Celebrating 10 years
Our Chief Executive, Philippa, and Chair of our Trustees, Professor Dame Carol Black GBE, reflect on the past ten years and what the future holds for Think Ahead.
What a joy it is to celebrate these last 10 years of Think Ahead.
It began with the spark of an idea to make the social, economic and environmental factors affecting people’s mental health the bedrock of training for careers in the sector.
From that spark grew the highly regarded organisation that Think Ahead is today, which is leading the charge on promoting the social approach in mental health services to complement medical and psychological support for people.
Commitment to the workforce
Reading this collection of stories, our charity’s commitment to improving people’s lives shines through, as does our commitment to the development of the mental health workforce.
We cannot hope to support people’s mental health needs unless we invest in our practitioners. Without them, there is no support.
And that commitment to the workforce is an important one.
Looking to the future
We have achieved a great deal in our first 10 years, but with mental health needs continuing to outpace stretched services, our work is far from done.
We are grateful for the Department of Health and Social Care’s vision and ongoing support of our work, IPPR’s support in our early years, the dedication of our academic partner Middlesex University, and our NHS trust and local authority partners.
Standing together with these partners, the people who use our mental health services and the professionals who run them, we look forward to building a thriving mental health workforce fit for the future.
What we’ve achieved
It has been a privilege to chair Think Ahead’s Board of Trustees for the past 10 years. As you’ll see from these stories, there’s something quite special about the charity.
With over 1,000 people joining its programme to become specialist mental health social workers, it’s certainly delivering on its ambitions.
It has also enabled and encouraged people passionate about mental health to work in the sector.
But more than that: it’s helping change the way we deliver mental health support, purposefully bridging the gap between health and social care.
Because mental health isn’t just a health issue. It’s something that can affect every area of your life, and our support system needs to reflect that.
I am proud of all we’ve achieved together and of Think Ahead’s invaluable contribution to our mental health services.
Philippa is our charity’s Chief Executive and Professor Dame Carol Black GBE was instrumental in the creation of our charity.
To mark our ten year anniversary, we’re sharing personal testimonies from people involved with our charity. From our leadership team with Philippa to founding leaders like Carol, trainees of ours, people with lived experience of mental health services, and our NHS and social care partners.
Read more on our stories page.