bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A walk in the woods
Authors: Farbrother Christine
Published: August 2011

Life is a sequence of tiny events and most of us feel that our days are pretty ordinary. Chris Farbrother's article is a simple description of going for a walk. That's all. But perhaps it hints at the benefits of exercise, the healing power of the countryside and the triumph of small achievements.
A sense of belonging and inheritance
Authors: Dodd Jocelyn
Published: August 2011

Many of us visit museums occasionally, while smaller numbers of people establish stronger relationships with their local museums or galleries. Meanwhile, the selection and display of exhibits reflects a particular view of society in general, and of mental distress in particular.In this paper, Jocelyn visits several museums to find out how they respond to the reality of mental distress, and asks: what role can museums play to represent and widen the participation of people with mental health experiences?
Moving mountains to people … teaching people vocational IT skills in their homes
Authors: Allan Jonathan , Robinson Sue
Published: August 2011

There is an increasing awareness of the need for mental health support in colleges and training establishments. Frequently, though, such support does not reach people with mental health problems who, because of their mental health problem or rural isolation, cannot get to college. This scheme in Shropshire has been very successful in helping many people to overcome that problem and start the journey out of the mental health system.
Building bridges to education
Authors: Faiers Adrian
Published: August 2011

Since it started in May 1998, InterAct's Bridges to Education programme has helped over 1000 clients with mental health issues to access lifelong learning. The underlying purpose of the programme is to help clients involve themselves in their communities. Client feedback about the benefits is overwhelmingly positive. A few clients have not been helped. This article looks at factors that have led to the successes and factors that may have contributed to the small number of failures.
Arts, mental health and social inclusion
Authors: White Mike
Published: August 2011

This article considers how an evidence base may be found for the effectiveness of using arts in mental health care services. It looks at what arts in health work brings to the promotion of social inclusion and summarises current issues in the field. It calls for arts in health workers to share their practice and undertake research as a preliminary to evaluation. It outlines the contextual factors that appear to have a bearing on the successful development of arts in mental health services.
Coaching for recovery: a key mental health skill
Authors: Boyle Don
Published: August 2011

This article discusses the potential of coaching in mental health. It reports on the work being done by Oxleas NHS Trust, Bexley Council and First Step Trust in partnership with Doing‐it Personal and Corporate Coaching to equip managers, workers and service users with the new skill of coaching. Coaching can enable mental health professionals to work confidently with service users to help achieve their individual aspirations and potential.
Making the hole square
Authors: Pinion Janine
Published: August 2011

Janine Pinion maps the road travelled so far in creating a helpful environment for students with mental health problems (and the staff who support them) at Wirral Metropolitan College.
What is work? Qualifying in vocational rehabilitation
Authors: Fegan Colette
Published: August 2011

The first cohort of students has recently completed the first module towards the MSc in vocational rehabilitation at Sheffield Hallam University.
Social outcomes of employment: the experience of people with mental ill health
Authors: Buckle David
Published: August 2011

Despite it being a central focus of government policy, there is a lack of research into the experience of employment for people with mental health problems, especially with regard to the social outcomes. David Buckle uses evidence from research and the findings of his own qualitative study to explore the relationship between supported employment and social inclusion and argues that the social and psychological needs of people with mental ill health can potentially be met by putting employment at the heart of mental health services.
Winners all: supporting people to stay in work
Authors: Lennard Ian
Published: August 2011

Despite significant progress being made in recent years towards creating more inclusive workplaces, there is still a great deal more that needs to be done truly to embrace mentally healthy work practices in the UK. This article describes two employment support projects that worked with employees and employers, and sometimes both, to help people in work keep their job, despite their mental health difficulties.
Getting to know Alfred Wallis
Authors: Teal Wendy , Tortora Annie
Published: August 2011

This article is about some of the benefits that arts activities can bring to people with mental health problems. In it, Wendy and Annie describe a research project set up in partnership with an art gallery, in which they looked at how perceptions, attitudes and behaviours might be positively affected by specially developed, guided arts activities. The project stimulated much thoughtful and perceptive feedback from participants, all of whom are mental health service users.
Selling social inclusion through the arts
Authors: Rigby Terry
Published: August 2011

