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In the community for the community
Better mental health care for Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington
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Across Camden, the charity Likewise is one of the Voluntary and Community Sector organisations playing an important role in the transformation of community mental health services, helping people connect to their communities.
Support workers employed by Likewise are giving wide-ranging support to ease isolation, help with financial and housing issues, and introduce people to organisations that can support them with other problems affecting their mental health.
Likewise was one of the community organisations which, during the pandemic, formed a COVID response service for people in Camden with complex mental health needs. They worked with Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, Mind in Camden, Camden Council and others offering support and practical help to get food or medication, particularly during the lockdowns.
The initiative was called the Camden Resilience Network, you can watch a video about its work by clicking on the link below.
As the pandemic subsided, the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme built on the links forged with VCS partners. Likewise now has support workers who are members of the multidisciplinary core teams in Camden, and more of these support roles will be introduced in the coming months as the core teams roll out across the borough.
The aim is to have nine staff from Likewise working with the community mental health core teams; this model will see psychologists, physical health practitioners, social prescribers, community engagement specialists and others working together to offer holistic care tailored to each individual's needs.
The teams will work with people to help them recover from mental health conditions, supporting them with a wide range of problems including physical health, finances, housing, relationships and isolation.
Join us on Friday 30 September, 1-4pm
Please join us on Friday 30 September, between 1-4pm at Hornsey Vale Community Centre for a celebration and explanation of the many changes we are making to mental health services. We want your feedback and your input into our plans.
There will be a chance to chat to our teams while enjoying light refreshments.
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Hugo Reggiani, Director of Likewise, said: “I'm really excited about the transformation because it means that the experience of people using services in Camden will be much more human and joined-up. The goal is to put the whole person at the heart of everything and to support them in a way that makes sense to them and that very much acknowledges their humanity.”
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 Likewise is a charity and community centre in Camden with a long history of supporting people across the community.
It works with people from all backgrounds and circumstances to support wellbeing and community and focus on the things that matter to each person. It aims to constantly learn from the people it works with to create relationships and spaces where people feel acceptance and belonging.
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Research suggests that people with a mental health condition are more likely to have a physical health problem.
To ensure we are helping people as effectively and holistically as possible, Physical Health Practitioners are working with service users and liaising with core teams. They carry out physical health checks, but also encourage a healthy lifestyle, such as suggesting ways people could be more active.
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Emily Burch, Associate Director of Physical Health at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust said: “The Physical Health Practitioners are working directly with service users, looking at what they need. They can do blood tests and checks but they also do health promotion and motivational interviewing.
“We are developing links with GPs so that people can access other services if appropriate, and also investing in new technology; the practitioners will, in future, be able to use handheld ECG Machines and Point-of-Care systems that will give immediate results for blood tests. The service user will be given the results straightaway and referred to someone who can help them, if that’s needed.”
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Zoe Silverthorne joined the Trust in April as a Physical Health Practitioner with the Early Intervention and Psychosis Team, in Enfield.
She said: "My job includes things such as physical health monitoring, doing blood tests, checking blood pressure and Body Mass Index, which we refer to as BMI and can be an indicator of whether someone is overweight. I ask people lifestyle questions and we discuss the results of the tests. I give them advice about anything they could be doing to improve their physical health. If the tests reveal anything abnormal or anything that is a cause for concern then I advise them on next steps and they can see their GP, the aim is to catch things early.
“I also do some one-to-one work for service users who need more support with their physical health. This tends to involve motivational interviewing so that we can get an idea of each service user's individual needs. The idea is that it can empower an individual to have a say in their goals and activities, rather than us just telling them what to do. As a result, they are much more likely to engage and enjoy their physical health plan.
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"Sometimes people aren’t well enough to engage with this because of their mental health condition, and we monitor them to see whether they are ready at a later stage in their recovery. However many service users do find it very helpful and I’ve had great feedback from some people about how much it has helped them and how much better they feel both physically and mentally, which is great to hear.”
The Physical Health Practitioner role is one of many new roles in our Community Mental Health Transformation Programme and is developing as staff discover what works best, taking in service user feedback. Zoe is already looking at running group for service users who would like to undertake a Couch-to-5k challenge and is also looking at other initiatives.
She said: “It is all about working with the service user and seeing what they want and what they feel will help them most; seeing their achievements is really rewarding.”
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 The lived experience of people who have recovered from mental health conditions is being used to help treat others as part of our new model of holistic, person-centred care.
Jean-Luc Leiritz has been a peer coach at Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust for seven years. He joined the Kentish Town South Core Team a year ago, working with psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, community support workers, social workers and others as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Together, they offer wraparound support within the community, meeting weekly to discuss the best recovery path.
