The Shift Review Panel have published independent reviews of two new employment resources from Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Trust.

The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The panel is funded by Shift, but operates independently.

You can download the full review of the resource for all employees here
And download the full review of the resource for managers here

Find out more about the Shift Review Panel.

Tags: shift, reviewpanel, scmh, employment

Rachael talks about her experience of depression and about the attitudes of others.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, rachael

Tim talks about his experience of depression and how this has affected his home and work life.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, tim

Shift's national survey into attitudes towards mental illness has been published.

Since March 1994, the Department of Health has placed a set of questions on TNS’s Face-to-Face Consumer Omnibus about public attitudes towards mental illness. From 1994 to 1997 the questions were asked on an annual basis and then every third year up until 2003.

Since 2007 Shift has carried out the survey annually. The surveys serve as a benchmark, enabling measurement of whether attitudes are improving or worsening over time. The questionnaire included a number of statements about mental illness. Respondents were asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with each statement.

Key points from the report:

• People are broadly sympathetic towards people with a mental illness.
• However, some attitudes towards people with mental illness are worse compared to when the Department of Health first commissioned the poll in 1994 whilst a number have improved. Several attitudes that had worsened over the period up until 1997 have since improved.
• Attitudes to a number of statements have changed between 2009 and 2010.
• Opinions on some statements changed towards greater tolerance, for example:
  ‘Locating mental health facilities in a residential area downgrades the neighbourhood’ - agreement with this statement decreased from 21% to 18%.
• Some opinions moved more in favour of integrating people with mental illness into the community, for example: ‘Residents have nothing to fear from people coming into their neighbourhood to obtain mental health services’ – agreement with this statement increased from 62% to 66%.
• On one item though, opinions moved less in favour of integration: ‘Mental hospitals are an outdated means of treating people with mental illness’ – agreement with this statement fell from 37% in 2009 to 33% in 2010.

Find out more about research commissioned by Shift.

Download the full 2010 report from the Department of Health website
See our Research page for links to the full versions of previous attitude surveys

Tags: shift, research

Kate writes poems influenced by her experience of anorexia and depression. In this video she reads two of her poems.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast

Shift will be supporting a conference examining ethnicity and the use of the Mental Health Act.

The conference is taking place in London on 24 May and speakers include Melba Wilson, National Director of our partner organisation the National Equalities in Mental Health Programme.

More information about the event, including a flyer and booking forms, can be found here. Read More...

Tags: shift, bme, conference, mhequalities

Nick is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director who works in the mental health trust where he was once a patient.

In this video, Nick talks about the breaking down of 'us and them' attitudes.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, nick

Rachael talks about her experience of depression and about the attitudes of others.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, rachael

Click the "Read More..." link below to read this Shift Update newsletter.

If you would like to be sent our Shift Update newsletter by email, send a blank message to: shift-update+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Read More...

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The Shift Review Panel have published their independent review of the Mental Health Foundation's What Works for You? booklet for employers.

The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The panel is funded by Shift, but operates independently.

The review found that What Works for You?:

• explains simple steps people at work can take to support a colleague who is experiencing a mental health problem. It is easy-to-read and engaging and the advice is practical and relevant.
• It includes a short explanation about mental health, and more detail about some common mental health problems.
• There is practical advice about how to talk to someone, listening tips, responding in a crisis and keeping in touch when someone is off sick with a mental health problem.
• The brief section about what you can do as a manager provides some practical guidance on how to deal with someone they think has a mental health problem. It would be helpful to acknowledge in this section that there is much more that you need to do as a manager to support mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
• Overall, the booklet could provide a useful part of an organisations’ mental health management programme, but would probably need to be tailored to each organisation – for example, procedures around reasonable adjustments and Occupational Health advice would differ; and the image on the front would need to be less ‘industrial’ for some organisations. The resource should be made more generic, or alternatively targeted more specifically.
• The leaflet could be useful as a stand-alone item to help ensure people experiencing mental health problems get valuable support from their colleagues.
  

