Published on 10th October 2026
How can we support better mental health? This is a question that we regularly ask ourselves when we think about resident care, activities, and the lifestyle residents enjoy in our homes. Supporting the mental health of our residents, staff, and those in our wider community, including the family and friends of our residents, is a key part of what we do.
At Beritaz Care, we understand that mental health and physical wellbeing go hand in hand, and we are always seeking ways to educate our staff on how best to support resident mental health. World Mental Health Day is an annual campaign that encourages open conversation and awareness about mental health and how we can prioritise this in our daily lives. The Mental Health Foundation have some fantastic resources to help us all learn how to talk and listen about mental health.
Good mental health is incredibly important for our residents and contributes greatly to their physical health. Many of our residents share stories of feeling lonely and isolated before coming to our homes and will often join us at a time when their mental health is not at its best. While starting a new life in a nursing or residential care home is a big transition, we see time and time again how positive an experience it can be and how our residents soon feel better, both physically and mentally, by being surrounded by a welcoming community and compassionate carers who are ready to support their needs.
Living with a sense of independence and purpose is something we have found has a big impact on our residents’ mental wellbeing. This is why we encourage residents to make active choices about how they wish to spend their days, decide which foods they prefer at mealtime, and support them to pursue hobbies that bring them joy. Residents play an active part in decisions at the home, particularly when it comes to the types of activities we run and the entertainment that is available. Our activities are also designed to support mental health, with therapeutic activities like art, music and animal therapy forming a regular part of the activities calendars in all our homes.
We know how important it is for our residents to talk about their mental health, and for some residents, that may not be something they feel immediately comfortable with or are used to. This is why our staff members make it a priority to sit down and talk to our residents, ask them questions about their lives, and get to know them on a personal level. Over time, this builds trust between residents and staff and helps residents to know they have someone they can talk to if they are struggling or worrying about something in their life.
The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change. Conversations about mental health make a difference. And they matter most when we listen to people’s experiences.” We understand that every single one of our residents and staff members has a different experience and may be facing different struggles. By creating an environment as an employer and care provider where people feel safe to discuss when they are struggling with their mental health, we can help people to feel less alone and learn what we can do to support them towards better mental health.