Young People Service (GAMH)
YAWS – (SIAL)
The Young Adult Wellbeing Service (YAWS) is now funded by the Social Isolation and Loneliness (SIAL) fund.
Our SIAL Project is for young people aged 16-25 with mild to moderate mental health issues. The group based weekly sessions will continue to be fun and interactive with an emphasis on exploring mental health, loneliness, and self-management techniques. The programme will be offered over a 12-week fixed block so young person may have to be added to a waiting list until the start of a new block.
We want to evaluate how programmes like this can benefit young people. When referred to the SIAL Project, we will explain the evaluation we want to carry out to participants before the programme starts. If individuals decide to take part they will be asked to complete two surveys- before they start the programme and after their last session. Their responses will be completely anonymised.
YAWS SIAL Information Sheet-Referrers
Young People Research & Developments
Alongside the YAWS group sessions and support offered by YAWS, the research and development team are working to examine the benefits of this peer support group for young adults with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. GAMH recognises the importance of an evidence-based approach to care and are committed to contributing to high-quality research that informs future practise. We therefore partnered up with the University of Exeter and the University of Manchester to carry out an in-depth research project running in parallel with the service. This has two main components, a quantitative aspect that evaluates the psychosocial outcomes for group participants and a qualitative exploration of the experiences of young people engaged in the programme. Interviews, focus groups and repeated questionnaires provided this data, giving a holistic picture of the YAWS service as experienced by the young people it supports.
To ensure the research prioritises the voice of service users, consultations with individuals previously involved with the service were held to get feedback on research materials and procedures. This research is part of the Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Research Network and is funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI). We shared the research rationale and design at a forum for researchers within this network and have gained ongoing feedback from experts in the field of young adult mental health research. We plan to present the findings of this study to third sector and statutory organisations, stake holders and other researchers.
All of the rich data gathered from these methods will be analysed and written in reports for publication, executive summaries to be shared with the funders and interested parties, and infographics to disseminate the findings to wider audiences.
Young People Research – Social Connections and Relationships
Diversity & Inclusion Program
See Me’ (Scotland’s national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination) partnered with GAMH to design and implement a programme of activity that empowers individuals and communities to address mental health stigma in settled Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in Glasgow. Time to Change England reported that 93% of people from BME communities face discrimination because of their mental health. The aims of the partnership was to empower the voice of lived experience, to raise awareness of mental health and the impact of stigma and discrimination. This was done by creating a ‘Diverse Voices Group’ which utilised a peer support element. Members of the group highlighted how they found it difficult to talk about mental health for fear of being isolated, rejected, misunderstood, judged and treated differently. ‘There is a big stigma due to ignorance’. The work that has been carried out as part of the Diverse Group was acknowledged by Scottish Government First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls. https://onescotland.org/nacwg-news/case-study-seeme/