You can download the full review of What Works for You? here

Visit the What Works for You? page on the MHF website

Find out more about the Shift Review Panel here

Tags: shift, reviewpanel, scmh, employment, mhf, mentalhealthfoundation

This week sees the launch of four important publications that will shape how we approach mental health and employment over the coming years.

Working our way to better mental health: a framework for action

Working our way to better mental health is the first ever Great Britain-wide mental health and employment strategy, addressing well-being at work for all and better employment results for people with mental health conditions in and out of work.
For more information and to download a copy of the document, visit the Health, Work and Well-being website

Realising ambitions: Better employment support for people with a mental health condition

Realising ambitions: Better employment support for people with a mental health condition is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)-commissioned, independent review led by Rachel Perkins. It examines how we can strengthen employment, health and wider state support to help people with mental conditions on out of work benefits.
Download the review and related documents from the DWP website.

Work, Recovery and Inclusion

Work, Recovery and Inclusion is a new government delivery strategy that responds and builds on the recommendations from Realising ambitions. The report is the culmination of the Cabinet Office's Social Exclusion Task Force's work with three other Government departments – Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions. For more information and to download the Work, Recovery and Inclusion report, visit the Cabinet Office website.

New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health

New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health is a cross-government report produced by the Department of Health including commitments to action by 11 government departments. For the first time it sets out a new approach with the twin aims of improving people’s quality of life and well-being, and improving the quality and accessibility of services for people with poor mental health.
For more information and to download a copy of New Horizons, visit the DH website.

Shift's employment resources

Shift has a range of resources to help employers talk about mental health in the workplace and to support and manage staff who have mental health conditions. Shift's resources include:

Companion guide to Working our way to better mental health: a framework for action
The companion guide to Working our way to better mental health was produced by Shift and Health, Work and Well-being (HWWB) and contains a summary of the strategy commitments and up-to-date links to relevant online resources.
Download the document from the HWWB website

Life in the Office films and learning tools
Life in the Office is a series short films designed to promote discussion of mental health and mental illness in the workplace. Employers can also download quizzes and worksheets that can be used as part of education and awareness raising programmes.

Shift Review Panel
The independent Shift Review Panel helps you find the best quality-checked mental health information for employers. The panel can also help organisations looking to produce new materials about mental health and employment.

Shift Line Managers' Resource
Shift's recently updated Line Managers' Resource gives practical advice for managing and supporting people with mental health conditions in the workplace.

Shift Video Seminar
Graham Thornicroft and Diana Rose of the Institute of Psychiatry discuss mental health and employment. Graham and Diana also take part in a role play of a meeting to scope reasonable adjustments for an employee returning to work after a period of illness.

Tags: employment, dh, dwp, hwwb, cabinetoffice, bis, shift

Shift are looking for real life accounts from either employees or employers who can talk about what works when managing mental health in the workplace.

These accounts will be filmed and put on our website and on to DVDs for distribution to employers in England.

The films will aim to reduce the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health and are a means to educate, inform and spread best practice. By being filmed you will be making a real contribution towards creating change.

Click here for more about information about the films and to find out how you can get involved.
Read More...

Tags: shift, employment, films, employers, employees

Shift took part in a World Mental Health Day event in Walthamstow, north-east London.



You can see a selection of photos from the day on our Flickr pages.

Gordon Brown also made a statement about the stigma directed towards people with experience of mental health problems:

"The day when anyone with mental illness can live free of the fear of stigma is coming but it is the responsibility of all of us to bring that day about as quickly as possible."

You can read the full statement from the Prime Minister on the official 10 Downing Street website.

Tags: shift, wmhd

Shift has published an updated version of the Line Managers' Resource, a document that gives practical advice to managing and supporting people with mental health conditions in the workplace.

