Coordinating London’s Mentally Healthier Councils Network

In partnership with the Centre for Mental Health and London Councils, Thrive LDN coordinates London’s Mentally Healthier Councils Network.
The network offers:

– Access to resources and training

– Opportunities to share learning and create new partnerships

– Updates from health and care partners

London’s Mentally Healthier Councils Network is part of the Centre for Mental Health’s national Mentally Healthier Councils Network. Since 2013 the Centre for Mental Health has worked with over 100 councillors as mental health champions to share good practice in improving social, housing, environmental, education, employment, leisure and other services that directly affect health and wellbeing.  

The network meetings take place quarterly and are chaired by Andy Bell, CEO of Centre for Mental Health. If you’d like to hear more about the network in London, please contact the Thrive LDN Team: Info@ThriveLDN.co.uk  

Mental Health and Wellbeing Training for Councillors

Thrive LDN has been working with Ed Davie, mental health and local government expert, to deliver mental health and wellbeing training for councillors in all London boroughs. The training was designed to help improve their own mental health and change policy in their councils to support better mental health in their communities. 

In feedback, 94% of trainees rated the training ‘Excellent/Good’.  

“It is a brilliantly delivered, engaging and informative course. As local frontline politicians we’re the very people that many of our constituents rely upon. We rarely get the opportunity to think about the necessity and importance of taking care of our own mental health. I am so glad I attended, in fact I felt very energised after and I organise my time and work differently as a result. I would definitely recommend this course to all local councillors.” 

The training has been put forward to be evaluated by the National Institute for Health Research and, separately, by a King’s College London masters’ student. If researchers find that the training led to beneficial policy changes in councils which have had a discernible benefit to people’s mental health, then a wider rollout will be explored.