Mental health special interest group

Our aim

• The mental health special interest group is a place to share ideas, stories, good practice, and challenges.
• Whether you’re working in a mental health role already, just starting out, or simply care deeply about this area, you’re very welcome.
• We will also try to have a range of other specialists who are interested in the primary care perspective to come to talk to us in regular e.g. quarterly meetings, the group is open to primary care clinicians and may be useful also for ICB clinical leads.

Together, we hope to create a supportive community where we can:

• Talk openly about the realities of mental health in primary care
• Learn from each other and from what’s working locally
• Offer mentoring and encouragement to those new to this work
• Keep each other informed about helpful research and guidance
• Share the emotional load of work that is often complex and under-recognised
• Build friendships and professional links that help us feel less alone in this space
• Identify gaps that we can work on as a collective e.g. clinical coding.

Current work

The group is newly created, and we are in the process of producing a workplan. Some areas of focus are:

• Mentorship and informal support for those exploring or working in mental health roles
• A community that shares current status concerns, best practice, resources, and encouragement
• Opportunities to connect with others doing similar work
• A space where mental health is visible, valued, and treated with the same attention as physical health, parity of esteem
• Collaboration with other SIGs so that mental health is part of every conversation.

Our group

Dr Kathy Petersen