The resource is written for managers and recognises that workplace settings are vast and very diverse. It offers practical advice on managing and supporting people who are experiencing stress, distress and mental health conditions.

You can use it both to learn good practice in preparation for when an employee or employees are off on mental health grounds and to support their return to work.

The resource aims to directly address the fear, ignorance and stigma around engaging with someone experiencing mental health problems. The key message is that it is important to talk openly and with trust. The guide suggests practical steps that you and your employees can take together to:

• match the job requirements with the employee’s capabilities
  
• maintain regular contact with staff to identify any problems early
  
• talk at an early stage of distress to prevent the problem escalating
  
• keep in touch during sickness absence to offer support and plan for the return to work
  
• achieve a successful return to work
  
• manage a long-term illness whilst remaining in work, and
  
• access sources of support and information.

The accompanying website also provides advice and information for employees to help them to assess their own needs and plan for meetings with their manager.

It is part of Shift’s Action on Stigma initiative aimed at supporting employers to promote good mental health and reduce discrimination and is a revised edition of the original Line Managers’ Resource (LMR) published in 2007. The original LMR was itself an update of the Mind Out for Mental Health Line Managers’ Resource published in 2003.

We have produced the resource in partnership with the Department of Health, Department for Work and Pensions, Health and Safety Executive, Cross-Government Health Work Wellbeing Delivery Unit and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Find out more about these partners.

• Visit the Shift Line Managers' Web Resource to read the resource online and to download electronic copies.

Tags: shift, employers, employment, lmr

Click the "Read More..." link below to read this Shift Update newsletter.

If you would like to be sent our Shift Update newsletter by email, send a blank message to: shift-update+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Read More...

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Malcolm talks about mental health and takes us on a night out.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, malcolm

In this second video from Donna, she talks about the tearful reaction of a school friend.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, donna

Jeff talks about the reactions of others when they hear about his experience of mental health problems.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, jeff

Nick is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director who works in the mental health trust where he was once a patient.

In this video, Nick talks about the reactions of friends and colleagues when he tells them of his experience of mental health problems.

Click here to watch the video.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, nick

The Shift Review Panel have published their independent review of Shaw Trust's Tackle Mental Health website.

The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The panel is funded by Shift, but operates independently.

The review found that the Tackle Mental Health website:

• Is an excellent one-stop shop packed full of practical information and easy-to-use solutions to help managers to support staff who are dealing with mental health issues.
• Is very well designed and easy to use.
• The website is aimed at employers of any size, and from all sectors.
• The content is factually correct and evidence-based.
• There is a comprehensive section about the DDA and employers’ legal duties related to mental health issues in the workplace, and a full explanation about reasonable adjustments.
• There is a section on creating a healthy workplace, including information about HSE Management Standards and how to tackle stress at work; and guidance on developing a mental health policy. However, there are some gaps in evidence-based good practice here – the section could be revised when the NICE Guidelines on this are published in October 2009.
• Overall a valuable website providing practical and affordable solutions for employers and employees and helping raise awareness about mental health issues in the workplace.
  

You can download the full review of the Tackle Mental Health website here

Visit Shaw Trust's Tackle Mental Health website

Find out more about the Shift Review Panel here

Tags: shift, reviewpanel, scmh, employment, shawtrust

Gina talks about how her anxiety can affect relationships with friends, and also about how the media covers people with experience of mental health problems.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, gina

In this first video from Donna, she talks about how people treat her differently when they find out that she has experience of mental health problems.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information.

Would you like to be in one of our videocasts?

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, donna

Chris speaks about the need to properly support mental health in the workplace. He goes on to talk about the ways in which the media can stigmatise people with experience of mental health problems.

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, chris

Nick is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director who works in the mental health trust where he was once a patient.

In this video, Nick talks about positive and negative reporting of mental health issues, and how famous people talking about their experiences of mental health problems have helped increase public understanding.

