At Think Ahead, we want to see a society where everyone with mental health problems can flourish. We know that won’t happen unless people can improve their social circumstances, because issues like relationships, housing and employment can have profound effects on our mental wellbeing.
We recruit, train, and develop the mental health workforce to provide the most effective support to people with mental health problems.
Our flagship programme provides an innovative route into mental health social work for graduates and career-changers. We work in partnership with NHS trusts and local authorities across England, supporting them to harness the value of social work and integrate our social work trainees into their teams.
That everyone with a mental health problem can flourish
To ensure people with mental health problems can flourish, the workforce who support them must also be flourishing.
People with mental health problems need a response that seeks to understand and can support social factors in their lives, from employment to relationships to housing. That is why we advocate for a social approach to mental health provision.
We recruit, train, and develop the mental health workforce to provide the most effective support to people with mental health problems.
Everyone who is part of Think Ahead is guided by our values. They were developed in collaboration with the people we work most closely with – including programme participants, mental health and social work professionals, people with lived experience of mental ill-health, and supporters of our work.
In pursuing our goals, we each aim to be:
We respect everyone, build networks, and act in partnership.
We are honest with others, we seek feedback, and we reflect on ourselves.
We stay on course, we set the right pace, and we don’t give up.
We set ambitious goals, and we attract and lead others to achieve our vision.
We use evidence and innovation to find what works and get things done.
We embrace working with anyone who shares our goals and our values, and we aim to promote equality and diversity across all areas of our work – from the way we recruit mental health social work trainees and head office staff, to what we teach on our flagship programme and how we design and deliver it.