The guide referred to here is no longer available. Please consult the Mental Health Guidance and toolkit page on Parlinet.
Here’s something really useful we spotted at the Open Day for constituency-based staff on 9 July: MP and Staffers’ guide to Mental Health.
Apparently it’s been around for a year or so but we hadn’t seen it before and we suspect many of you hadn’t either.
Here’s what’s in it:
- Quick-reference guide
- An overview of mental health
- How much help should you give?
- How to help someone in distress
- Handling difficult emails and phone calls
- Signposting and local information
- Glossary
You can view it on the Mind website here.
As an aside from those of us at W4MP who have been around for a bit: if you are new to the job you might just be thinking that you are the only one who has ever had to help constituents with mental health problems. Everyone who has ever worked for an MP, and particularly those based in constituency offices and dealing with casework, tends to be surprised how much of an issue this can be, particularly in your first few weeks. Hopefully this booklet will help you put things in perspective. Good luck!
The leaflet is a joint production by: