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23 Oct / 23Features
Year one done: Ben, Izzy and Tracey’s update
It’s hard to imagine what it’s like training to be a mental health social worker. Learning on the job with us, you’re balancing the demands of a full-time position with academic studies. And that job isn’t just any old job. It directly affects people’s lives. It can be tough. But time and again we hear […]
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16 Oct / 23News
Join the mental health mission: apply today
Applications for 2024 entry to our mental health social work programme are now open. With Think Ahead, you could be paid to train as a mental health social worker and support people with mental health needs. Joining the programme you will: Gain a fully-funded postgraduate diploma and master’s degree in social work. Be an advocate […]
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10 Jul / 23News
2023 cohort begin their training journey
A new programme has begun for our latest group of trainees. The 2023 Cohort kicked off their training journey with a day of introduction talks and teaching at the 2023 Summer Institute. This is our eighth cohort and we’re proud to have welcomed close to 1,000 trainee mental health social workers since we began in […]
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18 Jul / 22
Our submission to the Department of Health and Social Care mental health and wellbeing consultation
In April 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched an open consultation to gather evidence and expertise from individuals and organisations to inform the government’s new 10-year mental health and wellbeing plan. At Think Ahead, we recruit, train, and develop the mental health workforce to provide the most effective support for people […]
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16 Jun / 22News
Welcoming the 2022 Cohort to our programme
Members of our 2022 cohort have kicked off their journey to become mental health social workers. The new trainees attended an online launch event on 11 June, and heard from current and past trainees, members of our Service User and Carer Reference Group, head office representatives, and staff from our academic partner Middlesex University. The […]
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9 May / 22Features
How can loneliness impact mental health? We asked our Practice Specialists
The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness. The Think Ahead Practice Specialists, our in-house senior social workers with years of experience working across social work and mental health services, shared their thoughts on the real life impacts of isolation on mental health, and how we can better support people to connect […]
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14 Mar / 22News
Social Work Week 2022
It is Social Work Week in England, an opportunity to bring people together to learn, connect, and promote social work. A chance to celebrate the profession; a profession that has arguably never been needed more than it is today. Particularly mental health social work. Social work and me This year, Social Work England has set theme […]
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20 Dec / 21Features
Public commitment to becoming an anti-racist organisation
Background In December 2020, we made a public commitment to become an anti-racist organisation. We outlined how we would make progress in achieving this and pledged to update on our commitments. In 2020, we committed to the following: Recruiting more people from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse communities into our graduate programme. Ensuring our curriculum […]
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27 Apr / 21News
Think Ahead trainees meet Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety
The Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety, Nadine Dorries MP, today joined us for a virtual meeting to learn about the invaluable contribution social work makes to mental health services. It was a pleasure to welcome the Minister of State today and show her the unique support mental health social […]
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26 Mar / 21News
Think Ahead’s first conference – Mental health social work in 2021
We were delighted to be joined by over 350 delegates this week at our first ever conference, Think Ahead presents: Mental health social work in 2021. The event offered a rare opportunity to focus on the vital role frontline mental health social workers play in driving and responding to change. Our broad range of speakers brought a wealth of knowledge […]
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9 Mar / 21Features
What is Social Work?
It is Social Work Week in England. A chance to celebrate the invaluable contribution social workers are making to people’s lives every day. But what does “social work” actually mean? There is no short answer. Or perhaps there is; it is about life and levelling the playing field of life. Enabling people to push past their […]
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11 Jan / 21In the media
Research by Think Ahead social worker finds that inpatients’ religious and cultural needs often go unmet
A member of our first intake, Kuldip Kaur Kang, has written about her research into inpatients’ religious and cultural needs for Community Care, a leading social work website. As part of her master’s degree on the Think Ahead programme, Kuldip explored whether people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds had their religious and […]
