Date published: May 16, 2023
Mental health awareness week 2023 – Shared Lives improving outcomes for people with mental ill health
In December 2022, on behalf of Shared Lives Plus, Sarah Storer interviewed five Shared Lives schemes who support people with mental ill health. This followed Sarah’s many years of experience working with Shared Lives schemes to develop support for people with mental ill health as well as many other diagnoses.
Rethink Mental Illness tells us that: “1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime, yet with the right treatment and support, most people go on to regain a good quality of life.”
I believe that Shared Lives support should be chosen for individuals based on how it can best support their needs and outcomes, not due to their diagnosis, so it would be wonderful to see an increase in the numbers of people with mental ill health supported by Shared Lives carers.
This is what Meg, one of our Ambassadors, who spent four years in hospital with mental ill-health, said about Shared Lives:
“And that is what I got [When I asked for Shared Lives] an amazing Shared Lives home with a brilliant carer, Hayley, who encouraged me to speak up, express myself and stand up for what I believe in. My confidence increased massively. I’m pretty sure that without Shared Lives I’d have given up, and probably wouldn’t be here at all. Shared Lives really has saved my life.”
Shared Lives schemes around the UK support people with mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, function neurological disorder (FND), borderline personality disorder, PTSD, extreme childhood trauma and tourette syndrome.
Shared Lives support is person-centred and planned in-line with the support needs of the individual rather than diagnosis. However, scheme feedback tells us that people with mental ill health tend to have more emotional support needs than other groups, and that this type of support can take up much of a Shared Lives carer’s time. One Shared Lives carer I heard about spends significant time talking with (as well as monitoring) a gentleman who lives with him; this is a gentleman who chooses not to engage with anyone else including professionals or family members, and whose mental health can vary subtly – changes that perhaps would not be noticed or recognised in a residential setting where there is a team of (changing) carers involved in the support of individuals. The Shared Lives carer recognises any subtle changes in the gentleman and knows how to support these changes in the most appropriate and sensitive ways to benefit him in both the short and long term.
Unfortunately, I have heard many times about the continued ‘stigma’ attached to people with mental ill health which impacts on Shared Lives schemes and carers who may be willing to support these individuals.
The Mental Health Foundation tells us that:
“Mental health problems are common, affecting thousands of us in the UK. Despite this, there is still a strong stigma (negative attitude) around mental health. People with mental health problems can also experience discrimination (negative treatment) in all aspects of their lives.”
Shared Lives schemes work closely with their carers, people supported, family members, and other professionals, to raise awareness of mental health conditions and appropriate support and, in this way, open the door of opportunity to many more individuals to be supported by Shared Lives. By supporting people to live full lives in their local communities, Shared Lives ensures that individuals are never ‘hidden away’ or ‘excluded’, in fact quite the opposite! We know of individuals who are supported to use their local gyms, to get involved in a range of volunteering opportunities, to enjoy their passion for photography, and to attend weekly social club events where they ‘strut their stuff’ on the dance floor! And that is just a few of the examples we know about.
As ever, I also heard about the importance of partnership working between Social and Health Care professionals, including through providing ‘wrap-around care and support’, as well as with family members, to ensure the best support is planned and maintained. Schemes had developed effective working relationships with Mental Health professionals including Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), Rehab Teams, Crisis Intervention Teams, Hospital Teams and many others. Regular communication with Mental Health professionals is vital and has supported the development of relationships that benefit everyone, most importantly those people who are supported.
Many Mental Health professionals had not previously heard of Shared Lives, or if they had, were unsure of how this model of support could positively benefit the individuals that they worked with. We are now starting to hear many more success stories that we can share with Mental Health professionals and the wider community.
Some of the stories included:
- One lady moved out of a Mental health Rehab unit to her own property, with Shared Lives day support in place – the Rehab Unit Manager remarked about the “amazing difference” that she witnessed in this lady
- A gentleman who has been successfully supported for over 17 years living with a Shared Lives carer
- A lady moved in with a Shared Lives carer after 29 years living in a hospital in the Midlands, whilst her Mum lived many miles away in London. Since early 2022 she has now lived happily with her Shared Lives carer in London around the corner from her Mum. The lady has since been with her carer to the Panto, to the Christmas lights switch on, and on holiday to Spain!
This Mental Health awareness week and beyond I hope that Shared Lives schemes and carers continue to develop and diversify to support many more people with mental ill health, as we know that Shared Lives really can “enable people to flourish and live life to the full.”
