Social work matters – our case for investment
Social work matters – but it’s continuously undervalued and overlooked by policy makers. This World Social Work Day we’re launching our Social Work Matters campaign to ensure that everyone with severe mental illness has access to a mental health social worker. We welcome the government’s commitment to investment in frontline roles but want to be sure […]
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25 Jul / 22News
Ella Joseph stepping down as CEO
Our co-founder, Ella Joseph, is leaving Think Ahead after eight years as the charity’s Chief Executive. Ella is going to take up the reins at a national charity that provides accommodation to families who have children in hospital. Ella said: “It’s eight years since I joined Think Ahead as it’s co-founder and I have loved […]
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18 Jul / 22
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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11 Jul / 22News
Let the training begin: 2022 Cohort start
Our 2022 Cohort have begun their training to become mental health social workers, kicking off their journey with a day of welcome talks and teaching at the first day of our Summer Institute. This is our seventh cohort to join the programme, meaning that we have taken on 823 trainee social workers since our first […]
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16 Jun / 22News
Welcoming the 2022 Cohort
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 / 22Expert insight
How does loneliness impact mental health?
The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness. Here Think Ahead’s Practice Specialists, our in-house senior social workers, share their thoughts on the real life implications of isolation on mental health, and how we can better support people to connect with creative and innovative solutions. Adella When I worked in and managed […]
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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 / 21News
Committed to being 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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1 Nov / 21News
Become a mental health social worker
*Applications to join our programme are now closed but we will open for our 2023 intake this autumn. To receive updates about the programme, please sign up to our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and twitter. We are facing one of the toughest mental health challenges of all time. If ever there was a […]
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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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27 Apr / 21News
Meeting 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 […]