The future of the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum

John Lilley (Individual Representative, Mental Health) and Josh Beynon (Practice Solutions)

Improving mental health and wellbeing by respecting and 

empowering people to influence decision making

The Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum is made up of people with lived experience of mental health issues and their friends and families. The members come from a range of different backgrounds and reflect the diversity of the people of Wales. Here in Powys John Lilley - more from him below - joins Rhydian and Sally to bring the voice of Powys service users and carers to the table.

Forum members work collaboratively with other key stakeholders to influence Welsh Government policy by using the skills, knowledge and experience they have gained within the field of mental health. They play a very important role in helping shape future mental health services within Wales.

We recently heard that Practice Solutions Ltd, the organisation which has provided support to the Forum over recent years, has been awarded the tender to support the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum for the next 3 years.

Since the Forum started working on the contract with Practice Solutions it has gone from strength to strength and a huge part of this has come from the fact that Practice Solutions staff have instilled in members that it is their Forum and they should lead the direction of the work and how this looks in the future. The members are then able to use the knowledge and experience of Practice Solutions’ staff to inform and guide them in the best way forward when developing projects.

Since the Forum started working with Practice Solutions there have been lots of exciting developments. The Forum changed its name from the National Mental Health Forum to the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum. It was felt that this better represented the Forum’s work focus - what happens within services in Wales.

John Lilley chairing a Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing forum meeting

The Forum also designed their own logo and branding which is now used on their promotional material and on their social media platforms and this enables the Forum to create a professional image when speaking to organisations.

With guidance from Practice Solutions' staff the Forum also established separate working groups alongside the quarterly meetings and these included Communications & Marketing, Future Planning & Recruitment, and Reward & Engagement. These groups enable some of the members to focus on particular aspects of the Forum such as designing a logo or their website, promoting the Forum and attending events. Proposals and ideas are taken to the main quarterly meeting for agreement and voting by all members.

Another huge part of the Forum’s growth has involved the development of the website which allows members to inform people about their work, share good news stories, promote events and publish some of the papers that the Forum has produced. The Forum has also been privileged to have members share their mental health journey through the production of digital stories. These can be extremely powerful in highlighting the issues that people with mental health face.

The Forum is looking forward to continuing its work with Practice Solutions and seeing where the future journey takes them. Onwards and upwards…!

Josh Beynon, who is an Associate at Practice Solutions, and provides support to the Forum as part of his role, says: “It’s great to be supporting and working with the forum again to improve services and put the voice of service users and carers at the heart of decision making”.

John Lilley, Individual Rep Mental Health,
 at a Shared Power training session last year

John Lilley is the expert on the Forum locally here in Powys as he has been a member for several years now. He says: “I became a Mental Health Service User Representative as I felt my experience as a service user, and as someone with lived experience of mental health issues, could help to give a voice and attempt to improve access and care within the mental health services.

“I was diagnosed with bi-polar in 2013 and before that with clinical depression as a result of life changing neurosurgery in 2000. After a three month stay as a patient in Bronllys, and attending Patients’ Council meetings whilst there, I decided that following recovery I would join Powys Patients’ Council as a volunteer. I believe this helped in my recovery and boosted my self-esteem and confidence.

“After being a volunteer for over 5 years I became a Mental Health Service User Representative in Powys in 2021. During my time as a rep I have also joined the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum to represent Powys. This national forum meets regularly and reports to the Welsh Government on issues affecting service users and carers locally. I have also been a member of the Powys Crisis Care forum which oversees the delivery of the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat in Powys. This measures the effectiveness of how Powys deals with people in Mental Health Crisis.”

Find out more about the work of the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum.

Find out more about becoming a Mental Health Rep in Powys.

Shared Power - the training

How to use your lived experience to help in the planning and delivery of 

health and wellbeing services in Powys

Late last year the Health & Wellbeing team at PAVO launched Shared Power - An Introduction, an animated video, as a training tool for individuals who want to use their experiences of health services to help shape future services. The film delves into the different types of power, and how they interact with each other, when service user and carer representatives attend partnership board meetings in Powys.

The film is also aimed at those working in services so that they can avoid some of the barriers to co-production. Co-production means service users and carers work together with health professionals to design future services that work better for everyone. We received some excellent feedback about the film at the time.

