Geoff Shepherd is a Policy Advisor to the employment programme team at SCMH. He has a particular interest in commissioning issues and in measuring work and employment outcomes. He also has experience of developing a user employment programme (‘leading by example') in a mental health trust and in promoting joint training between staff in mental health services and those in jobcentre plus offices. Geoff is currently involved in the project run by an independent sector provider (Richmond Fellowship Employment and Training) to evaluate the impact of ‘employment specialists' in primary care.
Geoff trained originally as a clinical psychologist and worked for most of his career as a practitioner and manager in mental health services. His last post in the NHS (2002 – 2006) was as Director of Partnerships & Service Development for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Trust, where he had overall responsibility for developing and implementing the Trust's strategy with a variety of local stakeholders, including Local Authorities, housing agencies, education, employers, police, criminal justice system, etc. He has a particular interest in supporting the involvement of service users and carers in the monitoring service quality and in improving practice.
In addition to NHS posts he has also been Head of Research for the Sainsbury Centre (1994 – 1997) and Chief Executive of the Health Advisory Service (1997 - 2002). He is currently a visiting Professor in the Health Services Research Group at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London.
In 2006 he contributed to the expert Working group in the Social Exclusion Unit which developed ‘Vocational Services for People with Severe Mental Health Problems: Commissioning Guidance' (Department of Work and Pensions/Department of Health/CSIP, www.dh.gov.uk/mentalhealth ). He was also a member of the expert Working Group in the Department of Work and Pensions which produced revised criteria for the ‘Personal Capability Assessment' (PCA) for people with mental health problems. This underlies eligibility for Incapacity Benefit.
Shepherd, G. (2006) Mapping and Classifying Rehabilitation Services, in ‘Enabling Recovery: The Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Rehabilitation', G. Roberts, S. Davenport and F. Holloway (eds.) Royal College of Psychiatrists/Gaskell Publications, London.
Macpherson, R., Shepherd, G. & Edwards, T. (2004) Supported accommodation for people with severe mental illness: a review. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 10: 180 – 188.
Boardman, J., Grove, B., Perkins, R. & Shepherd, G. (2003) Work and employment for people with psychiatric disabilities, British Journal of Psychiatry, 182, 467-468.
Tel: 020 7827 8306
Email: geoff.shepherd@scmh.org.uk