Our purpose, values and approach

This means that:

• we empathise with the feelings and emotions of the people we support and work alongside.
• we work within clear boundaries while finding ways to be flexible and creative in the support we offer
• we listen and learn from people’s lived experience
• we walk alongside people, understanding where they are in their own recovery journey, without judgement
• we support people authentically with the warmth and kindness that we would wish for from others.

This means that:

• we always do the right thing in all circumstances, at all times
• we create trust and respectful relationships through our consistency, transparency, truthfulness and honest approach
• we’re reliable – doing what we say we’re going to do, when we say we’ll do it
• we’re clear about our role and the expectations others can have of us
• we’re aware of our personal values when working with Health in Mind values so we can focus on the greater good of the organisation, our teams and the people we serve
• we use our time and resources carefully, optimising our services and the support we make available to the communities we serve. We’ll choose courage over comfort, choose what is right over what is easy, and practice our values rather than simply professing them.

This means that:

• we value the people we support, our colleagues, volunteers and supporters, and the communities we work in
• we’re understanding of our colleagues, volunteers, supporters, and the people who use our services, and acknowledge differences and individuality
• we’re committed to working in partnership both internally and externally to ensure the best outcomes for the people and communities we support
• we value and welcome the contributions of others, in all aspects of our work.

This means that:

• we support ourselves and others to grow and develop, and believe that change can and will come
• we take time to discover and build on the strengths, skills, and abilities of those we support, involve as volunteers and work with as partners
• we learn from, engage with and work together with people using our services and volunteering with us
• we focus on each person as an individual and support their uniqueness.
• we hold hope, have high expectations for and believe in our colleagues, our volunteers and those we support
• we believe that people hold the solutions to the challenges we face.

This means that:

• we’re open to learning about how to make our services accessible
• we work hard to identify and overcome barriers to accessing our services and volunteer opportunities, sharing our learning with funders and partners
• we value equality, equity and diversity in both our organisation and the communities we serve
• we work to understand, celebrate and embrace all people and cultures, developing our services and processes to make sure they’re open and accessible to everyone
• we’ll avoid making assumptions and judgements about others and be open and alert to when this might happen
• we celebrate diversity within our organisation
• we identify and remove barriers to involvement and offer a range of opportunities for people to get involved in our organisation, have their voice heard and play an active role in our leadership and decision making.

People who use our services and support and our staff and volunteers are front and centre in Health in Mind. We are committed to creating opportunities for people to realise their potential in their lives – and in our organisation.

We treat people with kindness, dignity, and compassion, and ensure people have choice and control in how they are supported.

We provide a holistic range of services as well as long- and short-term support to meet people’s needs. Our continuum of services ranges from early intervention and prevention through to more intensive support if needed. We meet people ‘where they are at’, take time to build trusting relationships and walk alongside people to identify and work towards their hopes and dreams.

We know different people want support in different ways and we are curious to understand changing and emerging needs. We collaborate with people, communities, and partners to develop creative and flexible support that best meets people’s needs and circumstances.

Our local teams work hard to develop a deep understanding of local needs. We collaborate with local organisations and partners to ensure people can access support and build connections in their own communities.

We have a proud history of identifying and overcoming barriers to accessing support. One of our first services provided safe spaces to support the mental health and wellbeing of women; another offered mental health support for people from black and minority ethnic communities. We remain committed to providing a range of approaches that help make mental health support accessible to everyone.

We offer a range of opportunities for people with lived experience to connect and progress in our organisation including co-designing our services and paid and volunteer peer support roles. We also offer the SQA Professional Development Award in Mental Health Peer Support.

Participation, empowerment, fairness, equality, and diversity are fundamental to our work. We know some people and communities face additional barriers to accessing mental health support and work hard to remove these.