Then, just a few weeks ago, came the perfect opportunity to show the film again - at the latest Shared Power face to face training session at our Ddole Road offices in Llandrindod Wells. Delivered by Owen Griffkin (Mental Health Participation Officer) with support from Sue Newham (Health & Wellbeing Engagement Officer), the training aimed to build the confidence, knowledge and skills of participants. Some of those attending were already volunteering as citizen or individual reps, and the training aimed to help them participate effectively in the planning and reviewing of services with public bodies.

Citizen reps volunteer their time, energy and passion to make a difference for others and to the services we receive, and are helping influence change at local, regional and national levels. Some of the participants are citizen reps on the Powys Mental Health Planning & Development Board and the Talk to Me 2 (Suicide & Self-Harm Prevention Forum), whilst others regularly sit on the Powys Regional Partnership Board.

Learning opportunities on the day included:

• How to influence positive changes in health and wellbeing services in Powys.
• Understanding the theories underpinning service user and carer involvement in planning services.
• Gaining practical experience of how partnership boards work with service users and carers in meetings.
• Recognising barriers to participation and how to overcome them.
• Finding out about current opportunities and how to apply for them.
• The opportunity to learn from current service user and carer representatives who sit on Health and Wellbeing Boards about their experiences.
• Learning assertiveness techniques and how to prepare for meetings.
• How to share personal experiences and avoid ‘trigger points’.
  
  

Here are some highlights from the day’s training.

Co-production demystified 

As a citizen rep, you are an equal partner with other professionals in the room. You are an expert by experience. But how do you gain the experience of other people and take their stories to a partnership board?

Owen updated the group about the work of the current mental health representatives, who regularly go out into the community at Meet the Rep events to listen to people’s voices about mental health services.

One of our experienced reps, John, spoke about how important it is to find out what is happening in the rest of Wales and about being aware of current mental health legislation. “Preparation is key! Ask yourself what are some of the key messages you want people to hear.”

John also described some of the resources available to people who want to engage in a co-productive way. The Co-production Network for Wales is a good starting point for finding out more.

And volunteering as a rep is a two-way street! We regularly hear that taking on the role “does improve confidence and help with personal recovery.”

Meetings - with remarkable people

Even introducing yourself at a meeting can be hard when in a room full of strangers, especially when most of them are there in a professional capacity. “A few years ago asking who I am would have been a really distressing question as I thought I was a nobody!”

Participants were introduced to Imposter Syndrome - it might feel daunting to be at a partnership board meeting, but as a rep you probably deserve to be there more than anyone else. “You are the most valuable person here,” someone was told at one meeting.

Everyone in the room is equal. Those working as heads of service for the NHS, or other statutory bodies, may be constrained in their work roles as to exactly what changes they can bring about and when - but they are people too. They may have a mother with dementia, a nephew who needs care, a friend struggling to access services…

As someone pointed out, “Town councils, health boards and councils are slow moving, which can be discouraging, but once they get going in the right direction they are hard to stop!”

Assertiveness is key - and learning the difference between being passive, aggressive and assertive an important skill. As a rep you need to think about being:

• Proactive about what you want to say.
• Confident and engaged.
• Self aware and aware of others.
• Sure your needs are met and that you are heard.
  
  

Hotspots, triggers & flashpoints

Participants spoke about their own triggers. These included being talked over, being told that there was not enough money, “mansplaining" and not being listened to.

One said, “I used to get in a tizz when people didn’t listen and I would storm out crying, but nothing good came from that!”

“You need a strong assertive Chair so that the meeting does not go off track and any problems can be shut down.”

“There will always be quiet people - it’s about managing a meeting to let all voices be heard.”

Dealing with difficult conversations

There was some very interesting group debate amongst the participants about what to do around some specific tricky scenarios which Owen had set up.

“Health staff are there for you. It’s about having the confidence and assertiveness to say, ‘I respect your views but I don’t agree with them.’”

“Ground rules are important to set the tone for the meeting.”

If there is a lack of respect someone suggested saying: “I have respect for your professionalism, so please have respect for my lived experience.”

The mock meeting

To round off the training session, Sue chaired a mock meeting designed to put into practice all the learning from earlier in the day. It turned out to be an extremely interesting and valuable exercise.

All those attending agreed that they had benefitted hugely from Shared Power training, both from the learning and also the opportunity to network with others with a similar role.

