Scotland's Mental Health Partnership
Our membership
All members have national remits and play various roles in the Scottish mental health sector. These include, but are not limited to, the provision of community-based services and supports, awareness raising, campaigning, influencing and professional regulation. It was agreed to add Mental Welfare Commission as observers on the Partnership as it was felt their presence would be beneficial but not being official members would avoid potential conflicts of interest in the future.
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In July 2020, the Mental Health Foundation and the Royal College of Psychiatrists agreed to undertake a joint leadership structure. Combining the collective knowledge and resources of both organisations, it was felt this was the best means of ensuring the Partnership could move forward and make a more active contribution to Scottish policy making.
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Membership criteria
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Organisations wishing to be members of Scotland’s Mental Health Partnership should have:
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a national remit;
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a level of independence from statutory bodies
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mental health as their primary focus.
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Current membership:
Bipolar Scotland - Bipolar Scotland is Scotland’s only ‘bipolar-specific’ organisation with almost 30 years’ experience of minimising the impact of bipolar through our information service, Self-Management Training (SMT) courses and Self-Help Groups. We are a peer led membership organisation, governed by a board of directors elected from our membership. Our mission is to inspire our members to improve their quality of life and to increase public awareness of bipolar disorder. We operate on a peer model to help people take back control of their lives.
British Psychological Society - The British Psychological Society is a registered charity responsible for the development, promotion and application of psychology for the public good, setting high standards for research, education, and knowledge, and disseminating our knowledge to increase public awareness.
Mental Health Foundation - Our vision is for a world with good mental health for all. Our mission is to help people understand, protect and sustain their mental health. Prevention is at the heart of what we do, because the best way to deal with a crisis is to prevent it from happening in the first place. In Scotland, we focus on social justice and inequality in mental health, raising awareness of mental health with the public and working in partnership with community organisations, policy makers and researchers.
Penumbra - Penumbra envisages a society where people with mental ill health can expect recovery, and are accepted, supported and have the resources to fulfil their potential. We are one of Scotland’s largest mental health charities, and we provide a wide range of support services across Scotland which offer hope and practical steps towards recovery. Our teams support around 1800 adults and young people each week through our innovative I.ROC approach to mental health recovery, and 20% of our colleagues are employed in peer support roles. We manage the Edinburgh Crisis Centre, are a third sector partner in Distress Brief Intervention, and an alliance member of Future Pathways.
Royal College of GPs - RCGP Scotland is the professional membership body for GPs in Scotland. Our purpose is to encourage, foster and maintain the highest possible standards in general practice. We support GPs through all stages of their career, from medical students considering general practice, through to training, qualified years and retirement.
The Royal College of Occupational Therapists - The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) is the professional body for occupational therapy, representing over 33,500 occupational therapists across the UK. Occupational therapists in Scotland work in the NHS, Local Authority social care services, in education, housing, prisons, care homes, voluntary and independent sectors, and vocational and employment rehabilitation services.
Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland – As the professional medical body for psychiatry in Scotland, we set standards and promote excellence in psychiatry and mental healthcare. We lead, represent and support psychiatrists nationally to government and other agencies, aiming to improve the outcomes of people with mental illness, and the mental health of individuals, their families, and communities.
Samaritans Scotland - Our vision is for a Scotland where fewer lives are lost to suicide and where everyone can get the right help and support when they need it most. We have provided a vital lifeline for people in crisis and distress for more than six decades, since our first branch in Scotland answered their first call for help in 1959.
SAMH - Around since 1923, SAMH is Scotland’s national mental health charity. Today, in over 60 communities we work with adults and young people providing mental health social care support, services in primary care, schools and further education, among others. These services together with our national programme work in See Me, respectme, suicide prevention and active living; inform our policy and campaign work to influence positive social change.
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Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance - SIAA advocates for independent advocacy. It is a membership organisation that has the overall aim of ensuring that Independent Advocacy is available to any vulnerable person in Scotland. Independent Advocacy safeguards people who are vulnerable and discriminated against or whom services find difficult to serve, empowering people who need a stronger voice by enabling them to express their own needs and make their own decisions.
Scottish Recovery Network - Scottish Recovery Network is a small national initiative designed to raise awareness and understanding of recovery from mental health problems. Our mission is to bring people, services and organisations across sectors together to create a mental health system powered by lived experience which supports everyone’s recovery journey.
See Me - See Me is Scotland’s national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination. Our vision is to enable people who experience mental health problems to live fulfilled lives. We want to change the culture around mental health so people feel confident enough to speak about how they are feeling and can ask for help if they need it, without the fear that they will be stigmatised and discriminated against. To do this we are targeting key setting where people face unacceptably high levels of stigma and discrimination if they are struggling with their mental health; including work, education, health and social care and in their local communities.
Change Mental Health - Change Mental Health is a national mental health charity delivering non-clinical, person-centred support to people affected by mental illness in communities across the country. Our vision is a future where no one needs to face mental illness alone.
Voices of Experience - VOX Scotland is Scotland’s national voice on mental health – we represent our members’ views to Scotland’s politicians and health professionals to make sure Scotland’s laws and mental health services reflect service user needs and interests. VOX is Scotland’s only national mental health advocacy organisation run by service users for service users.
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UK Council for Psychotherapy – The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is the leading organisation for the education, training, accreditation and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors across the UK. We exist to promote and maintain the highest standards of practice of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic counselling for the benefit of the public.
Mental Health Nursing Forum Scotland - The Mental Health Nursing Forum Scotland was established over a decade ago to influence the future vision for, and delivery of mental health nursing in Scotland. The Forum aims to ensure that the mental health nursing profession is able to constantly evolve meet the needs of people who experience mental health issues, and families and carers, by influencing future policy development at a national level and the implementation of that policy at a practice level and service level the wellbeing of social workers. Our members include staff working in local government and the independent sector, across health and social care, education, children and families, justice services, and as Mental Health Officers (MHOs). MHOs have a unique role in supporting and protecting people vulnerable because of mental disorder. We represent the best interests of these specialist social workers, and of those they work with.
Scottish Association of Social Work - The Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) part of BASW UK, is the largest professional association for social workers in Scotland. We are here to promote the best possible social work services for all people who may need them, whilst also securing the wellbeing of social workers. Our members include staff working in local government and the independent sector, across health and social care, education, children and families, justice services, and as Mental Health Officers (MHOs). MHOs have a unique role in supporting and protecting people vulnerable because of mental disorder. We represent the best interests of these specialist social workers, and of those they work with.
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland – Our mission is to be a leading and independent voice in promoting a society where people with mental illness, learning disabilities, dementia and related conditions are treated fairly, have their rights respected, and have appropriate support to live the life of their choice. Health Foundation - Our vision is for a world with good mental health for all. Our mission is to help people understand, protect and sustain their mental health. Prevention is at the heart of what we do, because the best way to deal with a crisis is to prevent it from happening in the first place. In Scotland, we focus on social justice and inequality in mental health, raising awareness of mental health with the public and working in partnership with community organisations, policy makers and researchers.