Exercise on prescription is common, but many primary care trusts are only just becoming aware of the potential of offering parallel access to other activities. Here Terry Rigby describes the arts on prescription programme that has been running in Stockport for nine years. He highlights the benefits of co‐working between artists and mental health workers, pinpoints issues relating to image and marketing and urges us to consider how we can support people to continue moving forward in their lives.
Network page
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In this issue, we profile the in‐house employment projects developed by City & County of Swansea over the last 15 years. For individuals recovering from serious mental health problems, these offer a good choice of supportive work environments in which they can rebuild confidence and develop skills needed for the wider labour market. The range of social enterprises is interesting, and includes ones that use computer and digital camera technologies, as well as the more traditional catering and gardening ventures. It is perhaps no accident that the enterprises with the most commercial promise are those that have developed good links with local public sector agencies. The importance cannot be overstated of the role of statutory agencies from a wide range of sectors in supporting such enterprises through commercial contracts and through positive action strategies in recruitment.
How I found a new meaning for myself
Authors: Mayes Debbie
Published: August 2011

Debbie Mayes describes how she has gradually worked out a new meaning to life and a new way of living after 20 years of mental illness, and the importance of art, as well as supportive friendships, in the process. This article is based on a talk she gave at the Get a Life! conference in Bexleyheath on 24 June 2004.
The positives and negatives of service user led training ‐ from the service user's perspective
Authors: Johnson Shaun
Published: August 2011

With service user led training becoming more popular in the training of mental health workers, little attention seems to have been paid to how the trainers themselves experience this and the effect it has on them. Here Shaun Johnson, who has worked as the facilitator of a service user led training organisation and is a service user trainer himself, gives an overview of the issues and difficulties faced by service user trainers and how their lives could be made so much easier if unintentionally created problems could be avoided.
Self‐employment as a survivor trainer: tension, tedium and opportunity
Authors: Stanton Sara
Published: August 2011

When Sara Stanton found it difficult to get a job because of her psychiatric history, she decided to set up her own not‐for‐profit company and become a self‐employed survivor trainer. She now works extensively with NHS trusts, mental health charities and user groups. Here she describes the challenges and benefits of working for herself, and the tensions and conflicts thrown up by the work itself.
Sex, romance and mental health
Authors: Lowson David
Published: August 2011

David Lowson explores some of the obstacles faced by mental health service users who want a fulfilling romantic/sexual life and looks at some of the implications for mental health services. How supportive are services to their users' wants and aspirations? What could services be doing to help their users develop and maintain sexual relationships?
Creative partnerships for promoting physical activity
Authors: Crone Diane , Edwards Daren , Price Laura , Webber Emily , Meek Leon
Published: August 2011

Diane Crone and colleagues describe a collaboration between a university sport and exercise science department and the local mental health trust that not only resulted in a number of practice‐based research projects looking at the health benefits of physical activity, but also directly improved sports and other physical activity options for mental health service users. It has also provided final year degree students with vocational experiences, improving their career prospects.
network
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

Our regular round‐up of innovative projects that support social inclusion for people with mental health problems
resources
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

Introducing a new regular page listing reports, publications and training materials of relevance to readers. If you come across new publications, training materials, websites or other resources that might be of interest to other readers, please send details to Tracey Austin e tracey.austin1@btopenworld.com
Me first and other quite possible dreams
Authors: Chalkley Lisa
Published: August 2011

Lisa Chalkley celebrates some truly inclusive arts projects for people with experience of mental health problems, and looks forward to a time when there is no need to label such events ‐ and there'll be cake for all and no daft comments about axes either…
Combating social isolation in north Somerset
Authors: Horton Nick , Davis Paul , Clisby Nicola
Published: August 2011

The North Somerset Education & Training Consortium provides a wide range of education and training courses of varying lengths and intensity, with built‐in, long‐term progression opportunities. Paul Davis and colleagues describe how access to graduated learning has given confidence to people with experience of mental health problems, enabling them to progress both at personal and academic levels.
An adventure into the unknown: creating employment opportunities in eastern Europe
Authors: Lucas Jo , Bicaku Adriatik , Vardanyan Arman
Published: August 2011

Collapse of the former communist bloc, coupled with the consequent crumbling of state welfare systems, has left people with mental health problems in many eastern European countries in dire poverty and neglect. Jo Lucas describes how non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) have stepped in to establish communitybased employment initiatives, and the challenges and dilemmas that face these projects as they seek to establish financial self‐sufficiency while not losing their social support functions
The Open Door programme: student journeys to employment and university
Authors: Morrison Ian , Clift Stephen
Published: August 2011