And finally…

Would you be interested in joining these citizen reps to take grass-root views and opinions to local board meetings where service providers can find out what is working and what needs to change? For further information about becoming a citizen rep, in the field of mental health or health and social care, just get in touch with us by emailing owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.

The next Shared Power training session will take place on 13 September 2023. 

Do get in touch with Owen if you would like to sign up.

Shared Power training - your chance to make a difference!

Sarah Dale, John Lilley & Rhydian Parry - Mental Health Individual Reps

Do you use health wellbeing services in Powys? Do you ever think about using your lived experience to make a positive difference to the way these services are designed and delivered?

If the answer is yes, but you’re not sure about how to get involved, you could well be interested in a full day of free training around this important area. Our Shared Power training will run on Wednesday 8 February at our Llandrindod Wells office.

We spoke to PAVO’s Participation Officer Owen Griffkin about why Shared Power training is important and the opportunities it may bring to people who attend.

Who is the Shared Power training for?

It’s for anyone who uses health and well being services in Powys and feels like they could use their lived experience to help plan and deliver these services.

What will people who attend get out of the training?

We will be looking at how health and wellbeing services are planned in the county, and the importance of the voice of the people who use these services in helping to make sure the services are run in the best possible way.

People might not know that their experience can be massively important in helping to make health provision better and there have been some big changes over the last few years that have been made because of what issues people have raised.

It can be quite daunting for people to share their stories, which can sometimes be traumatic, so we will look at how to share their experiences. There will be lots of practical exercises, and also we will talk to some of the current service user and carer representatives who sit on the partnership boards responsible for making decisions around health and wellbeing.

What can people do with the knowledge they learn?

A lot of the subjects covered will help with people’s everyday lives. We will have some assertiveness training, and look at how to prepare for meetings and confidence building. We will also look at discussing difficult subjects that can be quite personal to someone.

There will also be a chance to see what current opportunities there are in Powys for people to get involved and make a difference straight away. We try to have as much fun as we can whilst learning, and we will make sure there are lots of practical activities to try out what we are teaching.

Why is this training important?

The Well-being of Future Generations Act in 2015 made it a requirement for Welsh public bodies to involve the people who use, or who care for those who use, health and well-being services. The more people who feel confident in getting involved in this decision making, the better the services will be for anyone who has to use them.

People who have attended previous training sessions have gone on to help make really positive changes in Powys and Nationally as members of health and well-being partnership boards , volunteers for Powys Patients’ Council and leading awareness sessions for social care staff on issues important to them.

There are many more opportunities now to get involved than there were before COVID, and health services are always looking for people with lived experience in lots of different roles.

The people we work with in participation at the moment all say how much it has improved their own well-being because of their increased confidence and self-worth so I can really recommend getting involved and this training will be a great place to start!

If you want to find out more about the Shared Power training you can email owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk

Or, you can book your place online HERE.

You can read more, and watch a video, about the concept of Shared Power, 

on our recent blog post Shared Power - an Introduction.

Stress Awareness Week 2022 & Powys Cost of Living Hub

This week, 7 - 11 November, is International Stress Awareness Week which is organised by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA).

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Foundation as “the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope as a result of pressures that are unmanageable”.

The theme of Stress Awareness Week this year is “Working Together to Build Resilience & Reduce Stress”. Organisations throughout Powys are currently working very closely together to help support people through the Cost of Living Crisis - there is further information in the second half of this blog post.

Meanwhile, to start us off with some top tips about how to relieve stress, we spoke to one of our Powys Mental Health Individual Representatives*, John Lilley. He told us what has worked for him when dealing with stresses in his day-to-day life.

*The Individual Representatives are people who have either used, or care for somebody who has used, mental health services. These unpaid volunteers sit on regional and national partnership boards, alongside professionals who are involved in the delivery of services. 

The reps are there to make sure user / carer voice is included in the planning of services and they are always on hand to listen to your experiences and issues so that they can feed this back to the partnership groups. You can contact the reps by emailing the Participation Officer Owen Griffkin on owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk or calling 01597 822191.

John Lilley - Powys Individual Representative Mental Health

I found the 8 week Mindfulness course I took with Mid & North Powys Mind very helpful. There is a new online course currently on offer - An Introduction to Quantum Consciousness Therapy which starts on 14 November and runs for 4 weeks with John Paul.

There is also a half-day session on the Five Ways to Wellbeing - which includes reflection and creating personal goals to put the Five Ways into practice in your own life. You can also find out more about the Five Ways to Wellbeing on the Powys Mental Health website.

