Top tips for adult mental health carers

Supporting someone with a mental health condition can be worrying, as well as stressful and tiring. Here are some suggestions to help you stay informed and involved, manage difficult situations, and look after your own wellbeing.

Knowledge

Knowledge is power. Understanding your rights, entitlements, and what to expect from mental health services can empower you as you support your friend or relative to navigate the system.

Read about your rights as a carer under the Care Act 2014. Please get in touch if you would like help finding the relevant sections.
Familiarise yourself with:
- The Triangle of Care – a partnership between carers, those receiving care, and health professionals, highlighting the important role that carers play
- The Carers Charter, developed alongside carers for all who support a person receiving care from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (the providers of mental health services in our area.)
- Read about Commonsense Confidentiality and how this could apply to you and your interactions with services

Build relationships early

Learn about the team who are looking after the person you care for:
- Get the names of those directly working with the person you care for
- Get at least 2 telephone numbers of people in that team that you can call
- Share your story with them and let them know you are available to speak with them
- Find out what you should do if things go wrong, or you are worried about the care being provided

Learning and understanding

For some carers, understanding of a specific mental health condition can be helpful and empowering. Our groups give you space to explore this, sometimes having visiting speakers and our staff can point you to books they have found useful. Many of the libraries also have self-help sections.

Hospital stays

Whether the hospital stay is under Section or informal, you will be keen to know that the person you care for is receiving good care. You may or may not feel able to visit them while they are in hospital, and you may be worried about their recovery.

Some patients withdraw consent to share information, which can be difficult for families and carers.

Here are some hints and tips to help you:

The ward should give you a Carers Pack, with information about services on the ward and who will be looking after the person you care for.
Ask for the ward email address and telephone number and best times to contact the ward. Ask if it is best to contact them by phone or email and how long they take to respond to emails.
Ask for the name of the Consultant in charge of their care.
If consent to share information has been withdrawn, don’t allow hospital staff to convince you that this means they cannot talk to you. As a carer, you will always have the right to share information about the patient, whether there is consent or not.
Where there is not consent, Commonsense Confidentiality should come into play and the hospital should speak with you and share general information about a condition or medications. They cannot tell you specifics about your person’s care, but they can share and discuss the implications of a condition or medication.
Families and carers should be invited to Formulation meetings, Discharge Planning Meetings and Discharge Meetings. If you want to attend these, it would be a good idea to email the ward to let them know.
Belongings:
- Mental Health hospitals are looking after people whose actions and decisions can be unpredictable. Things which belong to someone else can be picked up by patients. Where possible it is best that patients do not bring valuable items into hospital with them. Where this is not possible, such as a mobile phone, it may help to have their name on the item.

The laundry area is accessible to all patients and clothes can get mixed up. Again, try to avoid sending high value items of clothing into hospital.

Looking after yourself

You may find that recovery is not as linear or as fast as you had hoped. Dealing with this reality can be hard and it is important that you can look after your own needs.

If things are feeling difficult

Identify a hobby or activity to enjoy and make regular time for this. You might like the idea of learning something new at a class, by watching online videos or reading.
Spend time away from the home with family and friends. Go for a walk or a bike ride, go to the beach, have a meal together or just a cuppa. Connecting with others and maintaining relationships are important for your own mental wellbeing.
Eat well. Planning your meals helps with this and can help avoid repeatedly resorting to unhealthy choices, which means you can also enjoy a treat.
Keep active. Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness. Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing by:
1. raising your self-esteem
2. helping you to set goals or challenges and achieve them
3. causing chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively change your mood

Staying organised can help you feel more in control. You could keep a schedule or planner of your daily routine. Make sure that you keep all important information and medication in one place. But don’t be hard on yourself if you get muddled or things get lost. You’ve got a lot to think about.

All of these will help you stay well and maintain your own wellbeing and will help you cope in your caring role.

Support for you

Join our groups where you can talk with other carers, offload and talk openly free from judgement.
Let family and friends know how you are feeling and accept any help or support they can give.
Join your local Carers Centre and find out what support they can offer you.
Attend local Mental Health Carer Groups. There, you will meet people with similar experiences to yours, receive support and learn from others. [Link to groups]
Ask your surgery for a carer’s registration form. By registering as a carer with your GP practice, they may be able to offer flexible appointments and yearly health checks, flu jabs, and other advice and support you need.
Use social media to your benefit. There are many support groups online where you can ask for advice and support. Post anonymously to protect your identity and that of the person you care for.

Your Employment

Inform your employer. As a working carer, there may be additional support you can get to help juggle work and care in addition to your statutory rights. See our Advice section here for employment information.

Support for your cared for

It’s important to help the person you care for to have some control over their care. You may find this means taking a step back or supporting decisions that are not what you would do. But it may also mean that you can find a balance in your relationship, and perhaps a little more time for yourself.

Work with them to find out: