Last Updated on May 18, 2016
The wellbeing and lifestyles of people with severe mental health issues improve when they receive personalised support in an accommodation setting, a new report has revealed. Progression Together An evaluation of a model of personalised residential care developed by Together for Mental Wellbeing evaluates the benefits of personalised support for people with mental health needs
Funded by the Department of Health, the three-year independent evaluation by the Mental Health Foundation aimed to understand the impact of Together for Mental Wellbeing’s, personalised accommodation based model, known as Progression Together.
A Progression Together service supports people with severe mental health issues to move towards living independently in their community, at a pace that’s right for them. The services offer people choice and control over how they are supported, working alongside each individual towards their own goals.
The evaluation found that after receiving support from a Progression Together service:
- Participants’ wellbeing went from below average for the general population, to above it. This represented a statistically significant improvement in wellbeing over the course of the evaluation.
- Around half of the people moved on to more independent living or less supported accommodation. All participants reported that they had developed new skills that had prepared them to live independently.
- Participants became more engaged in health and promoting lifestyle activities, such as taking part in exercise, eating healthier foods, managing their stress levels and maintaining better relationships with health professionals.
- Engagement in education and/or training increased significantly.
On the basis of its findings on the benefits of personalised support for people with mental health needs, The Mental Health Foundation recommends:
- Together develops further evaluation approaches to measure progress after each individual has moved into the community and the number of clients who return to their services.
- Further investment in research is needed to quantify wider savings to other services, such as the criminal justice system.
The results follow a similar three-year evaluation of the outcomes of Together’s personalised community mental health support, which concluded last year. The findings also demonstrated increases in wellbeing, as well as significant improvements in social support and relationships.