Online support service targets mental health toll of financial hardship

Text Reads: Take Money off your mind. Free help with financial stress, low mood and anxiety from NHS Wales. Image of woman sat on the floor looking at phone.

NHS Wales is partnering with foodbanks to help combat the mental health impacts of the cost-of-living crisis.

SilverCloud® Wales, an online platform providing guided, self-help support based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), is being promoted with a poster and awareness campaign at foodbanks in key Welsh towns and cities.

The service is provided free of charge by NHS Wales. The programmes on offer include support for money worries, anxiety, depression and stress.

NHS Wales online CBT project manager Fionnuala Clayton said: “Financial hardship is a key contributor to mental health problems, which in turn can negatively impact the ability to earn or manage money.

“It’s vital that we break that chain through timely, preventative support like SilverCloud, which teaches practical tools to help mitigate money worries, turning negative thinking into positive action.”

Research by the Mental Health Foundation reveals that financial strain is the main factor behind anxiety in the UK.

Meanwhile a study by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute highlights the vicious cycle link between financial difficulty and poor mental health.

The charity found that people struggling with financial hardship were 5.5 times more likely to experience mental health problems.

Similarly, people with long term mental health issues were 9.3 times more likely find it tough to manage financially.

Trussell, the UK’s largest foodbank organization, reveals in its latest research that hunger and hardship are at record levels in Wales.

Liz Davies – Strategic Manager of Cardiff Foodbank – says mental health issues are among one of the top reasons for referrals to the service.

Said Liz: “Being in the right frame of mind and having mental capacity is fundamental to be able to deal with financial problems.

“For most people, having to deal with those financial problems is stressful enough, but when faced with mental health issues as well this can make this situation feel impossible.

“Any support that catches people early and puts them in a better place so they can manage the more practical issues of financial hardship is very welcome. I’d include SilverCloud in that, I think it’s great.”

Cleide Correia, manager of Merthyr Cynon Foodbank, added: “The link between poverty and mental health is so clear to us.

“The cost-of-living crisis means we're seeing more and more people with mental health problems because they simply don't have the money to guarantee the essentials.

"I hope SilverCloud will help many, many people and I'm sure it can."

Anyone in Wales aged 16+ can self-refer to SilverCloud for free without seeing a GP or joining waiting lists.

Programmes take around 12 weeks to complete and require a commitment of as little as 15 minutes a day, 3-4 times weekly.

Progress is monitored by trained supporters, who provide fortnightly feedback and can escalate more serious cases to access further help.

SilverCloud’s Space from Money Worries programme includes modules on facing financial fears, finding new ways of coping with money problems and keeping to a budget.

Published: 02/12/2024