Sainsbury Centre begins pioneering Service User Empowerment Training Programme

6 April 2004

The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) has begun to deliver a brand new pilot training programme for people using mental health services.

The Service User Empowerment and Leadership Programme offers participants training in skills which can help them to achieve aims as diverse as getting employment and becoming involved in planning local mental health services. It provides people with leadership skills, such as the ability to run and participate in meetings. It also offers support to people who need to build up their confidence to go out and seek paid work or to take up the opportunities life can offer them.

The programme begins this month with a pilot scheme for 21 people in London in collaboration with the London Development Centre, supported by the NHS Leadership Centre. A second pilot is planned for the South East later this year.

Project manager Kim Woodbridge said: "The experience of being a mental health service user can damage a person's self-confidence. Years spent away from work and education make it especially difficult to have an ordinary life.

"Our programme aims to empower people by giving them the practical skills they need to manage their lives, and the confidence to go out and pursue their goals. We hope also to invest in mental health service users' skills to influence local services for the better. Every session has at least one service user trainer. The skills and professionalism of those people are a testament to what can be achieved with support of this kind.

"With user involvement now a necessity in the NHS, it is essential that the people who come forward to speak for mental health service users are offered the support and training they need to operate as effectively as possible."

Helen, a service user and trainer on the London programme, said: "There is a wealth of skill and experience amongst people who have used mental health services. It can be harnessed to improve services for other people."

Nicky, a participant, added: "It is about time this happened. Service users need to gain understanding of their importance within the mental health system. Empowerment is where it's at."

Notes to Editors

The London Service User Empowerment and Leadership Programme runs until June 2004. The South East programme will follow in the autumn. An evaluation report of the pilot programmes will be published next year.