Parent and Carer Participation – a blog by Debbie Frances

by Monica Lee Comment Closed
"There is nothing in the parenting manuals that tells you what to do when your child is impacted by mental health issues" Debbie Frances As part of the University of Exeter's new CYP IAPT Inpatient CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services) Training Programme, trainees have been looking at the importance of parent and carer participation within Inpatient Units. Debbie Frances has been supporting the first three cohorts of Inpatient Training. Debbie is founder of The Project, a successful early intervention support network for young people affected by mental health issues based in East Devon. Since opening in 2013, The Project has been nominated for and won awards, and been recognised as an example of best practice at Government level for its innovative and effective approach to supporting young people. Debbie also facilitated a Parent & Carer Support Group for five years, and continues to provide support to parents of young people affected by mental illness. Debbie has been writing a blog about her...
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ProReal: A Virtual Therapy Tool

by Monica Lee Comment Closed
This month we interviewed Marie from Off the Record in Bristol, to find out more about how they are using ProReal; how the project came about and the success its been having. So, what is ProReal?  ProReal is an immersive, avatar-based virtual world platform that helps people communicate in a dynamic and visual way. Built using 3D gaming technology, this virtual reality communication tool is independently evidenced to accelerate insight and change. You can read more about the evidence base here. How did this project come about at Off the Record?  A campaign from our participation project led to a theme around improving access for males, and supporting the right side brain's role in therapy. We wanted to find a way to practice what happens in session in a safe and playful way using a platform that young people feel is fun and are comfortable with. Can you explain a little about a 'trialogue' approach?  The trialogue approach is the understanding that in the room during...
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Our partner OTR shares great practice around participation

by Monica Lee Comment Closed
OTR CEO Simon, shares his thoughts about participation at OTR and in the wider sector   For several years here at OTR we have tried (and tried again) to get young people involved in decision-making at the highest levels of the organisation. Specifically, we have grappled with trying to achieve meaningful representation and voice at board level. It’s never really succeeded against any basic definition of the word ‘meaningful’, despite our best efforts and intent. Participation in this form is something that charities are supposed to be good at, and ‘service user participation’ is a buzz-phrase that has been flying around for some years now. Conventional wisdom says you can’t stay faithful to your mission, attract funding, or make credible operational decisions without it. Public bodies now insist on it; grant making trusts too. And there are numerous quality marks and unending guidance papers produced by well-meaning policy wonks in distant think tanks. Then there are the army of professionals whose job it is to make...
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Are you a young person or parent and want to help shape services?

by Monica LeeNo Comments
We would love to hear from you! Our Youth Board meet every three months to share what they are working on locally, feed into regional developments and develop ideas and plans to improve mental health services. If you would like to get involved or find out more about what we do, please email Remick, our Participation Innovator: r.kang@exeter.ac.uk. Similarly, if you are a parent or carer and would like to find out opportunities to get involved, again please email Remick....
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Looking for support with transformation?

by Monica Lee1 Comment
For Service providers: If you are already part of the South West Collaborative, you can access outreach support in a number of ways: Consultation: Our Clinical Lead is Jonathan Parker (J.Parker5@exeter.ac.uk), whose role is to support you in embedding training and service development. Workshops: If you are having specific difficulties in embedding any of the CYP IAPT principles and practices, our Clinical Leads can set a date with you to come and work with your staff team to help move things forward Outreach training: If you are new to our service, or you've never received our outreach training, we provide 4 days of training for your staff team to support you to embed all of the CYP IAPT principles and practices, as well as day for managers to support workforce development. subscribe to the calendar to find more information and detailed flyers on the forthcoming outreach training. Outreach supervision training: As a new service provider, even before your staff come on our rigorous supervision...
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