All Party Parliamentary Group for Mental Health

Notes of meeting: January 2003

Tuesday 28^th January 2003

Members present: Dr Lynne Jones MP (Chair), Peter Bottomley MP, Lord Tim Clement Jones, Dr Evan Harris MP, Doug Naysmith MP

In attendance: Martin Aaron (JAMI), Martin Ball (Maca), Nick Bosanquet (Imperial College), Philip Dixon-Phillips (UK Federation of Smaller Mental Health Agencies), Caroline Hawkings (Turning Point), Sue Mason (Janssen-Cilag Ltd), Sanjay Mistry (Operation Black Vote), Shenee Parfoot (ex Maca, now CAPITAL), Fiona Pinto (Researcher – Paul Marsden MP), Linda Seymour (Mentality), Carrie Thomas (Maca Trustee), David Tombs, Agnes Wheatcroft (Royal College of Psychiatrists), Lucy Widenka (Rethink)

Combating Stigma in Mental Health

Amy Meadows, Campaign Director, Mind Out for Mental Health Campaign – Campaign Update

Amy Meadows reported that the campaign was a Department of Health initiative, launched two years ago to tackle stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness. The campaign aims to take a bold, integrated approach. Part of the campaign will revolve around world mental health day on 10^th October but other initiatives run throughout the year. Mind Out work with a network of local partners who they supply with campaign materials. Their branding is distinctive and the departmental backing is not highlighted.

The campaign is targeting three main audiences i.e. employers, the media and young people. They are currently trying to encourage corporate interest so that the campaign can reach out to both staff and customers. Mind Out provide companies with practical advice and run conferences designed to inform employers about mental health issues.

The campaign conducted a survey of attitudes among young people and initiated the first collaboration between the Girl Guides, Scouts and UK Youth. They are also targeting students through the NUS structure. On 10^th February the campaign will launch a website aimed directly at young people with endorsement from celebrities and backed up by an advertising campaign. Mind Out are also giving materials to mental health professionals to distribute.

The campaign is approaching its second evaluation which will produce qualitative and quantitative analysis of progress made.

Ros Whysall, MHA Training Project Co-ordinator, Mind Your Head, Tameside & Glossop Association of Mind – Stigma and employment

Ros Whysall introduced Mind Your Head saying that it is a project based in Tameside which has secured funding for two years. She has recruited people with current or past mental health problems. The project has helped train 120 people from various organisations. Ros explained the difficulty she had experienced applying for jobs in the past when she had been honest about her own mental health problems. She explained that because of the stigma attached to mental illness, many people are forced to lie on their CV. She reported that it is easier to come out of prison and get a job than out of a psychiatric hospital.

Ros spoke about the ignorance surrounding mental illness and explained that many employers assume that mental illness can never be recovered from and that it signifies weakness or even violence. She said that workplaces are often very rigid and competitive and there is often no one in place to support those who are feeling stressed and under pressure.

Alison, a volunteer with Mind Out, then spoke about her own experiences as someone who has manic depression. She said that she was told she could no longer work full time and found that voluntary work was a good route back into work, however she felt it necessary to conceal her diagnosis with her colleagues initially. When she felt comfortable enough Alison told her colleagues about her mental illness and found that they were understanding and supportive.

Alison said that she felt more could be done by the medical profession to reduce stigma for example she felt that the diagnosis of ‘long-term sickness’ was very damaging. She also recommended better access to talking therapies. Alison noted that there was an insecure bridge between benefits and employment and that more specialist employment services were needed as well as more support in mainstream employment.

Discussion:

All three speakers were thanked for their excellent presentations and Lynne Jones noted that there were many areas of overlap between the national and local examples.

Martin Ball asked about the funding for organisations such as Mind Your Head. Ros Whysall said that the group had been set up with statutory funding but was moving towards being self-funding. She also said that they had generated some interest from corporates.

Shenee Parfoot asked what had happened to the people trained by Mind Your Head. Ros Whysall reported that she had received good feedback. Amy Meadows said that stigma will not be overcome without education from organisations such as Mind Your Head. She said that there is an amazing level of ignorance amongst the public and that the basics of mental illness need to be taught.

Linda Seymour asked whether Mind Out was working to overcome stigma caused by the ‘relocation of madness’ i.e. care in the community. Amy Meadows said that the campaign was focused purely on stigma and was not looking at evaluating policy. Lynne Jones noted that the way policy is presented could be stigmatising.

Carrie Thomas commented that people are being driven out of mainstream employment because of the lack of understanding surrounding mental health. The instability caused leads to worsening health.

Philip Dixon-Phillips said that employment projects need a higher profile and more money and that progress has so far been slow.

Lynne Jones asked what work Mind Out is doing with government as an employer. Amy Meadows reported that the Department of Health is working across government and a kit is being sent to the NHS also. Nick Bosanquet noted that more support is needed from the health sector to tackle stigma.

Dr Evan Harris asked how Mind Out won support from celebrities. Amy Meadows acknowledged that it had been hard but mentioned that people are more willing to talk about mental illness now than they were a few years ago.

The meeting concluded that there was no quick fix solution to helping those who face stigma especially in the workplace and that funding for projects was hard to come by. However it was agreed that the Mind Out campaign and the Mind Your Head project showed how effective national and local work can be.

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