Living Well Teams are made up of professionals coming from the Voluntary, Statutory, Health and Social Care sectors and people with lived experience.
Staff in a Living Well service are often employed by different organisations but work together as one team
towards a unified purpose. Hierarchies are flattened and multidisciplinary working, reflective practice and an asset based mindset are the foundations for the team's shared practice culture.
A Living Well team will usually include
Team Lead
"I lead the day to day running of the team."
"I develop new forms of practice and ensure my team feel empowered and supported to work with people and help them to lead the life they want to lead."
"I have strong links with the wider network and work to create a joined up system of support."
Support Worker
"I am an experienced support worker from the voluntary sector."
"I work with people and work with mental health professionals to to ensure people get the social and practical support they need to flourish. I often hold deep expertise in different areas, for example, housing, drug and alcohol and employment."
Mental Health Professional
"I am a qualified and Registered Mental Health Nurse or Occupational Therapist."
"I work with a caseload of people to ensure they receive holistic support. I particularly see those who need clinical psychiatric support. I know a lot about common mental health issues and effective clinical interventions, therapy and specialist services. I work collaboratively support people to feel better and identify and pursue their goals and aspirations."
Social Worker
"I am a qualified Social Worker with experience in community mental health practice."
"I work with people delivering statutory social care interventions. I have a deep knowledge of social care and safeguarding issues and share this knowledge with my colleagues."
Peer Worker
"I am an expert as a result of my experience."
"I have a passion for supporting others and am able to draw on my own experiences to connect with people and empower them. I represent the voice of lived experience in the team and help to ensure the work is always person centred."
Administrator
"I have exceptional customer service skills."
"I welcome people into the service, let them know what to expect and answer questions people may have. I support the team to organise meetings and learning events."
Psychiatrist
"I work as a consultant psychiatrist and provide expert advice and support to people and the team."
"I may run regular clinics, several times a week, where I meet people to support them with assessment, diagnosis, and interventions including medication and support. I may also support the team during case management meetings to offer clinical expertise and support."
Clinical psychologist
"I support the team and people to thrive."
"I may participate in case work discussions to provide a psychological perspective or support the team to reflect on their practice. I hold deep expertise in psychological support and trauma specific interventions. I may also run regular clinics to offer one-on-one support to people."
Community development worker
"My role is to help grow a mental health informed community where people understand what it means to have a mental health condition. I work with a range of community spaces such as libraries, pubs, voluntary sector organisations and business to deliver mental health first aid training and create welcoming places where people can belong."
"I have deep links into the community."
Living Well practitioner attitudes
The values and attitudes embodied by Living Well teams are a key ingredient to a Living Well service. Although each team will describe these slightly differently, the core tenets are common across Living Well services in different sites.
Here is how we would describe them:
We take care of one another by sharing information and tasks
We are kind and remember that our language matters
We explore options and provide choice in all aspects of support
We always facilitate opportunities to connect people and offers across the system
We are ambassadors of Living Well Culture in our interactions with clients, colleagues and citizens
We make decisions with
people, not about them
We are helpful and
have a can do attitude
We are focused on customer service: always ensuring people's
experience is the best it can be
We hold joint responsibility in responding to crisis: mobilising to meet immediate client need
Spaces for reflection and collaboration
To ensure that the team is able to work with people offering the highest standard of care, Living Well services cultivate regular spaces for reflective practice and individual support and embed across-team collaboration into every interaction.
Support and supervision
We make sure no staff member goes home worrying about their work. Staff receive regular supervision, both individually and as part of a multidisciplinary team. Our supervision is based on our philosophy of strength-based and solution focused way of working. We help our staff to deepen relationships, reflect on practice and decision making, share learning and develop and flourish in their roles.
Managing risk together
We take responsibility for the wellbeing of our staff and we embed a culture of shared risk and shared decision making when deciding how to support people. Although some members of our team may hold a caseload, we manage risks relating to safeguarding and mental health as a team.