Learning with St Basils

“Changing the way you do things can make all the difference”. This was the message from young people’s homeless charity in Birmingham about the importance of taking a psychologically informed approach (PIE).

Earlier this week Second Step met a team from St Basils, which works with young people aged 16 to 25, to find out more about becoming a psychologically aware organisation. St Basil’s decision to embed PIE has taken the last seven years and isn’t about doing extra work, more about doing things differently.

Michael Pearson, Second Step’s Senior Operations Manager said: “The visit has given us ideas of how to fully integrate a psychologically informed approach into every facet of the organisation and has reinforced the importance of having PIE champions”.

“We discussed strength-based approaches that focus on solutions and motivation. We also discussed the importance of positive and welcoming physical environments for staff and service users and how important it is to get this right.”

Second Step works in a psychologically informed way in many of its services and is keen to extend this approach. St Basils said that while implementing PIE takes time and ongoing support and reflection, the benefits far outweigh the costs with a happier and healthier workplace for staff and better outcomes for clients.