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, nick

A change in Jane's diagnosis highlights the stigma surrounding mental health problems.

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, jane

Nick is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director working in the mental health trust where he was once a patient.

In this first video from Nick, he talks about his experiences in the workplace.

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, nick

We're currently updating our Line Managers' Resource booklet and website to further improve the guidance we give to people managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace.

As part of this work, we are looking for real life accounts from either employees or employers who can talk about times where employers have put into practice measures that have promoted and supported the mental well-being of staff. These accounts will be included in the resource and/or website.

Click the 'read more' link below for further information. Read More...

Tags: shift, employment, casestudies

In our first Shift Videocast, Paul talks about his diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the attitudes of the general public towards mental illness.

If you live in England and would like to find out how you can share your experiences of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, email us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk.

Click the 'read more' link below to watch the video and for more information. Read More...

Tags: shift, videos, videocast, podcast, paul

We've just published a new leaflet that gives people an introduction to the problem of stigma and discrimination, talks about Shift and the work that we do and tells people how they can get in touch and get involved.

If you would like to take a look at the leaflet, you can download a PDF version from the Shift Library.

Paper copies of the leaflet can be requested by emailing us at shift@nmhdu.org.uk.

Tags: shift

Shift and the Teacher Support Network are teaming up to produce short, video-diary style films that can be used to give positive examples of schools promoting the mental health of their staff, and also reduce the stigma directed towards people with experience of mental health problems.

If you would like to find out how you can get involved, visit the Teacher Support Network's website.

The Teacher Support Network is a group of independent charities and a social enterprise that provide practical and emotional support to staff in the education sector and their families

Tags: shift

Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

Tags: shift, update

Shift's national survey into attitudes towards mental illness has been published.

Find out more about research commissioned by Shift.

Download the full 2009 report from the Department of Health website
See our Research page for links to the full versions of previous attitude surveys

Tags: shift, research

Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

Tags: shift, update

Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

Tags: shift, update

Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

Tags: shift, update

Shift has launched three short films to encourage staff and employers to think about mental health at work.

The films can be viewed online at http://shift.org.uk/employers

• Watch Bernies reaction to someone with ‘problems upstairs’
• See if you can relate to Pauls frustration at the photocopier
• Feel the anxiety when Sarah returns to work and finds that not everyone is as welcoming as she had hoped.

The films are aimed at employers and employees who do not consider mental health problems to be a workplace issue. We hope that the films will reach new audiences and link more people in to the existing support structures.

We are very interested to hear any feedback about these films. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact claire.newall@csip.org.uk

To watch the films, visit http://www.shift.org.uk/employers

Tags: employment, shift, films, videos, youtube, lifeintheoffice

Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

Tags: shift, update

The Shift Review Panel's first set of reviews are now available.

The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The panel is funded by Shift, but operates independently.

Find out more about the Shift Review Panel here

Tags: shift, reviewpanel, scmh, employment

Thank you to everyone who attended the Mad About Football tournament and conference and helped make these events such a success.

You can now see photos and video from the tournament and conference on the Mad About Football pages.

Find out more about Mad About Football

Tags: football, physical health, shift

Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

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Click the link below to read this Shift Update newsletter. Read More...

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Mind Over Matter 2 is Shift's second report analysing media reporting of mental illness, following on from the first report which looked at news coverage in 2005. It serves as a benchmark to show whether reporting is improving. This report, which looks at coverage from March and October 2006, shows there is a long way to go. 

A follow up report will be published later in 2008.

Download Mind Over Matter 2 from the Shift Media Network.
Download Mind Over Matter 1 from the Shift Media Network.

Find out more about research commissioned by Shift.

Tags: shift, media, research, mindovermatter

Shift has today published a new handbook that will help the media improve public understanding of mental illness.

The handbook, 'What's the Story?: Reporting Mental Health and Suicide', gives practical guidance to the media on covering suicide, mental illness and violent crime by psychiatric patients.

