Experiences of social prescribing - hear from Dushima and Gay

How did you get into social prescribing?  What skills and qualities do you need to be brilliant at your job?

My journey started last January 2020, I am a trained nurse by background and was looking for something new and it was clear to me I have so many transferable skills from that line of work, I was looking for something different. Social prescribing kept coming up and I have now been doing since February in 2020.

I am good at listening, empathetic, honest and real with people, I am good at having the conversations with people and I like to set realistic goals and expectations. I have the ability to keep going, with some of the cases you hit the wall so you need perseverance. I work with so many link workers from varied backgrounds from ex war veterans, local advisors, people coming from working in mental health – it really shows that anyone can be it and bringing different experiences and life journeys to the role is important.

How do you approach prescribing for an individual – what happens when they meet you first?

It is all about first off having a chat, I know what their referral already says but let them get to that themselves. I like to encourage them to tell me their story so it is all about giving them that space and time.

When do you suggest culture as a route and what has been the initial response from patients?

Within the first 3 conversations we tend to talk about culture, I often explain what it means to them as they do not always see or don’t understand the connection that is much wider and broader to have the understanding of the whole, bigger picture of well-being. Rather than fixing that one problem that they see head of them I want them to benefit from the benefits of culture in that sense.

Who have you had to convince most about the benefits of culture and how did you go about it?

There was a participant/client who was resisting and had such a fixed idea of only one way to sort their issue and problem, these sort of fixed ideas of what they think they need to sort the problem. I want to help them think about why you are waiting for things to be fixed. I must be relatable to a person, it takes time to meet organisations to understand what they are doing, once I do then I can link it to people, I can then describe it with a more personable feel, if I’ve tried it perhaps it helps diminish fear of trying it for themselves.

What’s the check-up / check-in process with individuals that have been ‘prescribed’?

If someone is sign-posted then usually it is about 4-6 weeks after that. If it is a self-referral then it depends on waiting time of that programme, then to set a time and date etc and it depends on the actual specific referral pathway.

If you had a magic wand – what would you like cultural organisations or practitioners do more of and do less of?

We need far less hoops, a lot of cultural groups who are trying to access health need to be able to engage with other sectors to help streamline the approach and help other artists etc to understand the benefits themselves when people don’t understand they never suggest it.

I have friends who have anxiety and struggle to go to different places so it’s difficult, if its somewhere familiar they are comfortable going with me if its new then anxiety triggered if not know what direction they are going in or not comfortable with it all they may back out even if they want to go – anxiety can overwhelm them and their decision making.

I have experience, not that extent but even myself, if somewhere more familiar especially with my previous mental health issues then I am more likely to go that place to attend that activity/appointment if its somewhere I know, especially in times of more negative mental health if it’s a place that is new and I have to struggle with those difficulties at those times it may put me off so if I am well and mood is better than I may be up for going somewhere new. When struggling with mental health and you go somewhere you know it calms you down and supports you as its one less thing you need to worry about.

How did you find/connect with DPG and activities?

As a former service user and current volunteer of my local mental health trust, SLAM NHS (South London and Maudsley) and current volunteer, I receive the SAM recovery college emails and they had link to session they were doing with DPG over lock down and through that session I got on the mailing list for DPG creative workshops and that’s how I got into these creative wellbeing workshops.

How long have you been attending?

I have been attending DPG session over last year (over the last years lockdowns) and SLAM workshops I was doing before lockdown, these SLAM session workshops were around understanding anxiety, managing depression then I did online workshops they held during lockdown – diabetes, healthy eating/easting disorders.

I then got into the art/culture sessions – I found they were good but did not vary picture we were examining each week- we were doing same picture each week I can see who that would interest in some but it put me off a little bit, I would have loved to have learnt about more new pieces.

After drawing I have done singing sessions [at the Tessa Jowell Health Centre]. It did not matter how good or bad you were, was not a choir just taking a few songs and taking them to start singing more properly, was really fun and was online was nice to see lots of participants and take part on something with so many other people was really fun.

