Publish date: 6 October 2022
One of the Trust's occupational therapists (OT) appeared on the radio station Represent yesterday (Wednesday 5 October) to talk about young people's mental health.
Michelle Grant, who is head of occupational therapy for Mental Health Integrated Network Teams (MINT) in West London Community and Recovery Mental Health Services (CARMHS), was invited to talk about a new campaign launched by the NHS.
The campaign is called 'London, You Good?' and is calling for young people to seek help if they're struggling with mental illness.
The target audience of the campaign is 18-25 year old Londoners, with a specific focus on people from black and Asian minority ethnic backgrounds as we know from referral and admission data that these groups are less likely to access early intervention support and more likely to interact with NHS services at crisis point.
In 2021, there were 6.9% more emergency department attendances in London among people aged 16 to 25 with a mental health diagnosis than in 2019.
In an effort to encourage young people to come forward for support early and potentially prevent experiencing a mental health emergency, the NHS is raising awareness of the range of services available across the capital.
Michelle spoke to Reprezent about a recent mental health project launched by West London NHS Trust in collaboration with University of West London.
The project is called People Like Us and aims to support the university's students. With recent figures showing that male Black and Asian young Londoners are 10 times less likely to come forward than others, the project aims to enhance the support available for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students by breaking down potential barriers some communities may face when accessing mental health support.
Michelle said: "I was honoured to be able to speak on radio about a subject that I am very passionate about.
"As the NHS and more locally West London NHS Trust continues to expand its offer to meet the needs of the population it serves, it recognises the increased needs of young people within the capital as figures have shown that more young people are reporting mental health issues.
"It was great to be able to talk to a younger audience as Reprezent radio targets 25 and under and is a youth-led radio station.
"I highlighted how mental health should be prioritised on par with physical health and trying to spread awareness of the free resources such as IAPT, Every Mind Matters, People Like Us and other University support."
She added: "Mental health is a spectrum and we all have mental health. The message really was about trying to break down barriers, challenges and stigmas some communities face and really trying to highlight that you are not alone and support is available."
