Mental Health Services in Yorkshire and Humber Need Innovation and Transformation

🧠 Mental health services across Yorkshire and the Humber are under real pressure - long waits, fragmented pathways, and a workforce stretched thin. We're developing a regional programme to find where innovation and transformation support can make the biggest difference. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚-𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬. We want to hear from people with lived experience, clinicians, local authorities, VCSE organisations, researchers, and anyone already doing work in this space. Read more about what we're exploring and how to get involved. Link to the full piece in the comment 👇 #MentalHealth #Innovation #NHS #YorkshireAndHumber #TraumaInformedCare

We're pleased to share this blog from Elinor Bally, a Healthy Futures East Visiting Fellow, exploring work to map Suffolk's children and young people's mental health support system. The project reflects the collaborative approach at the heart of Healthy Futures East, where Health Innovation East’s Dr Judith Fynn leads the Prevention Workstream, bringing together research, practice and system leadership to tackle shared health challenges. In the blog, Elinor highlights how making support more visible across health, education, social care and the voluntary sector could help professionals navigate services more effectively, support earlier intervention and improve outcomes for children and young people. Read the full blog: https://lnkd.in/e62TGit2 #MentalHealth #ChildrenAndYoungPeople #Prevention #PopulationHealth #Collaboration

Hopebound’s dual-impact model is transforming youth mental health and workforce development: * Rapid Care: Serving 350+ youth with an average wait time under two weeks (vs. 3–6 months nationally). * Workforce Support: Providing $400K–$600K in free clinical supervision across 4,000+ hours to equip the next generation of therapists. Interested in getting involved or learning more about our work across Georgia and Florida? Reach out to me or our incredible executive director, Michael Stevens, Ed.D, directly; we would love to connect. #Hopebound #MentalHealthEquity #YouthMentalHealth #MentalHealthAccess #LeadershipInAction

Jason and Renee will be presenting at the 22nd Annual Mental Health & Substance Use Recovery Conference hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on October 22nd-23rd. Their presentation is called: Building a Client-Centered Continuum: Measurable, Cross-Sector Collaboration in Rural Behavioral Health is Possible. Rural communities facing behavioral health and addiction crises need formal, cross-sector collaboration to address fragmented systems and workforce shortages. This session will guide leaders and cross-sector partners on how to convene effective teams, engage local leadership, and implement shared pathways that reduce ED visits, improve workforce satisfaction, and strengthen care transitions. Using real rural success stories, we will demonstrate how leveraging local resources and clear data tracking can remove barriers and build equitable, community-led solutions. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gKrngj2g Let us know in the comments if we’ll see you there! #WisconsinRuralHealth #MentalHealth #Recovery #RuralHealth #RuralHealthCare #BehavioralHealth #MentalHealth #RuralMentalHealth

What stands between people and the mental healthcare they need? Having a mental health service nearby doesn’t necessarily mean people can access it. EQUICARES uses an adapted Levesque Framework for Healthcare Access to look beyond the availability of services and understand the barriers people face throughout their journey to care. Our research examines access at three levels: 🌍 Macro: Policies, economic conditions, and wider European trends 🏥 Meso: Healthcare systems, services, and administrative barriers 👥 Micro: Lived experiences, cultural factors, and individual circumstances By looking at both how services are delivered and how people experience access, we can identify where and why barriers emerge and where change is needed. 🌐 Discover how EQUICARES is mapping the barriers to mental healthcare: equicares-project.eu #EQUICARES #MentalHealthForAll #SmartHealthLabs #HealthEquity #HorizonEU #InclusiveCare #FutureOfHealthcare #PersonCentredCare #RightToHealth #MigrantHealth #AccessForAll #TraumaInformedCare