Previously I benefited from taking exercise classes in Rhayader as part of the Welsh National Exercise Referral Scheme. Clients of the Community Mental Health team can be referred for safe and effective community-based exercise opportunities. This includes:

• Healthy lifestyle advice as appropriate in partnership with the CMHT.
• Promoting and improving the mental and physical well-being of clients.
• Increasing clients’ physical activity on a long-term basis.

I also want to raise awareness of the excellent work that is being done to support 

children and young people with positive mental health in Powys. 

Here are three initiatives I want to highlight:

Thinking about options for younger age groups, Mindfulness is now offered to children and young people in Powys schools. You can find out more about this from Linda Gutierrez, Emotional Health & Wellbeing Lead in the Powys County Council Pupil Referral Service, by watching this short video.

Ysgol Calon Cymru - the school at the heart of Wales - has two campuses - in Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells. Earlier this year the school won a Wellbeing Award for achieving A National Standard for Positive Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing for their wellbeing support and helpful resources for both pupils and parents / carers.

Kooth, the online mental wellbeing community for children and young people, offers a lot of good online support, with a mental wellbeing community.

Children and young people across the whole of Mid and West Wales can now access Kooth’s service as both Powys Teaching Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board work with Kooth to provide an online counselling and emotional wellbeing service for this age group. Kooth provides a blended approach of online counselling, support, and advice to young people, which is free, safe, and anonymous by friendly counsellors.

Finally, I also like this edited list of tips from Peter Beresford’s* book "Being a Mental Health Service User”:

• One thing at a time.
• Try to live day by day, one step at a time.
• Don't anticipate troubles and problems (living in the moment).
• Give yourself the same advice you'd give others.
• All things pass - including the bad things.
• No one is less than me. I am not less than them.
• We can get real help and support from others. But the people we can feel closest to, and who offer the most natural understanding and mutual aid, are people who have 'been there' like us.

* Peter Beresford OBE is a long-term user of mental health services and Co-Chair of Shaping our Lives, the national independent service user-controlled organisation and network. He is also Professor Emeritus of Social Policy at Brunel University London and Visiting Professor at Edge Hill University and the University of East Anglia.

Cost of living crisis and your mental health

Here are some links to other services / online resources that could be of help at this difficult time.

Mental Health & Money Advice

Mental Health & Money Advice is a UK-wide online advice service designed to help you understand, manage and improve your financial and mental health. Difficulties in resolving financial matters can exacerbate mental health distress leading to a vicious cycle of increased stress and worry. Find online support, expert advice, tools and calculators, template letters, real life stories and much more on the website.

Mental Health & Money Advice has been developed by Mental Health UK, a UK-wide charity that represents its four member charities; Rethink Mental Illness in England, Adferiad Recovery in Wales, Support in Mind in Scotland and MindWise in Northern Ireland.

Welsh Government

On the Welsh Government website Get help with the cost of living you can find out more about living costs, housing, financial help, benefits entitlement, school and childcare expenses, and health & wellbeing.

Powys County Council - Cost of living hub

Powys County Council has launched a campaign to help support residents and businesses with the rising cost of living.

The council has worked closely with local partner organisations to pull together a wide range of information in one place to ensure people know what help is already available and how to access it.

The online hub, which can be found at www.powys.gov.uk/costofliving, has been created to offer as much advice as possible to those in Powys who may need it during this time.

The #CostOfLiving campaign aims to provide information and advice on:

• Household energy advice.
• Money, benefits and debt advice.
• Powys foodbanks.
• Support with household utility bill.
• Support for businesses.
• Support for families with children.

Powys Family Information Service

The Powys Youth and Family Information Service is a one-stop shop where parents, carers, young people and professionals can obtain a range of information for children and young people aged 0-25 years and their families. The team recently produced an excellent guide to support available to people on a range of issues in relation to the cost of living crisis.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice, the independent information and advice service, has extensive information on its website relating to the cost of living crisis.

If you have any tips and ideas about how to deal with stress and the current cost of living crisis then please let us know in the comments section below.

Shared Power - an introduction

The Health and Wellbeing Team at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations is pleased to announce the launch of a new animation film called "Shared Power - An Introduction".

PAVO’s Mental Health Participation Officer, Owen Griffkin, who worked on pulling together the different elements of the film, explains why this was an important subject to make a film about.

