Mind and Limbic announce partnership to make mental health support more accessible

Mind is a national mental health charity with over 100 local Minds delivering services in communities across England and Wales. Each local Mind offers specialist support, information and advice to people requiring mental health support in the community.

One of the ways Mind supports people is through their supported self-help programme. People seeking support can access a free 6-week guided programme that supports them through regular calls and materials that help them recognise and understand their feelings. Originally rolled out in Wales during the pandemic, this programme has achieved promising results, reaching over 18,500 people and rated 9/10 by clients, with more than 80% saying it improved their feelings of anxiety, depression, and general wellbeing. It began rolling out in England in October 2023.

As part of the commitment to improving access through digital transformation, Mind sought a partner to unify local referral pathways, simplify how people sign up for supported self-help, and automatically direct them to the most appropriate local Mind. The aim was to replace time-consuming and disjointed manual processes with a smooth end-to-end user journey that would allow more people to access the support they need and drive administrative and clinical efficiencies.

To achieve this, Mind partnered with Limbic, and together we deployed Limbic Access, an intelligent front door for self-referral and e-triage which now serves as the digital front door for the national supported self-help programme. Limbic was chosen as an innovative partner in the mental health space with a proven track record of success across NHS and private partners.

Throughout the implementation process, user experience remained a key area of focus. Leads from both teams worked as a unified team to configure the chatbot flow and ensure the most important information was captured, whilst also offering a clear and compassionate user experience. These efforts were aided by rigorous user testing and feedback processes. The technical teams at Limbic and Views, Mind’s chosen Case Management System (CMS), also worked closely together to deliver on a fully integrated system that supports effective triage and onward monitoring.

Accessibility is a key focus of the partnership. Together, we created a Welsh language version of Limbic Access, ensuring that Mind could utilise Limbic Access to reach Welsh speakers. In addition to built-in accessibility features, early results from a study conducted by our research team suggest that Limbic Access enhances access from minority demographic groups.

Key features of Limbic Access for Mind include:

• Full integration with Views Case Management System

• Automated eligibility check based on age and location, all at the point of referral

• Direct booking of an appointment at a local Mind closest to them, or a local Mind that is able to support them based on their specific needs

• Signposting to more appropriate services if the self-help programme isn't right for the person making a referral, including urgent help for people in crisis

As a result of launching Limbic Access, administration teams and practitioners at Mind are already seeing the benefits of having comprehensive information as well as hundreds of people being able to directly book their first appointment without having to wait for a call back.

Sarah Hughes, CEO at Mind said: 'We are grateful to the team at Limbic for their work to develop a streamlined self-referral route for people signing up for Mind’s supported self-help. This will enable us to reach thousands more people over the course of the programme and provide them with the mental health support they need. Since rolling out Limbic Access, we’ve already received positive feedback from our service users about the quick and easy sign up process and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with Limbic.'

Commenting on the partnership, Ross Harper, CEO at Limbic said: 'It is a privilege for Limbic to join forces with Mind: a beacon of mental health advocacy and action in the UK. This partnership marks a significant milestone for mental health and Limbic is proud to contribute to the digital evolution of such a pivotal organisation in the sector. We are eager to see the impact our collaborative efforts will bring to the many lives touched by Mind's services.'

Learn more about Limbic Access here, and see Mind's supported self-help programme here.