Debts and despair – How debt collection practices contribute to psychological harm.

Money and Mental Health Policy Institute – Dec 2923

This report (which is funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust) looks at people’s experiences with consumer credit, including credit cards and buy-now-pay-later payments, during the cost of living crisis. It shows that 5.2m people across the UK are behind on consumer credit payments, an increase of 1.5m since November 2022.

The report also shows that 1 in 4 (24%) people who have missed payments are contacted by their creditors every 1-2 days — and some people with multiple debts say they are receiving several letters, emails or calls each day.

Nearly half of people who are behind on payments say they feel harassed (49%) or overwhelmed (48%) by the volume of contact they receive from their creditors.  This is causing unnecessary distress at a time when 50% of people who are behind on bills say they have felt suicidal due to the rising cost of living.

Key Recommendations

We’re calling on the government and regulators to urgently address these issues by putting in place clear limits on how often creditors can contact people about missed payments.

The government should:

• Task the FCA with an immediate review of consumer credit collection practices that address the harm caused by high volumes of arrears communications.

The FCA should: 

• Launch an urgent review of collection practices to understand the scale of communications customers receive and use this to update outdated definitions of harassment in regulation
• Develop principles to guide firms’ collections departments when they use credit referencing data so debt collection strategies are created with a holistic understanding of the consumer experience built in.

Financial services firms should: 

• Conduct comprehensive internal reviews to understand the frequency of communications customers in arrears receive. This should be done with a view to reducing communications to ensure collections approaches meet Consumer Duty requirements and minimise psychological harm.

Read the report – Debts and despair

The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions on non-physiological symptoms of menopause: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal of Affective Disorders – Available online 15 February 2024

Background: Menopause, a crucial transitioning stage for women, can significantly impact mood and wellbeing.
We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions on non-physiological symptoms of menopause (depression, anxiety, cognition, and quality of life) through systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods: Five databases were searched from inception to August 2023 for randomized controlled trials. Pre- and
post-test means and standard deviations for groups were extracted and used to calculate effect sizes. The
effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) on depression
and anxiety were examined by subgroup analysis.
Results: Thirty studies comprising 3501 women were included. From meta-analysis, mood symptoms significantly
benefited from CBT (anxiety: d = − 0.22, 95 % CI = -0.35, − 0.10; depression: d = − 0.33, 95 % CI = -0.45, − 0.21)
and MBI (anxiety: d = − 0.56, 95 % CI = -0.74, − 0.39; depression: d = − 0.27, 95 % CI = -0.45, − 0.09). Psychosocial interventions were also found to significantly improve cognition (d = − 0.23, 95 % CI = -0.40, − 0.06)
and quality of life (d = − 0.78, 95 % CI = -0.93, − 0.63). Mean total therapy hours (‘dose’) was lower for CBT
(11.3) than MBI (18.6), indicating reduced costs and burden for women.
Limitations: Data regarding menopausal status were not collected, limiting our ability to identify the optimal
timing of interventions. Potential longer-term, effects of interventions were not investigated.
Conclusion: Our review highlighted the value of psychosocial interventions in improving non-physiological
symptoms (particularly depression and anxiety) during menopause, noting the heterogeneity of findings and
importance of implementing effective interventions.

Read the article – The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions on non-physiological symptoms of menopause: A systematic review and meta-analysis

State of the Sector report: Ready for a Reset.

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) – February 2024

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) have released their latest State of the Sector report: Ready for a Reset. State of the Sector 2024 explores the views of charity leaders, charity users, and the public on where charities are with findings published from two robust, sampled surveys: one of 298 charity leaders and one of 2,062 representative members of the public – including 893 people who have used charity services in the last year. The findings reflect a sector that is relied on to deliver vital services to many but that is often facing financial strain, a rise in demand, and a need for more collaboration with the government.

It is well known that charities are key partners to public services, delivering billions of pounds of crucial services. These organisations provide services that many people rely on, which can include essential mental health support and care for those who are unwell or unable to work. A survey of The Association’s 300+ members revealed that over 8 million people are supported by mental health charities providing services – that is 1 in 8 of our population. Yet essential public services are at risk due to underfunded contracts held by charities. NPC’s report found that “62% of charity leaders… cross-subsidise these contracts by using other sources of funding, such as money from fundraising, to successfully deliver them.” A figure that has remained the same since 2017, which shows the sustained need for change.

