If you are new to mental health and want up-to-date, accurate and reliable information, where should you go?
In my experience, what may start as a simple search for symptoms, prevalence, or key dates can easily lead you down a rabbit hole of intentional whitewashing, outdated statistics, and misinformation.
So, to make things easier, here are my top 5 most trusted mental health websites (in no particular order).
Content of this video
Introduction – 0:00
Mental Health Foundation – 0:30
National Elf Service – 0:56
The Kings Fund – 01:38
NICE – 02:17
Mental Health Center 02:44
Exit – 03:31
#1 Foundation for Mental Health
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
Since 1949, the Mental Health Foundation has been the UK's leading mental health charity for all.
They test and evaluate the best approaches to improve mental health in communities and publish studies and reports on the risk and protective factors for poor mental health and how to address it.
Don't forget to check out the 'Exploring Mental Health' section – which contains content and resources designed to give you more information about mental health, how to take care of your mental health and help prevent problems from developing mental health in the first place.
#2 National Elf Service
https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/
"The Mental Elf" is a subsidiary website of the National Elf Service.
They have a team of mental health experts who publish daily blogs with short, concise summaries highlighting evidence-based publications relevant to mental health practice in the UK and beyond.
To do this, they scan more than 500 journals, databases and websites each week to find key advice, systematic reviews and other high-quality research that will help facilitate better conversation between patients, researchers, caregivers, policy makers and health professionals.
#3 The Kings Fund
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/
The King's Fund was established in 1897 on the initiative of the then Prince of Wales to enable the collection and distribution of funds to support London's hospitals.
125 years later, they continue their work as an independent charity with the vision that the best possible healthcare is accessible to all.
Their work covers the full length and breadth of health care policy and practice, with the primary goals being to
*drive improvements in health and wellbeing across all places and communities
* improve health and care for people with the worst health outcomes
* support people and leaders working in health and care
Examples of their work include commissioned reports, evidence and consultations, blogs and data visualization.
#4 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
https://www.nice.org.uk/
NICE provides national guidance, advice and evidence-based recommendations developed by independent committees to improve health and social care.
Much like the Kings Fund, their work covers much more than mental health, but for the purposes of this conversation, if you click on the 'Lifestyle and Wellbeing' tab you'll find the latest guidance on everything from from mental health and wellbeing to behavior change and addiction. and much more.
You can also use the search bar at the top of any page to find the latest guidance and recommendations on the health care topic of your choice.
#5 The Mental Health Center
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/
The Center for Mental Health is an independent, not-for-profit think tank. They are dedicated to eradicating mental health inequities and combating injustice through changing policies and practices.
They do this by combining lived experience, economic analysis, needs assessments and peer-reviewed research to drive change and create the conditions for better mental health for all.
In my experience, these people are leading the conversation when it comes to tackling inequality and mental health.
For example, in their most recent podcast, they interviewed Steve Gilbert OBE, who was deputy chair of the independent review committee that oversaw a bill proposing some of the biggest reforms to the MH Act in a generation.
He also spoke about disparities in care for BME groups, years of life lost in mental health settings and the impact of racism and mental health.
Steve Gilbert Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/centreformentalhealth/steve-gilbert-obe-rethinking-the-mental-health-act
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