Published on 10th October 2025
Taking the time to prioritise good mental health is very important, particularly within the setting of a care home. Whether it’s our residents, staff, or friends and family, we have a responsibility to support the mental wellbeing of every member of the communities within our homes.
Today is World Mental Health Day, a yearly campaign that encourages conversation and awareness about mental health, with the aim of driving positive change for all of those who are facing mental health struggles.
Resident mental health is a key focus within our homes and something that plays a key part in the care services we provide. We aim to support our residents in maintaining a feeling of independence and familiarity when they come to live in our homes. This period can be a difficult adjustment, and it is important to their mental wellbeing that disruption to their lives is minimised as much as possible. We encourage residents to make their rooms feel like home and continue with parts of their daily routine and hobbies that bring them joy and comfort. 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 on 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.
While resident wellbeing is always our priority, we are also there to support residents’ family members and friends. Through life changes and health issues, we aim to provide comfort and reassurance to our residents’ relatives. The stress and anxiety that come from seeing a loved one struggle is something that impacts the entire family; we see it as part of our role to do anything we can to alleviate these stresses as much as possible. This might be by providing regular updates to family members on a resident’s health condition, supporting them to arrange visits and phone calls, or taking the time to talk through any concerns and questions a relative might have.
As an employer, we also understand the role we play in ensuring our team members are supported in prioritising their mental health. Working within the care industry can be emotionally taxing at times, and our staff work incredibly hard, going above and beyond to ensure our residents are living comfortable and happy lives within the home. We are always looking for ways we can actively support staff mental health, keeping open channels of communication and arranging wellbeing activities. We have very close-knit teams within our homes who are led by managers who take a keen interest in the wellbeing of each member of staff and are happy to speak with them about anything they may be struggling with. At Ashton Manor Nursing Home, the team have introduced a ‘mental health check-in board’, encouraging staff to ask the question “what do you need today?”. This has been a great tool to enable the team to check in on their own mental health and feel comfortable talking about wellbeing. We also host regular team social activities which are great for staff wellbeing; these events give teams a chance to have some fun together and take a break from the responsibilities of their roles.
At Beritaz Care, the wellbeing of everyone in our community (residents, families and staff) is at the heart of everything we do. Communication is key to supporting mental health, and that’s why we are happy to support the World Mental Health Day campaign and encourage everyone to have a conversation about mental health. The Mental Health Foundation has some fantastic resources to help you manage your mental health, as well as ways you can get involved to support the foundation and its work. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/world-mental-health-day