Annual Review 2006

"The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has over the past 20 years become the leading provider of research and training in mental health. To say the charity is widely respected would be a huge understatement."

David Brindle, The Guardian, March 2006

"It gives me an opportunity to pay tribute to the work of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. Our current policy owes much to the vision, knowledge and persistent determination of that centre to demonstrate what really works."

Baroness Murphy, House of Lords, June 2006

Angela Greatley imageAngela Greatley, Chief Executive of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, introduces our new work programmes…

Since it was founded in 1985, the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) has played a significant role in the development of mental health services across the UK. In 2006 we took the decision to focus our work on two much-neglected areas: the mental health of those in contact with the criminal justice system and mental health and work.

The mental health of prisoners needs urgent and radical action.

We believe that the mental health of prisoners needs urgent and radical action. There is now a mass of clear evidence that prisoners are getting inadequate mental health care. Despite recent advances in the creation of inreach teams, there are unacceptable gaps in care, especially for those with depression and anxiety.

People who have mental health problems are at double the risk of losing their jobs than those who do not.

Our other priority is employment and mental health. People who have mental health problems are at double the risk of losing their jobs than those who do not. We are working with employers to see how they can support employees with mental health problems and develop mentally healthy workplaces for all of their staff. We continue to have an interest in mental health policy as a whole. For much of 2006 we awaited the publication of the Mental Health Bill, working as part of the Mental Health Alliance to achieve the best possible outcome for the people who have to live with the legislation.

Talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can play a role in helping people to remain in work.

One of the most important issues in the policy arena is the drive to make psychological therapies available to everyone who can benefit from them. We believe that there is a strong case for this and are working with other leading charities to bring this onto the national agenda.

In this annual review we take the opportunity to look at our new work programmes but also to celebrate some of the work completed in 2006 that marks the conclusion of much from our earlier programmes. None of this could have been done without the loyalty and dedication of all the people who have worked with us over the years.

We Need to Talk

Talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can play a role in helping people to remain in work. We Need to Talk, a report produced in collaboration with the Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink and Young Minds, argues that evidence-based talking therapies are as important for the nation's health as any cancer drug or surgical procedure. It calls for these therapies to be made widely available for people with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia in line with recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

We are continuing to work with our voluntary sector partners to promote the issue nationally and are supporting the Department of Health's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.

"I feel that receiving therapy has helped me immensely."

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