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19 Oct / 21
“This programme was life-changing”
This month, we marked the end of the two-year Think Ahead programme for the 2019 cohort of mental health social workers. We celebrated the milestone with an online event, reflecting on their achievements and celebrating their successes. Unlike previous years, the event was virtual. Over the last two years, the cohort have had to adapt […]
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17 Aug / 21News
2021 Cohort complete the Summer Institute
Our 2021 Cohort have passed the first milestone on their journey to becoming mental health social workers, having completed the Summer Institute. For the past four weeks, the 160 new trainees – our biggest intake to date – have been immersed in lectures, practical workshops and keynote talks with respected experts across the sector. Led […]
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18 Jun / 21News
Two new trustees join Think Ahead’s Board
We have been delighted to welcome two new additions to our Board of Trustees, Levi Chambers-Cook and Professor Kamaldeep Bhui. Levi completed the Think Ahead programme in 2018 and is the first member of our alumni network to sit on the Board of Trustees. Her frontline experience will bring an important perspective to the position, […]
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15 Mar / 21In the media
Think Ahead featured in the Financial Times
Think Ahead participant Iqra and our Strategy Director Matthew Brown have been featured in a Financial Times article exploring how the coronavirus pandemic has caused rising interest in public sector careers around the world. The article looks at mental health social work as an example of a public sector career which attracts many young people […]
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18 Nov / 20News
The frontline reality of mental health services during Covid – as featured in The Metro
With their support arguably needed now more than ever, mental health social workers are on the frontline in this pandemic. Like all of us, they’re doing what they can to limit face-to-face contact, but that’s not always possible when you’re working with someone who has a severe mental health problem. One of our past participants, Thea Radburn, wrote a piece for The Metro […]
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11 Nov / 20In the media
“I love seeing people flourish, and wanted a career that would push me to keep challenging myself and learning” – Think Ahead alum tells Professional Social Work magazine
In this thoughtfully written piece, Think Ahead alum Mariah Wilde describes her humbling experience as a mental health social worker and the lessons she has learnt from the people she has worked with. With dignity and respect forming her guiding principles for mental health, Mariah firmly believes that people are experts on their own experience. […]
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20 Oct / 20News
“This profession is about making a difference and each and every one of you has done that”- Think Ahead’s 2018 Cohort join our alumni network
We were delighted to welcome another cohort of participants into our alumni network at a virtual ceremony on Monday 19 October. After spending the last two years training and working as mental health social workers, participants from our 2018 Cohort looked back on their experiences, as they became members of Think Ahead’s alumni network, joining […]
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3 Oct / 20In the media
“You are working with some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and with that there is a huge responsibility” – The Times covers Think Ahead’s expansion
Think Ahead’s Chief Executive, Ella Joseph, and alum Levi Chambers-Cook (pictured) have been featured in The Times as part of a news piece about Think Ahead’s expansion. We announced earlier this week that the government has awarded us up to £27m to expand the Think Ahead graduate programme. This funding covers at least the next two cohorts, and allows […]
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29 Sep / 20News
Applications are open to join the Think Ahead programme in 2021
Update: Applications to join the Think Ahead programme in 2021 are now closed. If you are a talented graduate or career-changer, remarkable enough to make a real difference in tackling the UK’s mental health challenge, the Think Ahead programme could be for you. On our paid, two-year programme, you’ll work to build relationships with adults living with mental health problems, empowering […]
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29 Sep / 20News
Government provides up to £27m to expand Think Ahead programme
The Department of Health and Social Care has today announced that it has awarded Think Ahead up to £27m, to fund at least two further cohorts of the Think Ahead graduate programme each providing 160 places per year – a 60% increase in the annual intake. Our programme offers talented graduates and career-changers a paid […]
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12 Aug / 20News
“You’re coming into working in mental health at an incredibly exciting, and also challenging, time.” – Summer Institute 2020 comes to an end
The Summer Institute for our 2020 Cohort finished at the end of last week – following three weeks of teaching to introduce our trainees to mental health social work and social interventions, and to prepare them for joining frontline services. This group of just over 100 participants are the fifth cohort to join the Think […]
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17 Mar / 20In the media
“I’ve always been interested in how masculinity affects men and their mental health” – Think Ahead participant writes for HuffPost UK
Men’s mental health, and the role that social workers play in helping them to address it, takes centre stage in an article written by a Think Ahead participant for the HuffPost UK. JJ, who is also an author and poet, began training as a mental health social worker with the Think Ahead programme in 2019. In this piece he discusses some […]