Read the report – State of the Sector report: Ready for a Reset.

The mental health of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK

Mental Health Foundation – February 2024

This report presents evidence on the circumstances which asylum seekers and refugees in the UK can face, and how these experiences can harm their mental health and even lead to suicidal feelings and actions. 

Asylum seekers and refugees are at particular risk of mental health problems. These may develop because of their experiences in their countries of origin, during their journeys, or after they arrive in the UK.  

Read our report to understand why asylum seekers and refugees are at particular risk and what we, as a society, can do to protect their mental health once they arrive in the UK. 

Read the Report – The mental health of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK

Strong foundations: why everyone needs good emotional health – and how to achieve it

Demos – February 2024

This paper is part of a Demos project exploring the role that emotional health can play in building the foundations of good mental health. It calls for a ‘prevention revolution’ to promote people’s emotional health rather than simply treating the symptoms of growing levels of mental ill health. It argues that prevention must be at the core of improving all public services, not just some of them, and sets out recommendations for how the UK government can achieve good emotional health for all.

Strong foundations: why everyone needs good emotional health – and how to achieve it

We’ve only just begun – Action to improve young people’s mental health, education and employment

Resolution Foundation – 26th February 2024

This report is the culmination of a three-year research programme exploring the relationship between the mental health and work outcomes of young people, funded by the Health Foundation and part of their broader Young people’s future health inquiry. Over that time, we have examined issues such as how mental health and insecure work collide; why low hours are so prevalent for young workers today; and the intersection between young people’s mental health, employment and geography. Here, we bring that body of work together with new quantitative analysis and the findings from three focus groups we held in early 2024 to answer the critical question: what policy change is required if the growing number of young people with mental health problems are to thrive in the world of work today? 

Read the report – Action to improve young people’s mental health, education and employment

“It’s broken”: doctors’ experiences on the frontline of a failing mental healthcare system.

BMA – 2024

This report, based on first-hand accounts of doctors working across the NHS, reveals a ‘broken’ system of mental health services in England. The current economic cost of mental ill health has been estimated at over £100 billion in England alone, but this report demonstrates that across the NHS, doctors are in an ongoing struggle to give patients the care they need because the funding is not sufficient, there are not enough staff, and the infrastructure and systems are not fit for purpose

Read the report – Doctors’ experiences on the frontline of a failing mental healthcare system

National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health -Annual report 2024: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health

This report is based on people aged 10 and above who died by suicide between 2011 and 2021 across all of the UK. In addition to findings in relation to this general population data, the report also contains key messages relating to: mental health patient suicides and acute mental health care; suicide by patients following one-off assessment; suicide by autistic people and/or patients with ADHD; suicide by inpatients aged under 25; suicide by students in England and Wales; and patients who died by suicide in public locations. It also shares findings on social and clinical characteristics.

Annual report 2024: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Commissioning framework for mental health inpatient services

NHS England – 12th February 2024

This framework summarises the commissioning guidance relating to mental health inpatient provision.

It aims to, provide guidance for those responsible for the commissioning of mental health inpatient services and within this, advance the system-wide requirement to ensure that services are local, inclusive and deliver safe, personalised, and therapeutic care and support systems to develop local plans for change, so that inpatient provision better fits the needs of the population, makes more effective use of the funds available, and protects and improves the lives of citizens in the locality.

Commissioning framework for mental health inpatient services

Pursuing racial justice in mental health: how the voluntary sector can help meet the needs of racialised communities

Centre for Mental Health – February 2024

This report shares insights from people living and working in Bradford District and Craven about how racism causes poor mental health, stops people from accessing services, affects people’s experiences of treatment, and hinders their recovery. The report explores how health and care services across the country can build stronger partnerships with community organisations to design and deliver mental health support that overcomes the harms and barriers caused by racism.

Read the report – Pursuing racial justice in mental health: how the voluntary sector can help meet the needs of racialised communities