Professor Carolyn Steele is appointed new Chair of MHPF
Mental Health Providers Forum (MHPF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Carolyn Steele as the organisation’s new Chair

Professor Steele who takes over from Elaine Parker-Johnson, Chief Executive of Forum member Making Space, was formally appointed at the 2009 MHPF Annual General Meeting which took place in December.

Professor Carolyn Steele said:
"Thank you for inviting me to be Chair, as people who know me know I’m very pleased – I’ve had a long relationship with the 3rd sector and I look forward to working with the Board to raise the profile of excellent work of the Forum and the sector as a whole as it continues to go from strength to strength."

Read more.

MHPF produces a brand new set of visual resources to support use of the Recovery Star
MHPF has produced a set of visual resources to accompany the Mental Health Recovery Star tool. The resources are a set of communication aids to support use of the Recovery Star across any number of key-work settings:

• They provide an additional means for clients to access the Recovery Star tool in ways that best suites their needs; and
• Support use of the Recovery Star in settings where language barriers may be an issue

The illustrations were produced as part of the 'Recovery Star and Cultural Competency' pilot project which was funded by the Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health (DRE) programme - incorporating feedback from frontline staff and clients using services across the pilot sites. See our Recovery Star resources section for more information

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Psychological Therapies
Find out more about our work calling for a revision of the way that psychological therapies are evaluated by NICE and the NCCMH; exploring scientific, philosophical and service user perspectives in evaluating talking therapies.

Issue 9 of Forum Focus, the Mental Health Providers Forum newsletter is now available

Included in this edition:

• Yetunde Onifade, former Deputy Chief Executive of mental health organisation Tulip (and soon to be MHPF Recovery Development Manager) discusses her consultancy work with the Mental Health Providers Forum on the Care Pathways project and Recovery Star work
• The Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health (DRE) programme funded 'Recovery Star model and cultural competency' pilot project report is available for download
• Psychological Therapies in the UK - Your experiences - MHPF publishes online survey seeking feedback that will be used to inform research and policy and be disseminated to help advance the provision of psychological therapies within the UK
• Meeting the challenge of Personalisation: MHPF compiles case studies from the sector
• The new collaborative tendering initiative developed by MHPF for members

(Download it from the MHPF website)

FREE mental health 'key facts' leaflets published
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a series of short leaflets about common mental problems - seven of which have been sponsored by Forum member St Andrews Healthcare.

The 'key facts' leaflets which cover topics from depression to schizophrenia and bereavement have received very positive feedback. You can find out more and download the full series from the RSPsych website.

Recovery Star resources

Find out more about the Recovery Star resources that are available to support the implementation of the Recovery Star model across organisational services: and download a copy of the User Guide; Star and Plan; and Organisational Guide. We also deliver a number of training options.

MHPF Brochure
As mental health service planners and commissioners, whether in health or local authorities, our brochure - The Straight Forward Solution to Commissioning Mental Health Services - is designed to help you to understand, access and work with leading voluntary sector providers.
Download a copy.