Haringey Thinking Space: progress report 2015 – 2017

Sampson, Alice (2018) Haringey Thinking Space: progress report 2015 – 2017. . Mannheim Centre for the Study of Criminology and Criminal Justice, LSE, London, UK.

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Abstract

This report summarises the activities and key outcomes of Haringey Thinking Space (HTS) from September 2015 to December 2017 and evaluation research conducted between November 2017 and June 2018 by a researcher familiar with the pilot project, and visiting the Mannheim Centre for Crime and Criminology, London School of Economics at the time of the research. HTS is a therapeutic initiative based in local communities, experimental in the UK, delivered by the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust and funded by the London Borough of Haringey Directorate of Public Health. HTS aims to improve mental health and wellbeing. Originally piloted in Tottenham HTS has been rolled out across the borough without increased funding, a tapered budget, and the withdrawal of experienced psychotherapists as facilitators. Implementation The four core community therapy groups are well-organised and run smoothly but community development and networking activities have been curtailed due to a reduction in the capacity of the community development worker, reducing the profile of the initiative and its ability to attract new participants. Research participants expressed concern about the reduced networking and capacity of the project to attract new members. The community development worker (CDW) facilitates most sessions and four residents, trained as co-facilitators, are beginning to take on this task. The findings show that meeting spaces are therapeutically-informed and the vast majority of research participants feel positively about how sessions are run: they are warm and welcoming (95%), interesting (95%), and make participants to feel good (70%) and good about supporting others (89%). A co-facilitator training course has almost finished and 17 volunteers are attending. Five participants have been trained as general volunteers. Attendee and attendance information A total of 198 core group meetings were held and most attended the open weekly sessions (77), followed by the Mothers’ and Toddlers’ Tea and Coffee group (55), the men only group (26) and the Women’s Health and Wellbeing group (22). 240 people attended core group meetings and special Thinking Space events such as three raising awareness of Black Mental Health (44 attendees), and those held at the YMCA (14), or for Kurds (5). The majority of participants were women (76%) and most participants attended less than four times, and 20 people attended over 20 times. Attendees reflected the ethnic diversity of Haringey; 31 different ethnic groups attended. Participants welcomed the opportunity to meet people from diverse backgrounds. Most participants lived in disadvantaged areas but reaching target groups such as young men (8 attendees) and Turks and Kurds (7 attendees) proved to be difficult. Outcomes Personal outcomes for participants are consistent with those predicted by the underpinning psychoanalytical and systemic theories and at least three quarters of survey respondents feel better understood (78%), more motivated (81%) and hopeful for the future (78%), and their life experiences have new meaning (78%).

Item Type:	Monograph (Report)
Official URL:	http://www.lse.ac.uk/social-policy/research/Resear...
Additional Information:	© 2018 LSE
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2018 13:16
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 22:29
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/90419

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