Mental Health Awareness Week at Care Opinion

Mental Health Awareness Week invites us to reflect not only on the experiences of people using mental health services, but also on the experiences of those who deliver them.

At Care Opinion, we’re lucky to work closely with many mental health teams across the UK, helping people share their stories of health, care & support. Those stories can shine a light on what really helps, where things feel difficult, and what matters most to people when they’re at their most vulnerable.

But we also know that, for many mental health teams, deciding to use Care Opinion doesn’t happen overnight. There’s often a bit of hesitation at first - and honestly, that makes complete sense. Teams want to know things like: Will staff be treated fairly? How do we make sure everyone is safe? What happens if the feedback is tough to read?

This blog explores how we support mental health teams to gather meaningful feedback about their services, and the difference this makes for the people who share their stories, the services who receive them, and the staff who read them.

How feedback strengthens mental health services

When people share their experiences on Care Opinion, mental health teams gain something incredibly valuable: insight. Insight that otherwise might be lost, if we don't encourage people to share their stories. Not data points, not scores, but real human stories that reveal what mental health care & support feels like from the patient’s perspective.

We see feedback helping services to:

• Understand what truly makes a difference to people using their services
• Build trust with communities who often feel unheard
• Identify gaps or inconsistencies in the delivery of care
• Celebrate staff and compassionate practice that might otherwise go unnoticed
• Reinforce what services are already doing well
• Create a culture where learning is continuous, celebrated and encouraged

"I was seen by Vicky regarding mental health issues. She was utterly fantastic at listening, suggesting and supporting me through low mood and an ongoing eating disorder. I’m in such a better place now thanks to her support and skills."  Full story 👉 I'm in such a better place thanks to her support 

Southern Health & Social Care Trust have shown just how powerful Care Opinion can be when it’s woven into everyday practice. By actively encouraging people to share their experiences and making feedback visible across their wards and teams, they’ve created a culture where stories genuinely drive learning and improvement. Staff use feedback to celebrate great practice, support revalidation, strengthen Safewards work, and spark meaningful conversations about what matters to patients and families. They’ve also built Care Opinion into meetings, quality improvement activity, and leadership discussions, ensuring that stories aren’t just read - they’re acted on.

It’s a brilliant example of how mental health and learning disability services can use Care Opinion to stay connected, responsive, and grounded in real lived experience. Take a look at their blog highlighting this brilliant work here 👉 Care Opinion for inpatient mental health & learning disability service

How we moderate stories with care

Another thing we often talk about with mental health teams is how stories are moderated. And it’s an important part of the picture. Every single story on Care Opinion is read by a real person - not AI, not an automated filter, but a trained human being who understands the sensitivity of mental health experiences.

Our moderation team looks at each story with two things in mind: is this safe to publish? and is this fair to everyone involved? If something raises a concern - maybe about someone’s safety, or the wellbeing of a patient or member of staff - we follow clear safeguarding processes. Sometimes that means pausing publication, sometimes it means reaching out to the service, and sometimes it means offering extra support to the storyteller.

We take this seriously because people’s stories deserve to be handled with care. And staff deserve to know that feedback won’t be published in a way that puts them, or the people they support, at risk. If you’re curious about how this works behind the scenes, we ran a safeguarding and criticality workshop back in October, which you can watch back below 👇

The unexpected impact on staff

We also hear so often from mental health staff about how genuinely humbled they feel when they read the positive stories shared about them on Care Opinion.

Many say they don’t always realise the difference they’ve made until they see it reflected back through someone else’s words. Those moments of appreciation can be incredibly powerful. They boost morale, remind teams why their work matters, and can offer a real lift on days that feel long or challenging.

For many staff, these stories become small but meaningful reminders that their compassion is seen, valued, and making a real impact.

"Jacqueline did an amazing job. Her positive and supportive approach helped me better understand how I could manage my mental health. She also reframed some of the ACT techniques I had learnt in the past in ways that were better suited to my current needs. I have had a lifetime of various spells of therapy but this time, guided by Jacqueline, I really feel that things have changed for the better. I am not cured, but I am far better equipped to face the future." Full story 👉 Outpatient Mental Health Counselling

Recently Chloe, a Trainee Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology within the Paediatric Psychology Service at NHS Lanarkshire, spoke at our Spring Conference about the impact that one Care Opinion story had on her. Watch Chloe's thoughtful reflection below 👇

As we move through Mental Health Awareness Week, it feels good to reflect on the power of words in mental health care - how a single story can offer insight, encourage learning, or remind someone that what they do genuinely matters. Care Opinion isn’t a one‑way street; the stories people share don’t just help services understand what’s working and what needs attention, they also give staff something meaningful in return.

For many teams, reading Care Opinion stories provides a sense of clarity and a reminder of the real impact they have on people’s lives. This week highlights just how important it is to keep listening - to patients, to families, and to staff - and to recognise that thoughtful, honest words can support better mental health for everyone.

Blog Resources

🔗 Blog - Online patient feedback: where's the evidence? | Care Opinion

🔗 Care Opinion Spring Conference 2026 - Session 3 - Staff morale and wellbeing

🔗 Blog - Safeguarding & Criticality Workshop recap

🔗 Blog -  Care Opinion for inpatient mental health & learning disability service