It follows a survey which found three out of four people think the media fails to properly inform the public about mental illness.

It focuses particularly on setting rare but sensational murders carried out by a small number of people with mental health problems in a wider context. It is believed that coverage of these cases contributes to the widespread misconception that many people with experience of mental health problems are violent. In fact, millions of people have mental health problems and very few are violent.

The guidance gives journalists advice on how to avoid causing needless offence to the many readers, viewers and listeners affected by mental health problems. It highlights international evidence that careless reporting of suicides triggers copycat suicides and encourages the media to include helpline details - 'sensitive' reporting can literally save lives.

For more information and to download a copy of What's the Story, go here:
http://shift.org.uk/mediahandbook

Tags: shift, media, whatsthestory

Shift has published the Line Managers' Resource, a document that gives practical advice to managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace.

The Line Managers' Resource is a booklet and website that gives advice and information for managing and supporting people with mental health problems in the workplace.

The Line Managers' Web Resource website also gives advice and information for employees to help them assess their own needs and plan for meetings with their manager.

See the Line Managers' Resource website for more information.

Tags: shift, employers, lmr, action on stigma

World Mental Health Day

Shift is due to publish a new Line Managers’ Resource, a handbook for managers about managing mental health problems among staff. The booklet will be published on World Mental Health Day, October 10.

Shift will also be producing a CV/Poster with basic information about mental health and employment for the day.

We will also be announcing the set-up of the Shift ‘Review Panel managed by the Sainsbury’s Centre for Mental Health.

Shift will also be operating stands in a number of Government departments to promote the handbook and raise awareness of ‘Action on Stigma’ in the public sector first.

Employment

1. ‘Action on Stigma’ is an initiative is to help private and public sector employers reduce the impact of mental illness by changing the way they respond to the issue and making a positive commitment to:
* Helping employees maintain their mental wellbeing
* Supporting employees if they develop a problem
* Making sure their employees understand mental health issues
* Not discriminating against an employee or customer because they have a mental health problem.
2. Shift’s ‘Action on Stigma’ Action plan, detailing what other resources will be made available by Shift is due before the end of October.
3. Shift has helped to set-up a Cross-Government Strategy Group for Mental Health and Employment. The group includes colleagues from, Departments of Health, Work and Pensions, Children, Education and Skills, Buisness, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Communities and Local Government. The Health and Safety executive, Health Work and Well-Being, National Social Inclusion Programme and the Office for Disability Issues, are also represented. The group has produced a core-script for use across these departments and is undertaking a scoping/mapping exercise to bring together all of the work undertaken by these organizations that has a significant effect on the number of people with mental health problems at work.

Find out more about Action on Stigma here: http://shift.org.uk/employment

Media

Shift is working to improve media reporting of mental illness.

1. The contract for running the Shift Speakers Bureau – a bank of people willing to talk to the media or at public events about mental health issues – has been extended. More speakers from a BME background are now being recruited.
2. A handbook for the reporting of mental illness will be published at the end of November.
3. Money and support is being made available for the Shift Regional Media teams to help improve media reporting of mental health in the regions.
4. Mind Over Matter II, analysis of media reporting of mental health in 2006, is due to be published this Autumn.
5. Shift has engaged Forsters Agency to do some PR work with the media in relation to the reporting of mental health and suicide – this involves promoting the handbook and tackling the issues of violence and suicide.
6. Shift is in the process of commissioning two new projects: one looking at media research around the coverage of people from BME communities; and another using the arts to promote understanding of mental health issues within BME communities.

Find out more about our work with the media here: http://shift.org.uk/media

Get Involved

The Shift website lists a number of ways in which you can help us with the work that we do.

To find out more, please visit: http://www.shift.org.uk/getinvolved

Contact Shift

If you want to get in touch with Shift, you can email us at shift@csip.org.uk or call us on 0845 223 5447

Tags: shift, update