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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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. […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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20 Mar / 18In the media
“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 Think Ahead social worker, described her typical working week to The Metro newspaper. Sonya is a qualified social worker and is based in an early intervention in psychosis team in East London NHS Foundation Trust. In the piece, she shares ways in which she’s supported people, one of whom is Rachel. Rachel […]
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13 Dec / 17In the media
“Exciting, a little bit scary” – participants catch up with Radio 4 about their Think Ahead journey
A year ago BBC Radio 4’s All in the Mind began a series of interviews with two members of Think Ahead’s 2016 intake – Charlotte Seymour and Alec Tooms. At that point Charlotte and Alec were at the beginning of their journey into mental health social work; a year on they are over half way […]
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15 Nov / 17News
A week in the shoes of a mental health social worker
We asked experienced mental health social workers what a typical week looks like. Here’s what they told us… Monday Spent morning preparing for meeting with Aleisha – a new referral from a GP – checking notes and establishing objectives. Then met her – some challenges establishing rapport, but ultimately it went well. Afternoon – met […]
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4 Sep / 17Expert insight
“I really enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work” – watch Think Ahead participant Maisie discuss her work
Last July our first intake of talented graduates and career-changers began training as mental health social workers on the Think Ahead programme. One of these was Maisie Satchwell-Hirst, an Oxford graduate, who joined a community mental health service in Cambridgeshire. In the film below Maisie talks about her experiences in her unit, led by experienced […]
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10 Oct / 16Expert insight
World Mental Health Day: Social work and mental health first aid
It’s World Mental Health Day, and this year’s theme includes Psychological and Mental Health First Aid, bringing to light the importance of supporting people through mental health crises. For thousands of people who experience a mental health crisis each year, their lifeline isn’t a paramedic or a psychiatrist – it’s their social worker who answers […]
