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People experiencing mental health difficulties

Introduction: 

Mental health difficulties, such as anxiety or depression, can affect anyone at any time in their lives.

Key Projects: 

Transformation Fund projects provided many benefits for learners experiencing mental health difficulties by:

 

Details of projects involving learners with dementia can be found on the page about older learners.

Lessons Learned: 

Informal adult learning can make a positive contribution to the well-being of adults experiencing mental health difficulties. Projects found that:

  • People with mental health difficulties may find it hard to commit to regular activities and a course of learning sessions in the first instance. Informal engagement activities, such as drop-in sessions, were vital.
  • Partnerships with front-line organisations working with people experiencing mental health difficulties were important. GPs' surgeries, mental health charities and Mental Health Trusts were all involved in successful projects.
  • When projects assessed participants at stages through the project they gathered evidence that well-being improved. However sometimes anxiety increased towards the end of the project as people were unsure what they would do after it finished.
  • Some established groups were able to take on the responsibility of continuing the learning activities on a self-organised basis. They needed to know that support was still available if required. This can be a very cost-effective way of maintaining learning and mental health improvement.
Making it work: 

When you are developing learning opportunities for people experiencing mental health difficulties it's important to:

  • Provide plenty of support at the outset and recognise that regular attendance may be difficult for some participants due to the variability of their health from day-to-day.
  • Avoid too much form filling and paperwork as this may provoke anxiety.
  • Take time to build relationships and develop trust. When people are suffering from anxiety disorders they need to know that activities will continue for a reasonable length of time.
  • Recognise and celebrate creativity. Art and craft-based learning activities can be particularly valuable for people with mental health difficulties as learners gain the satisfaction of seeing an end product from their activity.
  • Encourage group participation which can take the focus away from individual feelings and help to build up relationships.
  • Recognise the physical and mental health benefits that can come from outdoor learning activities.
  • Recognise that with appropriate support learners can gradually take on more responsibility for organising learning activities themselves, and work towards this.
Background: 

Our mental health affects our capacity to form and sustain relationships and cope with life events. Positive mental health enables individuals to get the best out of life, in their personal lives, in families, in employment and in communities.

 

MIND (the mental health charity) estimates that one in four people will experience mental distress at some point in their lives that will prompt them to seek support whether through their GP, through counselling or other therapy. At any one time, around 20% of women and 12.5% of men in England are experiencing common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety (NHS Information Centre, 2007).  Dementia is an increasing problem as we have an ageing population in the UK.  Mental health services account for one pound in every seven that the NHS spends (Dept of Health 2009).

 

The government report on Mental Capital and Well-being outlined the opportunities and challenges facing the UK over the next 20 years and beyond, and the implications for everyone's mental development and mental well-being.

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