andybell-centremh.bsky.social explores the power of MPs speaking out about mental health to fight stigma and foster culture change:
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/changing-cul...
The government's plans to cut disability benefits such as PIP will have a “catastrophic impact” on people’s finances and mental health.
05.06.2025 05:46 — 👍 32 🔁 21 💬 4 📌 0Welfare reforms could worsen health and deepen inequality.⚠️
An impact assessment by our member, @healthfoundation.bsky.social, shows that the government's reforms could make things even worse for the health of millions of vulnerable adults.
🧵1/2
‘mental health A&Es’: Are they really the answer to long waits for urgent care?
Quote: On the face of it, it looks like a good idea. Many existing emergency departments are not safe or suitable places for someone facing a mental health crisis. People in a mental health crisis face much longer waits in A&E than others, and many report negative responses from staff in mainstream crisis services.
Quote: But is a separate ‘mental health A&E’ really the answer to these problems? One of the big difficulties is that we simply don’t know. There is no model to draw on, nor research or evaluation to back it up. Where should these facilities be located? Close to existing A&Es or elsewhere? Who should staff them, and where are those staff going to come from?
Quote: A&E is a place where people with a mental illness have a right to go – just as much as anyone else. And that means not only accepting and meeting the needs of people in a mental health crisis, but adapting the environment and routines of emergency departments to enable that.
🗯️ Are ‘mental health A&Es’ really the answer to long waits for urgent care?
@andybell-centremh.bsky.social sets out the questions that still need resolving, and calls for an evidence-based approach to crisis care that works for everyone who needs it: tinyurl.com/mryhmxhj
Love this thread. suffice to say the middle aged and elderly have been wringing their hands about the feckless young for well over 100 years
28.05.2025 18:55 — 👍 122 🔁 31 💬 7 📌 1
