Mental health issues make practical problems worse
Simple changes to services in Wales could make a difference for people with mental health issues
Official statistics show that 1 in 4 people experience mental health problems. At Citizens Advice, over a fifth of the people we help have faced issues with their mental health.
Mental health problems may affect far more people than we realise, because many people find it difficult to talk openly about their mental wellbeing. Suffering from mental health problems can often be an isolating experience as there are no outward symptoms — no physical disability or impairment.
Not being able to talk openly about mental health problems can make it difficult to receive the right support at the right time. People with mental health problems come to us for advice with an average of 5 issues, compared to 3.5 issues for other clients.
I have seen clients where pride and embarrassment mean they won’t tell the truth about how their condition is affecting them — Citizens Advice supervisor
At Citizens Advice, we see first hand how people’s practical problems interact with their mental health. In many cases money, debt, housing and work can often result in a deterioration in mental health. Sometimes, it can damage a person’s mental and physical health to such an extent that they need to seek help from health services.
What barriers to services do people with mental health issues experience?
For those experiencing mental health problems, the practical demands of housing, employment and access to everyday services can prove extremely difficult. Between February and March 2017 we carried out research with people affected by mental health problems to get a sense of the challenges they faced. We wanted to understand what barriers people with mental health problems encountered when trying to go about their everyday business such as contacting their local authority, paying a bill, switching energy provider or signing up to a new mobile phone contract.
The issues identified by participants ranged from problems with contacting energy suppliers, challenges with using technology, a lack of access to face to face services and an inherent mistrust of organisations.
I cannot fill a form out quickly enough so it kept timing out…[I got] more and more anxious as it happened and so I could not complete the form [online] — research participant
We found that making contact with someone who may be in a position to help in the first instance was a significant barrier for many people with mental health problems.
The clients are so terrified they’ll agree to anything…the council will say you can pay xx and the person will say yes out of mindless fear — support worker
Other problems included jargon and complex messages from public services, getting lengthy menu options on call handling systems, lack of awareness of mental health problems by service providers and a lack of time to explain situations or problems.
What can be done to make services easier to access?
Our research was a first step in building a more complete picture of the obstacles faced by people with mental health issues. We wanted to start understanding where we can be most effective in helping people who come to us for support.
Our initial findings suggested some easy wins. People we spoke to recommended longer appointment times, more face to face services as well as training in understanding mental health for front line workers.
More broadly, we found a lack of awareness about what simple changes can be made to support people with mental health problems. We found a huge reliance on voluntary and third sector organisations to bridge the gap.
This autumn we plan to explore these initial findings in more detail, with further research across Wales — and we’re getting started with an discussion at the National Eisteddfod today.
