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Marie works as Learn Devon Curriculum Co-ordinator (Mathematics,English and ICT)
She was the lead for the Community Mental Health Project and has captured here some of her own, her colleagues and learners' reflections on the reserach.
marie.wellington@devon.gov.uk

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I started with the project on the 9th July 2015, which was some way into it.  It was very apparent that I needed to hit the ground running as we had no courses planned. I initially liaised with our Community Development Coordinators who would be able to use their networking skills to provide courses for the right people.

So before we had all the necessary paperwork 2 courses were set up in one if the target areas of Okehampton.  The Coordinator worked with RISE - Recovery and Integration Service and between them, they provided an Art for Wellbeing Course and a Getting Out There Course.

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The course was designed so that different media were used throughout – the first 2 weeks they looked at acrylics, the next collage and so on. I went to see the learners and they happily told me about the value of the course to them.  One man said that when he first joined he wouldn’t speak to anyone and didn’t know their names but now he knows everyone’s names and will even ‘blag ciggies from them’.  Another learner advised that they had prior to attending the course intentions of suicide (had to be talked down from a balcony) and that for them the course had made them aware of what they are capable of doing and that the classroom isn’t as bad as they thought it was and I now understand that this learner has signed up to train to be a counsellor.

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Portrait from Learn Devon Art and Wellbeing course

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These learners had a follow up session a few weeks after the course ended and the feedback was that for one learner it was literally the difference between life and death and another had been made redundant recently and this course has given her the confidence to think about teaching art classes in the future. All learners wanted to further their learning and some had already signed up to other courses. They felt that the social benefits were good as they could share their experiences in an informal way. The courses being free and non-accredited meant that they felt relaxed about what they were doing. The creative courses are good as they allow them to express themselves without limits. The follow up for this course was held at a National Trust property and they gave the room free of charge. The learners although meeting to feedback were shown leaf printing, tree recognition and they bundled leaves together to make a flower (see picture). The experience of a new environment was good for the learners and also for the National Trust who said it was good to work with people from a different group and they all learnt something from it.

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Autumn Leaves Learn Devon Art and wellbeing course follow up

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This course for one learner proved extremely useful as he was homeless.  The object of this course was to get people outside to look at their surrounding area, make the most of the county side and learn new navigational skills. They made an omelette from foraged wild herbs and local eggs as well as elderflower cordial. The foraging provided exercise for learners too when they went digging for pig nuts and looked at what leaves could be used for making tea such as nettles. On one of the sessions the tutor was unwell but a learner who is profoundly deaf taught (with a stand in tutor) the session about foraging for a burdock root and this boosted his confidence – for him it was huge step to finding his voice and he thoroughly enjoyed it. The homeless learner on the follow up course advised that he now had a flat and was looking for a job.

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The course tutor reported that:

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The course tutor reported that :

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RISE - Recovery and Integration Service featured the learners work from these courses in their newsletter and one learners work was displayed at the local church’s harvest festival.

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On another course held in Tiverton the learners here started off quite disengaged and one learner would not leave her child with the crèche but now she feels that she can. The group have become friends and are planning to go out for a celebratory drink after the last session. All these learners are now considering going on to a maths class with the tutor.

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I’ve found the cooking course has helped me find my: roots, wings, and reach out back into the community.  As part of my rehabilitation, it’s been an essential part.  If I’d not attended on some of the bad days when my mental health has been difficult to manage, it’s been an essential part of my life allowing me to meet different people, and helped me overcome trauma that happened in the past.

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Letter shared with Learn Devon by a group who have lived experience of MH who wanted to help others

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Both these sessions were delivered by a tutor and RISE - Recovery and Integration Service provided support where appropriate.  It was apparent though from talking to tutors that future courses should have another person
in the room as support and once we had training with MIND ‘Mental Health Awareness’ we realised that we were justified in this decision. Sometimes learners need to have time to reflect with someone and they need the space in which to do this. Having two people present means there is scope to do this whilst the other learners can continue.

The Mental Health Awareness training for the educationalists was a valuable session it allowed the tutors to set down ground rules about what they can provide support with and when they need to signpost learners to more suitable agencies. MIND provided a protocol that staff could use and this was extremely useful. They will also be providing a video of the course so that future tutors can access the information and feel confident with their decisions.