For some time now PAVO has delivered training to the service user and carer representatives who sit on the local health and wellbeing partnership boards. These people have a seat on the boards to provide a voice for anyone who uses these services and their input is vital to ensuring a health service that is fit for purpose and effective. We called this training ‘Shared Power’ training and it was designed to give people confidence and knowledge when taking part in high level planning meetings.

When we delivered this training we would often look at the nature of power, and how different types of power interact with each other. One of the theories we discussed was called the POWERCUBE, which expanded on previous theories around the different forms of power. We found that this theory often provoked some interesting discussions, although it could sometimes seem quite daunting when presented in a training session. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to apply for a training grant from the Powys Area Planning Board, we thought that making a short film looking at this theory might be useful in future training courses. 

We also wanted to aim the film at professionals who sit on these boards, so that they could avoid some of the barriers presented by power imbalances that might exclude service users and carers from engaging with co-production opportunities.

We were successful with the funding so we began working with current representatives from the main health and wellbeing partnership boards to get their input on how the film should progress. (These boards include the Mental Health Planning and Development Partnership, the Regional Partnership Board and the Area Planning Board).

We thought an animation might be a good way to highlight the important points, using the opinions and voices of current and past reps, and we hoped to involve the reps in all creative aspects of the film-making process. We worked with Jim Elliott, a Powys-based animator and musician, and I held interviews where possible with the reps so we could use their voices (and likenesses). Unfortunately we were now in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown so some of the original ideas were hard to do, and the reps weren’t able to be as ‘hands-on’ with the animation as we wanted to, but they still had input into the look and feel of the film.

We had discussed some of the old 1970s Open University graphics as a starting point for the aesthetic of the animation, and decided on a ‘stop-motion’ process to animate the talking head pieces. We also ensured there was a full Welsh version and worked with a local actor from Mid Powys Youth Theatre to provide the Welsh narration.

The initial reaction has been really good, and we plan to use the film in future training sessions as a way to break up the day and provide a break to whoever is leading the training. We hope that other organisations in Wales might want to use the film as well. To help with this we also produced some training materials that can be downloaded from the Powys Mental Health website - Shared Power additional materials.

If you would like to know more about the shared power training please contact mentalhealth@pavo.org.uk

You can view the films in English:

And Welsh:

Staying well during lockdown - what are we doing?

by Owen Griffkin, Participation Officer

Artwork by Sarah Dale, Mental Health Individual Representative, for the Isolation Art Challenge

As we near the end of April the COVID-19 lockdown has been extended until mid-May at the earliest. We have all had to adapt and change our routines to keep ourselves safe, and this has meant new ways of coping with the stresses of isolation. One of the enduring themes to emerge from this crisis is the ability of people to make the best of what they have in their homes and surrounding areas to stay mentally and physically fit. It’s not easy though and sometimes it is good to look elsewhere for inspiration, so that our daily routine doesn’t start feeling like ‘Groundhog Day’. 

We thought we would catch-up with friends and colleagues of the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisation’s (PAVO) mental health team and find out what they have been doing to cope with the lockdown, and maybe give you some more ideas to change up your routine.

Clair Swales - Health and Wellbeing Team Manager, PAVO

Since COVID-19 I have re-started with my weightlifting efforts. I was getting into a rut. Returning home from work I needed to switch off and get into home mode and weightlifting has really helped! As soon as I get in, I say a quick hello to the family and then get changed. If I hang around for too long I end up sitting on the sofa and then I find it difficult to get going again.

Weight lifting helps me to channel my stress levels and reduce any anxiety. I put the music on loud (I find rock music helps and that's not my normal ‘turn-to’ in music taste!); focusing on form and challenging myself to improve each week gives me closure on the day's work. I find that even after a short training session I can shut off my work brain until the next day.

You won't see me competing in weight lifting that's for sure but for me personally I see the benefits of reduced stress, improved sleep and increased energy levels. Don't be afraid to try it even with light weights, or improvise with cans of beans!

Here's an article on weight lifting and wellbeing.

Joy Garfitt - Assistant Director Mental Health Services, Powys Teaching Health Board

Rhodri & Nerys - two of Joy's lockdown companions

I am one of the residents of Powys who has received a letter from Welsh Government encouraging me to ‘self-isolate’ so that I may be ‘shielded’ from catching COVID-19 (hopefully) – however this doesn’t mean that I needed to become a hermit and enter the world of daytime TV!