Jean-Luc says: “If the psychiatrists think that someone would benefit from peer support, they discuss that with them and explain what peer support is. I then get in touch and we talk about how it will work and arrange a first meeting. We can agree where and when to meet, sometimes in a park, in a café or at their house. It is very important at that first meeting to establish trust. If trust is there, then people feel they can open up. They can speak about the difficulties and sometimes very traumatic events.
“By nature, peer coaching, builds that special trust; people like me, with lived experience of mental health, are quite unique. There is a different relationship to that with other health professionals. I tell them that I had several episodes of quite deep depression but I recovered and that can give them hope that they too can recover. My work ethic is inspired by the Recovery Model which puts the client at the centre of her/his recovery”.
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Jean-Luc had previously worked for the NHS as a drama therapist, experience which helps him in his current role. However, all peer support coaches are given training before working with clients. Jean-Luc explains: “The training included mental health illnesses, psychology, safeguarding, health and safety, risk assessment and mental health law. It is very extensive, a good preparation for working with clients.”
People are offered ten one-hour sessions of peer coaching, although that can be extended if they feel more support would be beneficial. Peer support workers and clients together decide priorities and goals in the spirit of co-production and assess progress during sessions.
Jean-Luc explains: “Sometimes people just want to talk and use the sessions to process preoccupations and emotions.
"Sometimes they are isolated and I introduce them to befriending organisations or take them to places like Manor Gardens or signpost them to groups or activities that they may enjoy or have a particular interest in, gardening groups, art classes or to the Recovery College.
"Some people have problems with benefits or housing and I can support them filling in forms or going to hearings with them. Every client has different needs and together we discuss how I can best help them.”
Jean-Luc says the role of peer coach has also had a positive impact on his life: “I've got a reason to get up in the morning. In most cases, I feel I make a real difference and that gives me a great sense of achievement, and self-worth, particularly when I see a client, like the one I saw for the first time last week. We sat on a bench and he opened up about his problems and at the end he said: “ I'm feeling better already.” That gives me a sense that I’m doing something meaningful.”
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Voluntary community sector organisations are being commissioned to work with mental health teams to help service users in the areas where they live.
This model of care will be available across North Central London as part of the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme. Haringey’s East Core Community Team, has been one of the front-runners, pioneering this new way of working, ahead of it being rolled out to the Haringey West and Central core teams and other areas.
In Haringey, the charity Hestia has a team of Community Engagement Practitioners who support people with a wide range of needs and problems affecting their mental health. The team are building relationships with other voluntary community groups so that they can refer people to a broad range of services and opportunities to help their recovery. They include practitioners from diverse backgrounds, many of whom speak different languages, and are able to connect with clients who may otherwise experience communication issues.
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Hestia’s VCS Service Team Manager, Yaprak Olmez, said the community engagement practitioners help people with many issues, but key ones that arise most often are housing and isolation.
“We support people to resolve social and practical needs, helping them to build relationships, exploring what is available that may be of interest to them, offering a befriender. Sometimes, people don’t want the help initially, perhaps they don’t feel ready, but we continue to support them and perhaps later they will decide to try something new.
“We are not housing specialists but we do work with organisations that can help people with housing issues. We offer open-ended support, there is no time limit, recognising that everyone’s recovery journey is different."
At the moment, people cannot refer themselves to the service; the team supports service users who are referred to them from both Primary and Secondary Care. GPs can refer to the community engagement team, or the service could be asked to support people who are waiting for psychological therapies.
Yaprak said: “While people are waiting for an appointment we work with them to see what else may be able to help. We can suggest activities, organisations, groups, as well as looking at needs such as benefits and housing, which could be causing anxiety.”
“Sometimes we do a home visit and spend time building rapport. Often people don’t know where to go to get help and community engagement practitioners are able to suggest things.”
The service currently offers one-to-one support but is also looking at doing group work as it develops and broadens its offer.
If you think that you need mental health support, please see your GP and ask for a referral.
Hestia began providing support to adults in crisis in 1970 after its founder, Jim Horne, experienced street homelessness in London. He started a soup run for men and women living on the streets and worked with local authorities to provide accommodation. Within the year, over 800 people were provided with a safe space to sleep at night.
Since then, Hestia has grown to support more than 15,000 adults and children in crisis across London every year. It provides support for those experiencing domestic abuse, modern slavery and mental health needs.
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Published by
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, St Ann's Hospital, St Ann's Road,
London N15 3TH
Email: beh-tr.communications@nhs.net
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