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I have loved the information sharing webinars and have found most of them extremely useful – sending the links to others in my team who too could find them beneficial. I would like to investigate ‘systems thinking’ and get some training set up for this out of our first phase budget.
I would like to investigate putting on Tutor Wellbeing Support Groups.

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Partnership working

Working with partners and with other agencies has been really beneficial it has given me more awareness and understanding of how we can move the project forward.

The project began with the partners being Learn Devon, MIND, St Loyes and Exeter College.  Exeter College decided that due to the timing and the paperwork involved that they couldn’t continue at this stage.  MIND and St Loyes have been working well with us and between us we have managed to offer 20 courses (our target is 21) and engaging our target of 130 learners.  As the courses are offered to learners we have found that it is difficult to refuse entry to learners who don’t meet the mild to moderate level but could be moderate plus or do not show any score on the questionnaires. This in the second phase would be something that we would need to address.

I have visited courses run by all partners and found them to be very well received with all learners actively engaged. Some have had volunteers who have ‘lived experience’ and have helped to deliver and produce the courses offered.

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Feedback from MIND on the Become Your Own CBT Therapist

The course appeared effective for learners scoring with moderately severe and severe symptoms. One learner was able to achieve full recovery on exit, with scores dropping below caseness into ‘none/minimal symptoms’ category for both PHQ9 and GAD7.  Another learner achieved statistically significant improvement in both scores at the end of the course, showing reliable improvement. Both learners were able to stay to the end of the course, showing an impressive retention rate even for learners with high number of symptoms, who are normally more likely to stop attending.

Two learners indicated suicidal ideation at the start of the course, which was risk assessed by one of the tutors.  No suicidal ideation was indicated on exit questionnaires showing a positive shift towards hope and increasing confidence in managing low moods.

From tutors’ observations, the participants, showing very little or no change in scores were also those who participated the least group discussions.  Learners who were able to take part in group exercises, discussions, sharing and problem solving their ongoing challenges, all showed significant shifts in scores towards recovery.

It was also evident that the mid-course scores can be used productively to inform the focus of the remaining sessions, and to work more closely with learners who are not showing signs of recovery in the group sessions.  Thus tutors made a concerted effort to focus on lowering anxiety in the second half of the course, informed by the lack of change in the average GAD7 scores mid-course.  This proved to be a successful strategy.

Learners showed exceptional levels of motivation and engagement throughout the 8 week period, highlighting efficacy of self-referral as the main recruitment pathway to this course.

Possible improvements for this course in the future include – increase the courses’ effectiveness for lifting low mood and managing depression by changing some sessions’ materials and incorporating more assertiveness and interpersonal skills training, associated with improved outcomes for depression.  Build in strategies to deal with OCD related issues, as requested by one learner.  There may also be scope for running shorter twice weekly sessions, so that participants don’t miss out a large chunk of the course if they can’t make a particular day, and to allow for more classroom practice.

Offer 1:1 support to the quieter learners during session exercises, and encouraging participation in the group as this is linked to higher recovery rates.

Aim to start the course with fewer than 20 learners in a group to ensure there is enough time and space to engage learners in group discussions, associated with better outcomes.

One learner has written – ‘Thank you so much for your time and support over the last few weeks.  It has been a great start to my CBT/mindfulness journey and totally life changing 1 I have made a donation to Mind in Exeter and East Devon so others can benefit as much as I have’.

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Employers and Employees

MIND have put on a course for employees of Devon and Cornwall Police and in June 16 are planning to run one for Devon and Somerset Fire Service.

Learn Devon ran a course for The Priory staff who work in the care sector.  These learners were in a redundancy situation having worked there for a good number of years.

I have liaised with our HR Strategy team and worked with Heidi Arnold to look how we could involve DCC as an employer to work with staff who have mild to moderate mental health problems that could benefit from these courses.

Heidi put me in touch with Russ Drayton who is the Manager of Devon Link Mental Health in the Community. He also manages Recovery Devon Colleges in the South West.  Russ is employed by Devon but managed by DPT. He works closely with partners such as; MIND, Rethink, Exeter College, DoH, St Sidwells and DPT.  His breadth of work also includes; training managers of businesses in removing the stigma of mental health in the workplace and he trains trainers in suicide prevention and runs Day Centres across North Devon as a drop in centre for people with mental health problems.