Fortunately, my job in the NHS lends itself to being able to work from home during this time, although I miss my normal contact and conversations with patients and colleagues. Thankfully, enter the world of Skype, Zoom, Facetime etc. which has enabled me to keep in contact with colleagues, friends and family – we have even set up a weekly Mental Health ‘virtual coffee morning’ where we can have an informal catch up, and compare our collective need for access to a hairdresser and get a break from self-isolating, homeworking and the endless amount of video conferences.

I have been making the most of my daily exercise allowance and have been regularly heading out on my bike and taking in the beautiful sights of rural Radnorshire. Thankfully, our rural lanes are perfect for not seeing anyone and the excellent weather has provided the motivation I needed, along with my two companions, Rhodri and Nerys.

Lucy Harbour - Mental Health Participation Manager, PTHB

Two weeks into homeworking I found myself getting a bad back and feeling generally uncomfortable. After a spontaneous visit to a famous online retailer I bought myself a hula hoop to try and get me moving a bit more and inject a bit of fun back into my days – and I’m so glad I did!

Now, after a long day sitting at the desk I can get out in the garden and hula hoop to my heart’s content (and neighbour’s horror!)

Millie Griffiths - Occupational Therapist on Felindre Ward, Bronllys Hospital, PTHB

During the lockdown I have been trying to continue to engage in hobbies to fill my time and to provide me with a focus. Usually I would play football but can’t so have taken up gardening. I had little knowledge of gardening before but I seem to be doing something right as the plants are growing!

Russell Pearce - Kaleidoscope Peer Support

My name is Russell, I am an addict and sufferer of mental health problems. I am also an ex-professional boxer. I have built a gym in my garage to help me relieve stress. Exercise takes me out of my head and I feel at peace. Stay active, stay safe.

Sarah Dale - Individual Representative on the Powys Mental Health Partnership

During this lockdown it is not surprising that my mental health, like many others, has got worse. Routine has gone out of the window, and my ability to do my go-to distraction technique, knitting, has gone with it too. So I started off by spending my time playing Resident Evil games on my laptop, scrolling Facebook, sleeping and binge-watching Netflix. 

On one of my many Facebook scrolling sessions I found a Facebook group called the Isolation Art Challenge. There was a list of 30 days with 30 different teams (the list has now been expanded to 60 days). You can take as long as you want completing each piece and you CAN do them in any order if you fancy, and post your finished pieces in the group. I thought I would use this as an opportunity to practice using my Promarkers (alcohol-based graphic makers). It has given me a goal to complete, distraction, a community to share with and something to pass the time. People seem to love my work, and have messaged me to let me know they look forward to my art popping up on their Facebook timeline. I have also had requests from people to draw portraits. I decided to start an Instagram account just for my art. Who needs exercise when you have most of the day to perfect a masterpiece! (joking! do get some fresh air).

Freda Lacey - Mental Health Partnership Manager, PTHB

My usual practice, meditation, mindful wood walking, gardening/planting veg, feeding the birds/listening to the amazing bird song, quilting/getting on with projects left in my cupboard unfinished, writing letters and cards to family and friends, learning to paint (with Bob Ross!).

Jess Tanner - Green Minds Facilitator, Brecon Mind

As the weeks in lockdown go by and as the days start to blend into one another I have been seeking ways in which to bring more attention into my daily life. Spring is such a dynamic and exciting time in nature and I have been leaning more and more into my practice as a gardener and a walker, trying to find some stillness within to notice and learn more about this changing world around us. 

At the beginning of April I started a “Phenology Wheel” as a way to document the events taking place in the natural world, within my garden and along the walks I have been taking. Creating the wheel has helped me to stay connected to the realities within myself and my local area, as well as making me feel hugely grateful for the landscape that surrounds me, filling each day with something new.

A Phenology wheel is a circular, daily calendar that encourages a regular routine of nature observation. It requires very few resources, just a paper and pen.

Have a look at the Green Minds project.

Em Charles - Green Minds, Brecon Mind

I find journaling useful when overwhelmed by unhelpful thoughts. Writing things down can help shift our worries from inside our heads to the outside, giving them space to be reflected upon. It can also be used creatively to express your feelings, through art, poetry, photography and collaging, so can become a nice record of our experiences day to day.