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. Across the health and care system, there is growing momentum behind neighbourhood and place-based models of care. It offers an opportunity to move away from fragmented, reactive services towards support organised around people, place and prevention. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, as a person’s experience rarely fits neatly within the boundaries of one service or organisation. Mental health can be shaped by a number of factors, including physical health, housing, employment, relationships, financial security and access to trusted local support. Designing better services therefore requires more than just organisational data, professional expertise and pathway planning. 𝐈𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. People with lived experience of mental health understand where pathways become fragmented and difficult to navigate, where needs falls between services and where changes that may work in theory, do not actually work in practice. This year’s 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐲 theme "Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change" is an important reminder that co-production is not a ‘nice to have’ consultation exercise or an optional bolt-on. People with lived experience should help frame the problem, shape priorities and future services models, and define what better support looks like from the outset. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. Read out latest perspective here: https://lnkd.in/eAtCJPvS #WorldMentalHealthDay #LivedExperience #NeighbourhoodHealth #CoProduction

Representation Isn't the Finish Line Representation matters. Seeing therapists, educators, leaders, and mental health professionals who share aspects of our identities can create powerful opportunities for connection and belonging. But representation alone does not guarantee culturally responsive care. We also need systems that listen. Organizations that examine their practices. Clinicians willing to confront bias. And environments where cultural differences aren't merely tolerated but respected and valued. Ask your organization: Beyond representation, what are we actually doing to create culturally responsive experiences for the people we serve? #HispanicHeritageMonth #RepresentationMatters #CulturallyResponsiveCare #MentalHealthEquity #HealthcareEquity

Mental health and substance use health (MHSUH) systems can deliver better access and improved outcomes when they are shaped by the expertise and knowledge of people with lived and living experience (PWLLE). The theme of the World Health Organization’s 2026 campaign is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”, with the key messages: • Lived experience is expertise • People with lived experience must be central in shaping mental health care: nothing about us without us • Deinstitutionalization and rights-based care are important to many people with lived experience These messages directly align with the principles and core components of the Stepped Care 2.0 model. Embedding co-design across the system is an essential part of creating and delivering inclusive and equitable care. #WorldMentalHealthDay #MentalHealthDay #WellbeingEverywhere #LivedExperience

Digital support for young people with anxiety Our evaluation of 220 young people found Lumi Nova was an acceptable alternative to face-to-face support, with 92% of young people using the digital solution. Long waiting lists for children's and young people's mental health support can leave them and their families without help when they need it. Working with Humber and North Yorkshire ICS’s Innovation, Research and Improvement System (IRIS), we explored the benefits of Lumi Nova for 9–12-year-olds accessing support for mild to moderate anxiety and depression in North Yorkshire. What impact did it have? Find out in our 2025/26 Impact Report: https://joom.ag/LEUd/p30 #MentalHealthSupport #Innovation #Digital #YoungPeople NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)

While designing a mental health or public health intervention, I keep asking myself: Am I designing it for the community or with the community? The more I learn about community health, the more I realise that a good intervention does not begin with a solution. It begins with questions. How does the community understand the issue? Who makes decisions? Who holds power? Who participates - and who remains excluded? What existing practices already support well-being? Which cultural values need to be respected? Could some existing practices also reproduce inequality? And most importantly - how can the intervention adapt to the local reality rather than expecting the community to adapt to our intervention? I recently created this visual on Canva as a reminder of the questions I want to carry with me while working on mental health and public health interventions. As mental health professionals and public health practitioners, we may bring theories, frameworks, research and technical knowledge. But communities bring lived experience, local knowledge, relationships, culture and an understanding of what actually works on the ground. For me, this is the shift from doing things FOR communities to working WITH communities. And perhaps the most important question is not “What solution can we provide?” but: “What can we learn from the community before we start designing the solution?” 💬 What is one question you believe every mental health or public health professional should ask a community before designing an intervention? I would genuinely love to learn from your experience and your learnings. Feel free to share your views and ideas. #CommunityHealth #MentalHealth #PublicHealth #CommunityMentalHealth #HealthEquity #ParticipatoryApproach #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth #CoCreation