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Developing mental health carers as accredited peer trainers and facilitators

To equip and support carers to develop and run co-produced self-management education courses in the Recovery College, and deliver support sessions for ReThink and other carers groups across South West London.

Read comments 5
  • Idea
  • 2018

Meet the team: Peer Carers Co-facilitate Carer Self-Management Courses #pc-smc

Also:

  • Nathifa Douet - Rethink National Groups Manager
  • Jeremy Coutinho - Recovery College Manager, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
  • Miles Rinaldi - Recovery Lead, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

Your idea

What is the challenge or opportunity you are focussing on? (200 words)

The challenge we are focussing on is to co-produce and then deliver self-management courses by training carers to act as peer trainers . We aim to help carers to overcome challenges they may face when trying to look after themselves as well as another person.

People with mental health conditions have a wider context to their lives than simply being a ‘patient’ or a diagnosis. It’s critical to their recovery that they receive support when needed to maintain their networks of supportive family and friends.

Carers need to change their lifestyle in order to support and/or take responsibility for another person who is experiencing mental health problems. These carers might not live with the person and might not contribute to daily support but are still concerned, involved and affected by the well-being of the person concerned.

Educating people about their conditions and supporting self-management are important components of NICE clinical guidelines (NICE, 2014; 2006) and are effective ways to promote empowerment (and to build knowledge and confidence to participate in shared decision-making).

Your proposal (250 words)

To co-design peer trainer training for people with lived experience of mental health to deliver Recovery College courses including carers and self-management courses delivered by carers groups.

This proposal is collaboration between a Mental Health Trust, Rethink and local carers organisations:

  • South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust established the first Recovery College in the UK. Recovery College provide information, resources and self-management education to develop people’s strengths, and enabling people to understand their challenges and how they can best manage. Its courses are delivered by peer tutors (with lived experience of mental health and/or a carer) and professional tutors have experience of being a mental health or health professional.
  • Rethink, a national mental health carer’s charity, and local carer centres, are seeking to develop the training and opportunities for carers through their local support group networks.

Our proposal will overcome an identified unmet need for suitably trained and supported carers to play a similarly active role in the design and delivery of courses and support for other carers for both the Recovery College and carers support groups.

Our proposal is to increase carer influence and control measured through delivering the following work packages:

  • Co-produce new carers Recovery College and carers self-management courses with ReThink and other carers groups
  • Co-produce and deliver a Train the Trainer two day programme for both Recovery College and carers self-management courses
  • Develop an accreditation and evaluation process
  • Feedback to Q Community on how Recovery College and carers self-management courses can be applied to long-term condition management

What is the benefit you hope to achieve? (150 words)

By developing mental health carers as peer trainers and facilitators we expect the following benefits:

For patients:

  • Greater number and range of carers to support Recovery College and carers support session groups leading to greater opportunity to benefit from these courses.

  • Improved quality of life, self-efficacy, trust and empowerment, and reduced system use.

For carers:

  • Greater number and range of trained to co-deliver Recovery College both carer focused and other courses

  • More carers trained to deliver support group sessions by ReThink and other carers groups

  • Opportunity to for carers peer training and delivery of courses

  • Improvements in health and wellbeing through a better understanding of the issues and  ways to overcome them

For staff

  • An accreditation and evaluation process for carers delivering Recovery College and support session groups.

Measures of benefits

  • Number and range of carers trained

  • Impact of carers courses on patient and carer

  • Reductions in mental health use

What benefits do you expect for the Q community (100 words)

  • A ‘best practice’ model for peer trainers and facilitators development which can be applied to other areas and extending the principles to long-term condition management

  • An accreditation and evaluation process for carers

  • We will share blogs, highlight to our local and other Q networks.

  • We will also offer placement opportunities and visits for Q members to learn and contribute to the project.

  • We also aim to generate additional interest from service users in becoming Q members

  • Evidence of the benefits to patients, staff, NHS services voluntary sector services

How you can contribute

  • Advice on a valid activation measure(s) to assess impact on carer influence and control through involvement and co-production
  • Advice on accreditation for the carer peer training programme/ course

Comments

  1. Guest

    Caroline Bruckner-Holt 17 Jun 2018

    Dear Amy and team,

    This looks like a very interesting carers project. I too am undertaking a project for carers around learning how to care for their loved one and better manage the situations one finds themselves in towards the very end of life. The idea however of training other carers to undertake the training is fascinating and may also have relevance for my project idea.

    I will be very interested indeed to see your 'best practice model for peer trainers and facilitators' in due course and hope that it will be directly relevant to the work that I am undertaking. Very best wishes for success in gaining the funding and on the project overall.

  2. Hi Emma, thank you for your support. We will let you know our progress on this

  3. Hi Karen, thank you for your comment. The project aims to co-produce and co-deliver self-management/recovery courses for carers of people with experience of mental health issues and to co-produce a training for carers who facilitate Rethink support groups

  4. Hi Amy - this sounds great. I can think of a few SW London carers who would jump at the chance to be involved in this. Looking forward to seeing how it develops. Emma

  5. Great to see a carers' project - but so many questions! First up - can you be clearer about what you intend to do? For example, "To co-design peer trainer training for people with lived experience of mental health to deliver Recovery College courses including carers and self-management courses delivered by carers groups." I'm not quite sure I understand what training you will be providing for the carers? Thanks

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