The National Forum for Assertive Outreach is a grassroots organisation which was brought together by Kath Dixon in 1998. The Forum was set up initially to meet the need for mutual practitioner support and champion coordinated and faithful applications of the assertive outreach model.

With initial support from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health the forum set up regular, free regional network meetings for Assertive Outreach Teams run by Regional Coordinators.  Along side this was a National Steering Group made up of the eight Regional Coordinators, a Voluntary Sector Representative and specialist Co-opted Members.  This group, in consultation with the regions, developed the structure and constitution that form the organisation that is in existence today.

  In 2001 NFAO held its inaugural national conference in Oxford.  Establishing itself as an independent organisation, the Forum was able to hold is first Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2002.  This saw the acceptance of the constitution allowing the Forum in April 2003 to use its membership to elect its Executive Officers and Regional Coordinators.  The constitution was recently updated in 2007 and maintains this democratic representation.

  As a practitioner focused organisation the NFAO aims to:-


Having developed close links with the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE/CSIP), the NFAO is moving from strength to strength.  NFAO annual objectives are set each year and ratified at the annual AGM held at the annual national conference. These can be seen by clicking on the ‘objectives’ button below. These have typically included research activities and efforts to broaden the remit of NFAO to include service users and carers, for example through participating as Co-opted Members to the National Steering Group and in national and local events and activities.

The full range of activities and functions carried out by the Forum can be viewed by looking at the Annual Report section of this web site.