What we do

Our work is united by a common concern about the quality of life of people with mental health problems.

We work primarily with mental health and social care practitioners, policymakers and employers. We carry out research into mental health services. We do not provide services directly to people with mental health problems.

Our priority areas are:

  • Employment: developing ways to help people with mental health problems get and stay in work, and helping employers create mentally healthy workplaces.
  • Criminal justice: improving mental health care and services for people with mental health problems who are in contact with the criminal justice system.

Our priorities for employment

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and
Centres of Excellence

IPS is an effective, evidence-based approach to supporting people with mental health problems into employment. We have invited nine sites to join our Centres of Excellence in IPS programme. In each site, the local mental health trust will work with partners in employment services, local authorities and other agencies to offer people effective support to get into paid work. The learning from these sites will be shared across the UK.

Giving line managers the confidence to respond to staff experiencing mental distress

We have piloted a programme of training that addresses depression and anxiety in the workplace. It was adapted from the beyondblue National Workplace Programme from Australia. We trained over 260 managers from organisations across the private and public sectors. They were very satisfied with the training and, as a result, we will make this widely available across the UK.

Employment for people leaving the criminal justice system

We have brought together our two main work areas to identify effective pactice and develop pathways into employment for people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system. We are exploring how the principles of Individual Placement and Support can be applied in the criminal justice system.

Our priorities for the criminal justice system

Diversion and the Bradley Review

People can be diverted at ANY stage of their route through the criminal justice system. Diversion is the process to ensure that people with mental health problems who enter (or are at risk of entering) the criminal justice ystem are identified and provided with appropriate mental health services, treatment and any other support they need. We are working on a range of projects to identify how services can best implement diversion practices.

Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion: a pilot scheme

We have set up a national pilot to ensure that children and young people with mental health and other problems get the help they need as soon as they enter the youth justice system. It will take place in six sites across England and review the evidence of what are the most effective ways to address mental health needs.

Unlocking pathways to forensic mental health services

We are working with the National Mental Health Development Unit on forensic mental health services, in particular medium secure psychiatric services for offenders sent from court and transferred prisoners. We will demonstrate the care pathway between prisons and the forensic estate, uncover and illustrate current problems and blocks, and identify solutions to improve systems.

The role of research

Our research informs all our work and helps us contribute to the existing evidence base. Our research is primarily focused on criminal justice and employment. We are keen to identify important gaps in these areas and carry out work to bridge these gaps and raise the profile.

Much of our research is applied research using both qualitative and quantitative methods to do surveys, case studies, evaluations, scoping and mapping exercises. We also use secondary data sources, such as national statistics, and conduct reviews of the literature and carry out consultations with relevant stakeholders.

Our research also fulfills a 'horizon scanning' role to help us keep abreast of broader mental health issues by identifying new developments that can contribute to our two work streams and wider mental health policy.

We are committed to service user involvement in our research.