Provision of mental health interventions in women's centres: An exploratory study

Background Women's centres are community‐based third sector organisations providing gender‐specific services to vulnerable females, including offenders and those at risk of offending. Mental health is a particular need within this population; however, there is limited knowledge of the type(s) and availability of mental health interventions within women's centres. Aims To explore the provision of mental health interventions within women's centres, providing an overview of services and the extent to which they evaluate interventions offered. Method A 32‐item online survey was developed, and 48 services across England and Wales were invited to participate. Data collected were exported from the survey host website and analysed descriptively. Results Thirty‐four services took part in the survey. Over two‐thirds provided psychological interventions, with counselling being the most frequently offered type of therapy. Clients presented to services with a range of issues, including mental health problems, personality disorder and self‐harm. Thirteen services undertook evaluations of interventions; data gathered were used for a variety of purposes, including improving interventions and justifying service provision. Conclusions This exploratory study provides information about current mental health provision in women's centres and the range of needs experienced by clients. We need to increase our knowledge and understanding of provision within these services, develop a standardised approach to client data collection and management, and create a robust package of valid and reliable outcome measures for use across services. This will augment routine evaluation of the effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of these services in meeting the health, well‐being and offending needs of female clients.