RichmondRichmond - Our newest service providing mainstream vocational support to people, working in partnership with volunteer centre to support people in/into volunteering. We provide an integrated service with Bridge Builders working alongside CMHTs and other secondary services; as well as with the Priory and GPs for clients at primary care.
Imagine Mainstream is a Client-Centred service; this means, first and foremost, that we only work with clients who want to work with us, and that they can stop at any time. Secondly, it's our clients who set their own goals; we don't push people into doing work they don't want to do, but rather support and encourage them into finding the best way into doing what they want.
We can work with anyone between the ages of 18 and 65 who lives in Richmond and has been diagnosed with some form of mental illness. This can be anything from work-related stress or anxiety to more severe and lasting forms of illness.
Information for Clients
How We Work
Most of the work we do with our clients is carried out through one-to-one meetings. Generally, each of our clients is assigned to a particular staff member, so you'll see the same person every time you come in. How often we meet clients varies according to what they need; the average is about every couple of weeks, but it's often more frequent in the early stages, and may be less frequent once a client is back in work.
In the one-to-one meetings, we'll work with the client to decide what they want to do and work out the best way of getting there. We then offer ongoing support to help keep people on target and to help deal with any problems or setbacks that may arise en route; no plan ever works out perfectly, and one of the most important skills one needs to succeed is the ability to recover from failures and disappointments along the way.
Job Retention
Once you're in your new job or back at your old one, we can stay in touch if need be, in order to help you adjust to being back at work. We can also, with your permission, talk to your employer on your behalf to negotiate changes that might make things easier or more manageable for you.
Disclosure
Our clients can often get quite worried about letting employers know about their mental health history. Although people generally understand mental health issues better than in the past, there are still a lot of myths and prejudices out there, which can discourage people with a history of mental health difficulties from talking about it. On the other hand, being upfront about mental health problems with an employer can actually work in your favour; under the Disability Discrimination Act, you have the right to ask for an employer to make "reasonable adjustments" to the job or working enviroment if it would help you do the job. For more information about the Disability Discrimination Act, click here.
In some cases, having personal experience of mental health issues can actually be seen as a benefit; in some health or social care jobs, someone who's used similar services in the past will have a lot of useful experience to bring to the job.
Confidentiality
In order to work with you, we will need to fill in some forms in the first session recording personal information such as your name, address, and your mental health diagnosis. All the paperwork relating to your case is kept on-site under lock and key. In Richmond we work in a small team of four or five people, and share confidentiality within the team; that is, we may discuss our clients with each other in order to share ideas and check we're doing our jobs properly.
If you've been referred from another agency such as a hospital or CMHT, we will probably talk to the person who referred you in order to get some background information on what you're hoping to gain and any particular difficulties you might have. This will help ensure that you're best off working with us and not some other agency, and give us a bit of a head start when we do start working with each other.
Other than the cases described above, we do not, in normal circumstances, ever disclose any of your details with anyone else without your explicit permission. We would not, for example, share information with benefits agencies or employers unless you wanted to.
The only time we would break confidentiality would be if we thought you or someone else were in immediate danger, in which case we would have a legal and moral duty to seek help.
Information for Employers
We’re funded by the local authority to support people who are off sick or out of work due to their mental health, helping them to retain their existing jobs or to find employment elsewhere.
You doubtless know from experience how expensive and disruptive it can be to recruit and train replacements for staff who have left for health reasons or to cover for staff who are off sick for an extended period: it’s in everyone’s interests to promote mental wellbeing in the workplace.
If a member of your staff is signed off work with stress, depression, or other mental health problems, our advisors an work directly with them and you to help them return to work, to retain the job, and to reduce the likelihood of their taking time off in the future. How we approach this will of necessity vary from client to client, but things we might typically look at are:
- making a graduated return to work
- introducing reduced or flexible working hours
- identifying sources of stress in the workplace and working with the employer to reduce or avoid these
- working with the employee to help rebuild confidence and address anxieties around the return to work
- liaising between the employer and the employee to keep the channels of communication open
- referring clients ,where necessary, to other specialised sources of help.
We can work with anyone who fulfils the following criteria:
- They have been diagnosed with a mental health problem. This is a broad definition that ranges from common complaints such a stress or anxiety through to more uncommon or severe forms of mental illness.
- They are resident in the boroughs of Richmond, Sutton, Merton or Croydon. This website is about the Richmond service; click here for information about the other boroughs.
- They are willing to work with us. All of our clients work with us on a strictly voluntary basis and are free to disengage from our services at any time.
If you would like more information, please call or email. We will be happy to answer any questions you or your staff might have, or to come to your premises to make a short presentation about the free services we offer.
Referrers
Leaflet and referral form can be downloaded from the list at the bottom of this page.
Imagine Mainstream took over the contract for vocational services for adults with mental health problems (formerly covered by Twining Enterprises) in 2008 and is funded by the PCT and local authority in Richmond.
We now accept referrals from a variety of services both outside and within the NHS, at primary and secondary care levels. We are keen to work in partnership with other services in the area and are always looking to strengthen relationships with other organisations.
Our contract gives us the remit to work with anyone who:
- is currently suffering or recovering from mental health problems
- lives in the Borough of Richmond Upon Thames
- is ages between eighteen and sixty-five
- is willing and able to use our services
The usual process when someone is referred from another service is for the referrer and/or client to fill in a referral form (let us know if you'd like us to send you some paper forms; alternatively, download and print your own) and then send it to us or drop it off in person. One of us will then contact the client in question to arrange an appointment for an initial assessment.
As well as a referral form, we also ask that referrers from other services send us an up-to-date risk assessment for the client if they have one, ensuring that they have the client's permission to do so.
In some cases, for example with clients who feel particularly anxious meeting new people or going to unfamiliar places, it can be a good idea to organise a three-way meeting with one of us, the client, and their referrer.
Once you have referred a client to us, we are generally happy to keep you informed as to progress, provided the client gives us explicit permission to do so. If you have any queries about the referral process or about Imagine in general, please get in touch.
Online Resources
If you're having a really bad time and need to talk to someone right now, you can call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, any time of the day or night.
If you'd like more information about mental illness, the charity Rethink has a very informative website, particularly about schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses.
Direct.gov has a wide range of useful information about employment law and your rights as an employee; including information about mental health and the Disability Discrimination Act.
The other main organisation that can help you resolve any conflict with your employer is ACAS. In particular, they have information here about health and wellbeing in the workplace.
Other local organisations you might be interested in include Richmond Borough Mind, the local branch of the National Mind Organisation. Richmond Borough Mind runs a wide range of services for people with mental health difficulties, including drop-in centres, activity groups, and a free counselling service.
Also, Richmond AID offers advice and support to people with all sorts of disabilities, including mental illness. They are particularly useful people to talk to if you need advice about benefits; see the website or call 020 8831 6080 to make an appointment with one of their advisors.
We also have close ties with RCVS (Richmond Council for Voluntary Service. They are the experts on helping people find volunteering placements in the local area. We fund two staff members - Martin and Amy - there as the resident specialists in working with people with mental health difficulties.
We're part of Imagine Mental Health, a national charity with its head office in Liverpool. The service in Richmond is funded by Richmond Social Services and the local NHS Mental Health Trust. Both those links have information about other services that they provide.
To get in touch with us, please email richmondstaff@imaginementalhealth.org.uk
or call 020 3513 3331, or download a referral form and post it to:
Imagine Mainstream
Richmond Royal Hospital
Kew Foot Road
Richmond
TW9 2TE
Useful downloads |
