Information for Referrers

How does the WE:THRIVE service work? 

When we receive your referral, we will allocate the person you have referred to one of our teams based on their location. Each team comprises of an Employment Specialist and a Specialist Support Worker. Your patient will work with both team members at various stages of their journey with us. 

It is possible your patient may be put onto a waiting list, if the demand for our service is high at that time. Our team will ask your patient if they would like to be added to our waiting list if our caseload is full.   

Once accepted, your patient’s allocated Employment Specialist or Specialist Support Worker will contact them to arrange a face-to-face meeting. They will arrange a suitable place to meet - it could be a cafe, a Local Authority Hub or  their community mental health team. We do have restrictions on meeting at a residence. If you can attend the meeting too, we may be able to meet at your patient’s residence.   

At this face-to-face meeting, our team member will explain more about the service. If your patient is happy to proceed, we will begin by filling out some simple forms so we can learn more about your patient and how we can help. 

The next meeting will be with one of our Employment Specialists who will discuss the type of job your patient wants, putting the focus on them and what inspires and motivates them. Together, we will make a plan to achieve their goals. We can help your patient write a CV if they do not already have one.  We will also discuss whether they wish to disclose their mental and physical health challenges to potential employers. We are here to support your patient and be guided by them to achieve a positive outcome.    

We will continue to meet your patient regularly. Together we will look for suitable jobs or training, talk about worries they may have - like job interview techniques, and discuss how they are finding the process so far. We will be there to help and guide them, and we will also be happy to contact employers on their behalf (with their permission) to find the right role. As a team, we will aim to have made first contact with a prospective employer within four weeks of their start date with the service. 

When your patient is offered employment or at any other stage of this process, our Employment Specialist can help your patient obtain access to “better off” calculations to ensure that if they are on benefits, they will not be worse off for accepting a paid position. 

At the midway point, around the end of month four, your patient and their Employment Specialist will have a more in-depth review of their progress so far. What has worked for them and what has not? Does anything need to change to help them obtain paid work?  

In month nine, if they have been unsuccessful in securing work, the Employment Specialist will go over their CV and other vocational documents which they have compiled together and review their journey and signpost them on to other services if appropriate. You can re-refer to the service as many times as you like. The Specialist Support Worker will complete an exit interview with your patient, so that we can learn how to improve the service. 

What happens when my patient is offered a job? 

When your patient is offered a job, they may find they are concerned about how to get to work, what to wear, or the social aspects that we all struggle with when we start a new job. This is where their Specialist Support Worker will support them. Their Specialist Support Worker will use their knowledge and skills to support your patient in the next stage of the journey.   

In the week before they start their new job, they will meet with the Specialist Support Worker and discuss any concerns they may have. These could be how they will afford to get the bus to work before the first pay cheque, or how to talk to a manager about their mental and physical health challenges.  

The Specialist Support Worker will help guide your patient; they could meet with the new manager if your patient wants them to. They can also discuss reasonable adjustments with the new manager or signpost the manager to ways to support your patient in the workplace. 

Once your patient starts their new job, the Specialist Support Worker will contact them again to see how they are doing. From then on, your patient will meet with their Specialist Support Worker as required.  

Approximately four months after starting their new job, the Specialist Support Worker will complete an exit interview with your patient to help us identify what has gone well and ways we can improve the service. 

If at any time your patient decides that they do not want the services of the Specialist Support Worker, that is fine - they will just carry out the exit interview and final document review. 

Why refer to the WE:THRIVE service? 

It is proven that working is good for mental health by providing  

• a source of income 

• a sense of identity 

• contact and friendship with others 

• a steady routine and structure 

• opportunities to contribute and gain skills. 

Wellbeing Empowerment Through Holistic Recovery & Inclusive Vocational Engagement (WE:THRIVE) is an innovative approach to help people who have mental and physical health challenges within the Cardiff and Vale area. 

The Service is modeled after Westminster's Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative. 

We aim to encourage and support participants with a holistic approach to wellbeing and recovery through access to work based on their strengths, skills and preferences, leading to better mental health outcomes. The WE:THRIVE service is for anyone who wants support to obtain competitive, paid work as part of their recovery journey. 

WE:THRIVE is based on the 8 IPS evidence-based principles, proven to help improve outcomes in mental health. 

What are the eligibility criteria? 

• The person you are referring must consent to being referred and to being contacted by us.  

• The person being referred should be work-ready. 

• The person being referred must be allowed to work in the United Kingdom. If they are on a visa, the visa must state they would be eligible to claim benefits if required. 

• The person being referred must have a mental and/or physical health condition which is a barrier to their working life until now. 

• The person being referred must not be on another DWP or Welsh Government employment programme or provision. 

• The person being referred must be of working age. 

• The person being referred must not be receiving employment support, other than from Job Centre Plus, for example (but not limited to): 

• Work and health programme. 

• Individualised personalised employment support. 

• Local services and regionally based support. 

• Employment advisors in improving access to psychological therapies. 

If you wish to make a referral on behalf of your service user/client, please follow the link: Referral on behalf of someone else