She has arranged a meeting with Martin White in Public Health to see how Devon County Council can embrace adult mental health awareness and wellbeing in the workplace and link in with the Learn Devon and other agencies/partners.

Devon CC could also go a lot further and run adult mental health awareness training for all managers to enable them to have frank and open, supportive discussions with employees at 1-2-1s and appraisals in order to identify issues at an early stage and prevent both long term and frequent short term absences in the longer term.

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The project featured in the local news letter 

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The project featured in the local news letter 

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Local news article on how adults across Devon with mental health problems are being helped in their recovery thanks to our free LearnDevon project.

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Community learning helps Devon's adults to recover from mental health issues

Adults across Devon suffering from mental health issues are being helped in their recovery thanks to a free community learning project.

Since adult learning provider Learn Devon launched the project in April last year 180 adults have been given a helping hand.

The project provides a range of free, creative, motivational and outdoors courses to help sufferers to develop strategies to help them recover.

It aims to help people who have mild to moderate mental health issues including anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.

As well as developing their skills, the courses help the learners to build confidence and make new friends.

One learner, who doesn't want to be identified, took part in an Art for Wellbeing course and is now training as a counsellor as a result.

She said the experience had helped her overcome suicidal thoughts.

She said: "The course made me aware of what I am capable of doing and the classroom wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

The project forms part of a Skills Funding Agency pilot scheme to develop, deliver, evaluate and share educational approaches to support recovery from mental health problems.

Learn Devon is working with local charities Mind and the St Loye's Foundation (Community Care Trust) to offer the courses.

Participants are referred onto the courses from health services such as Rise, the Recovery and Integration Service.

Councillor Roger Croad, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Learn Devon, said: "Mental health issues affect adults from all backgrounds across Devon.

"The success of this project shows that benefits offered by community learning, such as creativity, support and a social network, can make a real difference to the lives of sufferers."

Learn Devon's Marie Wellington, who is co-ordinating the project, said: "For a lot of the learners, these courses have helped reverse negative thought patterns, shown them what they are capable of and provided them with hope and opportunities.
"Many plan to carry on with their learning so they can continue to build a better future."

Learn Devon provides adult and community learning courses on behalf of Devon County Council. Visit www.learndevon.gov.uk.

Posted in: Education | Health and Wellbeing

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Community learning helps Devon's adults to recover from mental health issues

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Adults across Devon suffering from mental health issues are being helped in their recovery thanks to a free community learning project. Since adult learning provider Learn Devon launched the project in April last year 180 adults have been given a helping hand.

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We are training staff and volunteers in collaboration with MIND on mental health awareness.  This will develop their knowledge and skills to ensure that they are confident in making decisions around the suitability of their courses and to identify any issues that they would need to signpost the learners to appropriate support.
We are using a variety of community learning courses to reach over 200 learners.
We are engaging with employers to demonstrate the value of the interventions.  Key to longer term sustainability will be the identification and evaluation of the employer drivers for engagement such a absenteeism, productivity, change management, relationships and workplace wellbeing.

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One  learner was concerned about his scores as he did not have a good week with his physical health - had to have injections and has a needle phobia and felt it overshadowed what he was doing on the course.

Another learner said that the GAD-7 score would be different if answering from a work perspective rather than a personal one.  They can deal with problems at work but not  at a personal level.  Personally they are indecisive and avoid problems, whilst they are at work they are the opposite.

A learner has found the course that they joined a positive experience and has now signed up to train as a counsellor.

Another said it is useful to put yourself out of your comfort zone and learn new things.  It has had a positive effect on their wellbeing and confidence. They are now considering starting their own business.

A homeless learner with poor health has now got the confidence to get a flat and look for a job.  Last we heard the flat has been secured - we will keep you posted about the job!

'Absolutely brilliant ! - I would recommend to anyone' - this learner has now signed up to learn maths, English and ICT.  She has also started a small business selling cards, jewellery and similar at craft fairs and made £85 on her first attempt.

One learner who did the foraging course has found it has stimulated him to get back in to nature - he has bought his daughter a book about foraging t and has now signed himself up to an alcohol programme for support.