I am no longer a service user but through a mental health service I was linked to DPG. I am now on my own journey to find what I am interested in, I do not work through a link worker. Now I have been stable for some time I have been able to stand on my own two feet, branch out and find these things for myself now I know where to look though them- lockdown in some ways helped to link up to so many sessions and now I am linked to current ones.

How long did it take you to find this service, and how did it make you feel?

Connecting to DPG made me feel good, meeting new people and doing activities and also trying my hand at new things, for example the most recent sessions I wanted to understand how mindfulness and music marry together the session was a good balance of talking, learning, relaxing, music and mindfulness.

Who helped you along the way?

Family and friends have often helped me, friends send me links that would interest me with regards to these activities, to help me get back out there because as it is my mental health had a great impact on my isolation prior to covid. I didn’t really recover from that and I don’t have those solid good friendship networks that I had before so it’s really taken a hit so in respective to covid and isolation in that sense I really need to get back out there and start forming those friendships again and have that self-confidence.

Just travelling with people, having a cup of tea, there so many ways of having social interactions. I came with a friend I pre-arranged to come with her together and we just happened to meet other lady on the way.

How easy/difficult was the journey to connect with the service?

I’m quite tech savvy so connecting to this service was okay for me but if I was not I can see how that would be a barrier to keep on top of their emails, I know that if not feeling well mentally I know how hard it is to keep on top of my own things and mail.

I found it quite straight forward, If I don’t have any time constraints, I can easily attend things. I found engaging with them quite straight forward but may not be as easy for other people. A mix of printed info, phone calls and emails is really important, different lines of communication.

What does it mean to make something new, what impact does that bring to you?

Makes me feel like I'm having a fresh start, I love fresh starts because for a long time a lot of what was happening was negative and it just kept coming and coming, I just couldn't see how I could turn a leaf or turn a page.

I guess these sessions they sort of happen in a way that you can get as far away from other people as you want to be, or as comfortable as you feel so you don't have to be best friends with them or you don't have to be a stranger either, so it’s very much in your own hands and you can easily put up a front for a session and just say hello. I can be more authentic, be more myself and how I feel in that moment.

Should culture be part of a social prescribing journey?

Culture should not be separated out from the conventional medication things; it should work in harmony.

What has happened as a result of you attending?

The benefits is that I got to know people and reach these services that were on offer a bit better, I thoroughly enjoyed the session on Monday, the music and mindfulness. I feel a little bit more confident about navigating by myself to get there as well, so that's the benefit and also even though it's been close to a year since I I started engaging with the Dulwich Picture Gallery for their activities I feel a lot more confident too engage on my own accord with their activities rather than being encouraged in the first instance or the idea being put to me in the first instance because I I know the people and I know where the place is.

In terms of challenges, I initially thought it was online but then my friend said no it's actually in person, I was worried as it was not central London and there's not usually one direct way of getting there. Sometimes it gets confusing that there's three different routes to get to the same place so that had crossed my mind but I took the bull by the horns and did a search online on what was the most straight forward route to get there was, so it also it depends on how and who you're travelling with as well on how confident they are. Support for travel, a phone call of what best route to come would be so helpful- people need to know that this target audiences for these services- travelling to various places is a big issue.

We had more confidence coming together.

Has it made you more/less likely to seek out other cultural experiences and if so, what might these be?

So it's made me more likely to seek out cultural experiences, I'm generally interested in museums or galleries anyway before and prior to that so I'm more likely to seek out more creative workshops where, like I said I'm working towards creating a project or participating in an activity. I previously would go to a museum and have a look around or look at a picture and look at the artwork and go back to my daily life but now I have more confidence to participate, and I am not afraid to show my weaknesses.

What do you need to help you from these organisations/people around you to achieve that further?

I would like to try to greater degree all the activities that I've tried but to develop my skills in it, whether that be singing even though I'm not the best singer or drawing or mindfulness to develop deeper understanding how it marries up with music.

I would like to try all of these in more depth not just an introduction. Those organisations could help with this, like if you finish a course with them can they signpost me on to where I can do a medium level course or put me in touch with organisations they know that do greater depth of in that field.