Innovative service will see psychologists help improve wellbeing in the community

A new service will see psychologists working in communities to help strengthen resilience around mental health and wellbeing.

Community psychologists will initially be based within three of the health board’s Local Cluster Collaboratives (LCCs) – Cwmtawe, Bay Health and Upper Valleys.

They will seek to develop a psychological understanding of community needs, assets and factors impacting on the mental health and wellbeing of people living in each area.

The community psychology service has been introduced to help provide early intervention to improve community resilience with the aim of preventing the need for people to access clinical support.

Pictured, from left: Community psychologist Dr Rebecca Wilson, Cwmtawe LCC lead Mike Garner, Associate Service Group Director for primary and community services Sharon Miller and Head of Psychology Sarah Collier.

Sharon Miller, Associate Service Group Director for primary and community services, has led the programme to introduce community psychology into the clusters.

She said: “I am delighted to be working closely with the Head of Psychology and the Cwmtawe LCC to implement this model which is aimed at improving health in the longer term.

“I look forward to working with Bay Health and Upper Valleys LCCs next as we extend the model into those cluster areas.

“Introducing community psychology is aimed at helping and supporting communities to develop and sustain services to support good mental health and wellbeing.”

Each community psychologist will link with organisations and services based within each of the cluster areas, as well as residents, to understand what is already available to people and what could be built on to improve wellbeing.

Dr Rebecca Wilson (pictured) is the health board’s first community psychologist and is based within the Cwmtawe LCC, which covers the Clydach, Llansamlet and Morriston areas of Swansea.

“The initial aspect of the role has been to learn about the area as much as possible which has involved meeting residents, organisations that work in the community and primary care services,” Rebecca said.

“By learning about what is going on in the cluster, the aim is to develop a psychological assessment and understanding of the needs of the community and look at how we can build on and strengthen the relationships they have with each other to help improve residents’ wellbeing.”

The innovative service will see the psychologists work directly with community partners, such as third sector, social care, police, sports and community groups, to ensure earlier intervention for those who need support.

Dr Sarah Collier, the health board’s Head of Psychology, said: “Clinic based models don’t work for everyone and our community has a great deal to offer the mental health and wellbeing needs of our population.

“The community psychologists will be working with key people to meet the needs of the community and to capitalise on assets to enable people to flourish and grow.

“For example, if a community organisation is working with someone who is struggling with their mental health, they may feel a little out of their depth in managing that.

“The psychologists can then work with them to help them improve their skills in managing mental health and wellbeing and enable that person and others to flourish.”

The psychologists will also spend time listening to residents to help identify what support is lacking for them, with the aim of working together to try and make improvements.

“If a community identifies the need for a parenting group, for example, Rebecca may be able to work with them and other community partners to help develop that,” Sarah added.

“It is a strength-based approach where the psychologists will give guidance to community partners, help them to capitalise on their assets and also offer support on how people can develop their skills to manage their mental health and wellbeing.”

Rebecca’s role began earlier this year, with more community psychologists planned in the coming months who will be based within other clusters.

Sarah said: “I think being based in the clusters allows the psychologist to really get a sense of that community and develop a good knowledge of what is going on.

“We hope the community psychologists will help support the community to meet the needs of people who are marginalised or may not know how to access services and support.”

The service will also work closely with Swansea University to help evaluate its impact over the coming years.

Mike Garner, Cwmtawe LCC lead, said: “We are extremely lucky to be part of this new innovative service that is going to play a crucial role in promoting wellbeing within the community.

“Rebecca will be actively engaging with community members, building trust and understanding local needs.

“This will hopefully foster a sense of belonging and encourage open dialogue, especially around the subject of mental health.

“It is important to remember that healthy individuals are the product of healthy communities and with the help of our psychologist, we can look to address the broader subjects of physical as well as mental health, social connections and wellbeing.”

Sharon added: “Based on the success of the model, in the longer term we hope to see it introduced in all of our eight clusters.”