- 13 Feb / 19Features
“There’s nothing like seeing the participants change lives under your guidance”
A Think Ahead Consultant Social Worker (an experienced social worker supervising four of our participants) has shared a week’s diary with Community Care, the leading social care news website. The Consultant Social Worker – who chose to remain anonymous in order to protect the identity of service users – describes her working week supervising four […]
- 7 Feb / 19Features
“Sometimes you have to do a bit of paperwork to give someone freedom” – Think Ahead participant writes for Community Care
A Think Ahead participant has written a piece for Community Care, the leading social care news website, explaining why his attitude to paperwork changed drastically after seeing the difference it can make to a person’s life. The participant – who chose not to be identified to protect service users’ anonymity – is in his first […]
- 9 Oct / 18In the media
“I wanted to change career to a role working with vulnerable people” – Think Ahead featured in the Evening Standard
Think Ahead participant Levi (pictured above) has been interviewed in the Evening Standard newspaper about why she chose to train to be a mental health social worker. 24-year-old Levi joined the Think Ahead programme in 2016, and is now one of our alumni. Before joining the programme she worked in recruitment for a pharmaceutical company. […]
- 3 Oct / 18In the media
“I’m not sure if I would have ended up doing social work if it wasn’t for Think Ahead” – participants speak to Community Care
Think Ahead participants Sonya and Alex, and our Co-Chief Executive Natalie, have spoken to Community Care, a leading social work news website, about the Think Ahead programme. Community Care carried out the interviews to mark our first cohort completing the two-year programme. Sonya Chee (pictured above), who works in an Early Intervention in Psychosis team […]
- 28 Sep / 18In the media
“It’s a real privilege to be allowed into people’s lives […] It lets us work in a holistic way and actually make a difference.” – participants interviewed in the Guardian
Think Ahead participants Maisie, Levi and Alec have spoken to the Guardian about their experiences working as mental health social workers. All three were members of our first cohort – who completed the two-year Think Ahead programme at the end of September. Maisie Satchwell-Hirst (pictured above) is a 23-year-old Cambridge graduate, who works with service […]
- 9 Jul / 18In the media
“Mental health is at the crux of people’s quality of life and how happy they can be” – Think Ahead participant speaks to The Guardian
Think Ahead participant Alex has spoken to The Guardian newspaper about how he came to train as a social worker with Think Ahead and how he’s finding the role. Originally Alex thought that after his degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from the University of Oxford he would end up working in policy. “I […]
- 6 Jun / 18Features
“Think Ahead participants bring innovative research to our meetings and have so much energy and enthusiasm – it’s inspiring!”
Kirsty Shires is a Consultant Social Worker on the Think Ahead programme. In her role, she supervises a unit of four Think Ahead participants who are placed within a community mental health team. She and the unit members manage a shared caseload together. Here, Kirsty explains how being a Consultant Social Worker has reignited her […]
- 21 May / 18News
“It’s such a privilege when people open up to you” – participants share their experiences with new Think Ahead recruits
The launch event for Think Ahead’s third intake took place on Saturday (19 May). New recruits, who will begin the programme in July this year, came together for the first time to learn more about the role of a mental health social worker, and to start preparing for the programme. The day featured a number […]
- 20 Mar / 18In the media
“Social issues can have a massive impact on a person’s mental health and recovery” – Think Ahead mental health social workers speak to Community Care
A Think Ahead participant and a Consultant Social Worker have told Community Care, a leading social work news website, why social approaches are so important in mental health care. As a Consultant Social Worker at the London Borough of Bexley, Nicola Shawyer manages a unit of four participants on their first year of the programme. […]
- 20 Mar / 18In the media
Celebrating mental health social workers on World Social Work Day
On World Social Work Day (Tuesday 20 March) social workers come together to celebrate the profession’s achievements. To mark this event, Think Ahead is highlighting the valuable contribution mental health social workers make – and the impact that social approaches to mental health have on people’s lives. Think Ahead participants have been profiled in the […]
- 20 Mar / 18In the media
“Being supported in the community can help to remove the stigma around mental illness” – Think Ahead participant Thea writes in the Independent
Think Ahead participant Thea Radburn has written in the Independent’s comment section, Independent Voices, about the importance of social approaches in treating mental illness, and what her job as a mental health social worker involves in practice. Thea, who started the Think Ahead programme in 2016, says that while therapies, medication and inpatient care can be […]
- 20 Mar / 18Features
“I love the feeling I get when I know I’ve helped someone” – a Think Ahead participant describes a typical week in the life of a mental health social worker
Sonya Chee, a participant in the second year of the Think Ahead programme, has been included in a promotional feature in the Metro newspaper, describing her typical working week. Sonya is a qualified social worker and is based in an Early Intervention in Psychosis team in East London NHS Foundation Trust. In the feature, she […]
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