All Customer Facing Staff Receive Specialist Mental Health Awareness Training

Specialist law firm, Ascent, has announced that as part of its commitment to further improve the quality of its service, it has introduced training for all of its customer facing staff to help them deal more effectively with customers who are suffering with mental health issues.

The bespoke course has been developed by the Money Advice Trust, together with Rethink Mental Illness and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The training, which is backed by the British Bankers’ Association and the Credit Services Association, allows Ascent call handlers to identify and understand different types of mental health problems as well as the impact it has on their ability to repay debt.

The comprehensive online course trains compliance with industry codes and crucially the Data Protection Act in relation to mental health, and also allows staff to adopt practical, commercial strategies to handle challenging situations.

Glen Walker, Head of Quality and Compliance at Ascent, said:

“Mental health is a big issue in relation to debt and as one of the leading specialist law firms in this area, Ascent wanted to be proactive and take a lead on this. It is key that we can identify cases early to avoid legal action which could lead to unnecessary distress for customers and lead to poorer mental health as a result.

“This is all about putting our customers first and ensuring that they are treated with the respect that they deserve. We spoke to a number of training providers and we were very impressed with the package provided by the Money Advice Trust. The training that we have delivered complements our strategy for dealing with customer with mental health issues perfectly.”

Ascent’s proprietary collection systems have also undergone bespoke development to cater for the new mental health strategies which have been implemented following delivery of the training, allowing dedicated staff to better handle cases of mental health on an individual basis to deliver the right customer outcomes every time.

Adding to the industry standard TEXAS model, enhanced information is now being captured using new techniques due to be released in the Royal College of Psychiatrists in its upcoming publication – Lending, debt collection and mental health : ten more steps to improve practice.