Often within the care industry the primary focus is placed on the physical health of residents, but we at Beritaz Care understand that mental health is just as important to maintaining the wellbeing of all residents.
In honour of World Mental Health Day taking place today, we wanted to share with you some of the ways we are caring for our residents’ mental wellbeing and how we support our staff to prioritise their mental health.
When residents join our homes it is important that they maintain their individuality and a sense of independence. Being able to enjoy their favourite hobbies and fill their days with the activities they enjoy is an important part of this, as well as being key to their mental health. We support our residents in any way we can to continue with pastimes that bring them joy. Some of our residents have always been keen gardeners or are talented artists and we are happy to see their enjoyment of these hobbies continue in our care. Our residents have a lot of input on their daily routine, the meals they eat, activities they participate in and on issues affecting the running of the home. All of this helps to emphasise that feeling of control over their own lives which is really important for their mental wellbeing.
The regular activities programmes within our homes are heavily focussed around mental wellbeing, encouraging residents to engage in activities that will make them feel happy, calm and fulfilled. Our residents have different interests and needs, so our activities team plan varied activities to appeal to everyone. These activities can focus on things like relaxation, socialisation, reminiscence, creativity or mental exercises, all offering mental health benefits for our residents. Activities like animal therapy or music therapy are proven to have a positive impact on mental health within care homes, so these form a regular part of our schedule and we can see the positive impact they have on our residents’ mental wellbeing. We are always looking for new interesting and engaging activities that may interest our residents, particularly those that provide mental health benefits.
Our staff are actively aware and passionate about supporting residents’ mental health. One-to-one time between residents and staff is something that not only helps to form strong relationships, but also enables our staff to check-in with residents about their mental health. During one-on-one time residents can talk about their feelings or any concerns they may not feel comfortable discussing publicly. As well as arranging regular one-to-one sessions, our residents know they can speak to any staff member at any time about whatever is on their mind.
We are always looking for ways we can support our staff when they are facing their own mental health struggles. Working within the care industry can be both physically and emotionally taxing, so it is important that every member of our team knows they can come to us if they are finding things difficult and need a bit of extra support. We have very close-knit teams within our homes who are led by managers that take a keen interest in the wellbeing of each member of staff. We also host regular team social activities which are great for staff wellbeing, it gives them a chance to have some fun together and take a break from the responsibilities of their roles.
The wellbeing of both our residents and staff is at the heart of everything we do, mental health is an incredibly important topic we must all be aware of and speak about. We want to encourage everyone to have conversations about mental health this World Mental Health Day and take the time to prioritise the mental health of yourself and those around you.