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 and promoting new ways of helping people with mental health problems get and keep work.
  • Criminal justice: identifying effective methods of supporting and diverting people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system.
  • Mental health at work: training managers and staff to understand, identify and support people with depression and anxiety at work.
  • Recovery: helping mental health services across the UK to support people more effectively to make their own lives better on their own terms.
  • Children: helping services to divert young people from custody and get the support that they need early in life.

Our priorities

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.

Early years programme

Behavioural or conduct problems which emerge early in childhood are very likely to persist into later life. They are associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes. A two-year programme of research and development, which began in April 2011, aims to find out what makes an effective early intervention programme.

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.

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.

Making recovery a reality

We developed a framework to enable organisations to become more recovery-orientated and are now working with NMHDU and the NHS Confederation to test how this works in pracrtice in 29 demonstration and pilot sites across England, Wales and Ireland. Each receives an individually-tailored support package of expert consultancy, access to specialist, user-led training programmes and materials, and participation in a learning network. This will enable organisations to put a truly person-centred approach at the heart of service delivery with the aim of improving service user outcomes and satisfaction levels with service provision.

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.

Workplace training that gives line managers the confidence to respond to staff experiencing mental distress

Centre for Mental Health Workplace Training is a proven, work based programme that reduces the impact of depression and anxiety minimising the effects on an organisation. There are four training workshops each aimed at different staff groups within an organisation, and each delivered by accredited mental health professionals.

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.

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.