Here’s is a great how-to video on getting started with journaling. 

There are some great suggestions and links above, but we really want to hear what you have been up to. Please reply on our social media (Facebook or Twitter) or below this blog and let us know the activities you have been doing to keep physically and mentally well during the lockdown. If you have photos even better!

Or you can email us at mentalhealth@pavo.org.uk or call 01686 628300.

#StayHomeStaySafe

Sharing power - in the planning and reviewing of services

Just before Christmas 2019 I attended this training event in Llandrindod run by my two Participation Officer colleagues – Owen Griffkin (Mental Health - above) and Andrew Davies (Health & Wellbeing - below).

The aim of the day was to build the confidence, knowledge and skills of participants, some of whom were already volunteering as citizen or individual reps, so that they could effectively participate in the planning and reviewing of services with public bodies. Citizen reps volunteer their time, energy and passion to make a difference for others and to the services we receive, and are helping influence change at local, regional and national levels.

Some of the participants are citizen reps on the Powys Mental Health Planning & Development Board, whilst others regularly sit on the Powys Regional Partnership Board.

Setting ground rules for the day

The key learning of the day was around: 

• Communicating confidently and effectively in meetings.
• Knowing where to access relevant information.
• Better understanding the process and procedures involved.
• Better understanding the public bodies involved.

As people introduced themselves at the start of the day it was really interesting to hear the views of those in contact with services, and others who had been citizen reps for some time already:

“Although organisations are individually very good, together they shall never meet.”

“I like to become a thorn in people’s sides. I enjoy arguing the point although I can accept both ways. A 360 degree view of services is so much better.”

It’s not possible to cover the full extent of the training in a short blog post, so I shall just highlight some of the particularly interesting discussions which took place on the day.

Representing other people

As a citizen rep you are an equal partner with other professionals in the room - you are an expert by experience. But how do you gain the experience of other people and take their stories to a partnership board?

One of the reps spoke about how he represents his own experience as a carer, but also takes stories with him from local carers’ groups that he attends. “You need to be mindful for it not to be just about yourself but to cast the net and make the representation whole. You are in effect a Citizen Rep (representing a group of people with a common interest) but also a Representative Citizen (giving your own opinions)." 

Another participant said: “It’s really hard to put yourself to one side. Sometimes you might be putting a viewpoint forward that you don’t believe in. It’s about delivering it in way that doesn’t put people off, or bore people, or become too personal.” There are some very polarizing issues about the medicalisation of mental health, for example, but it is important for a rep to balance any views s/he may have and give the other side as well.

Understanding other people’s context

Another experienced citizen rep pointed out that certain things cannot change. 

“There is no point banging your head against a brick wall that can only be changed from the top down.”

When things don’t go well – and when they do

Sometimes it can be easy to ask – “why are we here if we don’t have any influence?” It was felt that some meetings were a waste of time, and only “tick box” exercises. “Sometimes the public body will just move on to the next item on the agenda as if we have not spoken. We have been invited to speak, but it sometimes feels just so that they can tick that box.”

Someone representing a local charity described how it took her three years to be heard within one public body. But eventually her persistence paid off, and the organisation was finally able to achieve some funding for a much needed project.

It was, though, also agreed that sometimes staff within an organisation may also be struggling with the slow rate of change – but sometimes the decision making process, and the accountability attached to it, require that change to go through and be agreed by many different committees.

New reps often have very high expectations in the early days, but these need to be managed from the start.

“Don’t promise the earth. It’s the small steps that are important. And publicising the success stories.”

You said, we did

Everyone agreed on the value of prompt feedback from the boards about progress. “Even if that is – we’re still driving this forward but we haven’t got anywhere yet.” Otherwise there is an understandable tendency for people to think – “what’s the point?”

The mock meeting

In the afternoon we were pleased to welcome our former colleague Freda Lacey, now Partnership Manager Mental Health at Powys Teaching Health Board, to chair a mock meeting designed to put into practice all the learning from earlier in the day. It turned out to be an extremely interesting and valuable exercise.

All those attending agreed that they had benefitted hugely from the day, both from the learning and the opportunity also to network with others who had a similar role.

And finally…

Would you be interested in joining these citizen reps to take grass-root views and opinions to local board meetings where service providers can find out what is working and what needs to change? For further information about becoming a citizen rep, in the field of mental health or health and social care, just get in touch with us by emailing mentalhealth@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.