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Mental health

How we support and work with partners across Torbay and South Devon.

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.

Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.

Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. People with mental health conditions are more likely to experience lower levels of mental well-being, but this is not always or necessarily the case.

(World Health Organisation, June 2022)

People can, and do, recover from mental health problems. In line with this, there is growing emphasis on the promotion of better mental health and wellbeing, so that people can recover more quickly and become resilient to mental health risk factors.

Stigma and discrimination around mental health problems damages the individual, family, workplace and the community, and can prevent people from discussing the issue, and increasing awareness.

  • 1 in 4 people over the age of 16 years, will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England [1].
  • 1 in 6 people over the age of 16 years, report experiencing a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week in England [2].
  • 1 in 6 children aged 6 to 16 years were identified with a probable mental disorder [3].

The Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB) (Devon Mental Health Learning Disability and Neurodiversity Provider Collaborative) commission children and adult mental health services in Torbay.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust provide Children and Young people Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

You can find help accessing mental health services on the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust website.

Our Suicide Prevention Plan is on our Suicide Prevention page.

Learning and Development Opportunities

The guides above are to help those working with others. They give opportunities to learn more about mental health and wellbeing. When working with others, we need to recognise we also have mental health and wellbeing needs. What you find below may also help you.

The opportunities include:

  • e-learning
  • face-to-face learning (virtual and in person)
  • resources to support you

The courses are either free, funded or require a fee to attend.

Courses will aim to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health. They will build your capacity to support the mental health of others. Some courses will help to support your own mental health. Some will link to and/or provide peer support and lived experience throughout.

Further support

Statistics

Research

References:

  1.  McManus, S., Meltzer, H., Brugha, T. S., Bebbington, P. E., & Jenkins, R. (2009). Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007: results of a household survey.
  2. McManus S, Bebbington P, Jenkins R, Brugha T. (eds.) (2016). Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult psychiatric morbidity survey 2014.
  3. Lifestyles Team, NHS Digital (2021). Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2021 - wave 2 follow up to the 2017 survey - NHS Digital

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