Patients on mental health wards are being offered family group conferencing for the first time to involve loved ones in decisions about their care and build stronger relationships.
Family group conferencing (FGC) enables patients, their friends and family to work through challenges, improve understanding of each other’s needs, and plan how they can support the patient when they leave hospital.
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) is believed to be the only NHS Trust to provide family group conferencing (FGC) in adult mental health services.
It has used the approach in community mental health services for 21 years and started offering FGC on wards in October 2025 as part of the Trust’s Time to Care programme. Therapeutic engagement and close collaboration with patients and their loved ones are key areas of focus for a new care model that has been rolled out across inpatient mental health wards.
Sally Mevo, Team manager at EPUT’s Essex Mental Health Family Group Conferencing Service, said: “We only started working in inpatient wards in October but the feedback from patients and staff has been really positive.
“The FGC model comes from New Zealand and the idea is the patient is the head of their meeting. It’s their invite list, at a time and venue of their choice.
“It’s likely to be the only time they’ve had an opportunity like this and for lots of the patients they feel very empowered by that.
“It works on the basis if you identify your own action plan with your support network, there’s a 90% chance of that plan being successful.
“Whereas if you’ve had a plan imposed on you that you’ve not been involved in, it has a very low rate of success, around 10%.”
Patients lead the conference and choose who they want to be there, which can include healthcare professionals. A nurse, social worker, or occupational therapist from the FGC service guides the discussion and provides support.
FGC can be especially helpful for people who feel isolated or find it hard to talk to loved ones, which can further impact their mental health. It complements the care and treatment patients receive during their inpatient stay, and helps patients, their loved ones and healthcare professionals to plan the support they need when they are discharged from hospital.
Social worker and FGC practitioner Yasmin Morgenstern said: “It’s a privilege to offer this service but it’s also really humbling.
“When you finish a conference and the patient and their support network have been able to put together a plan to keep them safe and help them when they are discharged from hospital it’s overwhelming for me as a clinician.”
One of the first patients she supported on our mental health wards found the FGC to be a key turning point in her recovery journey.
Strained family relationships had contributed to a decline in her mental health. Being able to discuss this with her loved ones improved their communication and understanding of each other’s needs.
Yasmin helped the woman and her family identify the support she needed if she experienced another mental health crisis, and activities to boost her overall self-esteem and wellbeing.
Speaking about their experience, the patient said: “I now have a better understanding of how to move forward. I am looking forward to focusing on my goals and improving communication as a family. I am thankful you have done everything you can to support us.’’
The Essex Mental Health Family Group Conferencing Service works with more than 100 patients across community and inpatient mental health services every year.
Sally said: “Rebuilding relationships is often a key theme of our work and we are achieving this every week in the most complex situations.”
FGC has been introduced to mental health inpatient wards as part of EPUT’s Time to Care programme, which has increased the therapeutic activities and personalised care offered to patients.
The Essex Mental Health Family Group Conferencing Service has previously been recognised nationally for its work in community mental health. It was the East of England regional winner for Excellence in Mental Health in the NHS Parliamentary Awards 2022 and was highly commended in the Complex Mental Health Needs category of the Positive Practice in Mental Health Awards 2022.
Find out more about how FGC works on the Adult Mental Health Family Group Conferencing service page.