Ella and Natalie’s story
Writing for our 10 year anniversary series, co-chief executives Ella Joseph and Natalie Acton reflect on the early years of our charity.
In 2014, IPPR published Jonathan Clifton and Craig Thorley’s report Think Ahead: Meeting the workforce challenges in mental health social work, which set out the value of social work in mental health settings.
It was clear that despite social work being an integral part of the mental health workforce, the role was often overlooked and without the same prioritisation or public awareness held by clinical roles.
Seeking a new approach
We both worked in the civil service and had seen the effectiveness of fast-track schemes in areas such as education and children’s services. There was real excitement amongst ministers and mental health campaigners at the prospect of mirroring that success in mental health social work.
We founded the charity and the social work programme alongside our co-directors and colleagues at IPPR. Our strategy and vision were very much informed by the voice of the sector, and the experience of people with mental health problems.
We built it in partnership with the sector; that was always hugely important to us as founders – that our programme was one of many solutions to the long-standing challenges set out in the IPPR report; it was always complementary, not competition.
Promoting a social approach to mental health
We remember shadowing mental health social workers, seeing the breadth of expertise within their roles, their compassion, their commitment to the people they support.
We hear so much about waiting lists and treatment, but for someone to receive that treatment, help navigating the system can be key.
A social worker is uniquely placed to be agile and respond to the daily challenges affecting that person’s wellbeing.
Social work is well known in a children and family setting, but there were not enough placements in mental health teams.
We built partnerships with NHS mental health trusts and local authority teams to establish those needed mental health training placements.
Our programme offered something new. It combined academic learning with on-the-job training in mental health and built a sense of community through our cohort model.
Building a mental health workforce fit for the future
We have been delighted to see how Think Ahead has developed and grown over the last ten years.
If you take mental health seriously, and truly want to a workforce that is fit for the future – social workers must be part of that.
We remember shadowing mental health social workers, seeing the breadth of expertise within their roles, their compassion, their commitment to the people they support.
They give a great sense of hope to people and help navigate a system that can feel overwhelming.
Ella Joseph and Natalie Acton co-founded Think Ahead as co-chief executives.
To mark our ten year anniversary, we’re sharing personal testimonies from people involved with our charity. From leaders of the charity like Ella and Natalie, to trainees of ours, people with lived experience of mental health services, and our NHS and social care partners.
Read more of these on our stories page.