Changes in government policies threaten to remove an important source of funding that enables people with mental health problems to be supported to enter and progress from further education to employment and university. Ian Morrison and Stephen Clift describe one such scheme whose future is in doubt, and the journeys undertaken by some of the people it has supported.
resources
Authors: Austin Tracey
Published: August 2011

Introducing a new regular page listing reports, publications and training materials of relevance to readers. If you come across new publications, training materials, websites or other resources that might be of interest to other readers, please send details to Tracey Austin e tracey.austin1@btopenworld.com
Money matters
Authors: Campbell Peter
Published: August 2011

Money ‐ not only lack of it but also getting it, banking it, saving and investing it ‐ is a central part of most people's lives. From drawing benefits through a bank account to buying a house, people with mental health problems have a need and right to access financial services at various levels. Peter Campbell explores the issues, including the discrimination reported by respondents to a survey conducted by the campaign group Loonscape, and the possible solutions they suggested.
resources
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

Our new regular page listing reports, publications and training materials of relevance to readers. If you come across new publications, training materials, websites or other resources that might be of interest to other readers, please send details to the editors at adampozner@trinova.freeserve.co.uk
Recovery from ‘mental illness’: one vision, many views
Authors: Allott Piers
Published: August 2011

If we are to deliver services that encourage recovery from mental illness, it is essential that there is a vision of a future where recovery from mental illness is both possible and understood by communities, services and staff. Piers Allott provides a brief introduction to the concept of recovery from ‘mental illness’, proposes a vision for recovery, and flags up ways in which recovery practice can be taken forward.
Joy, beauty, creativity and fun
Authors: Sillis Jane
Published: August 2011

For more than a decade, Look Ahead Housing and Care has been renowned for its innovative arts programme. Projects have included archeology, garden design, photography, music and sculpture. Here Jane Sillis explains why a housing association has an arts programme, what the benefits are for people with mental health issues in participating in the arts, and what might be good practice in running arts projects with vulnerable people.
We want to work!
Authors: Philip Eileen
Published: August 2011

Black mental health service users want to be taken seriously when it comes to employment, but they often don't feel they are. Eileen Philip recently interviewed three black male service users and here she reports some of the issues they highlighted as important.
Bridge building with Mainstream
Authors: Carr Mike
Published: August 2011

Imagine a social inclusion project that encourages people recovering from mental distress to take risks. Suppose, too, that it was staffed by people with little prior experience of working in mental health services. That's the unorthodox approach taken by the Mainstream project. Mike Carr explains how it works and how, despite initial scepticism from some mental health practitioners, they have amassed a clear body of evidence to show that it works.
Healthy lifestyles, healthy lives
Authors: Crone Diane , Heaney Linda , Morgan Jennifer , Macpherson Rob , Herbert Rhiannon , Johnston Lynne
Published: August 2011

People with long‐term, severe mental health problems are at higher risk of premature death linked to lifestyle. They are more likely to smoke, to be overweight, and to take little or no exercise. Their physical health needs also tend notoriously to be neglected by the health services. Diane Crone and colleagues conducted a comparative survey of the health behaviours and lifestyles of mental health service users in one city in the south west, and found much cause for concern.
Using resources creatively to meet service users' employment support needs
Authors: Wood Steve , Norrish Sylvia
Published: August 2011

Vocational assessment is an important resource for people with long term mental health problems when they are considering employment options. However there are often long waiting lists to see a qualified occupational therapist providing this service. Steve Wood and Sylvia Norrish say every community mental health team should have one member who is trained in vocational assessment, and describe a pilot project in which a healthcare assistant was successfully trained to perform this role.
network
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

This issue's Network gives space to three organisations to describe their work and how they aim to make a difference.
Not just stacking shelves
Authors: Rinaldi Miles , Perkins Rachel , Hardisty Joss , Glynn Edmund , Souza Tatiana
Published: August 2011

Supported employment programmes for people with serious mental health problems have sometimes been criticised for only helping people to get poorly paid, low skill jobs. Miles Rinaldi and colleagues followed up clients of the Kingston and Merton supported employment service run by South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust and found that the majority had found, or retained, jobs in a wide range of occupations and at a wide range of levels. Few working at entry level, ‘just stacking shelves’.
Tapestry: a social relationship agency
Authors: Proudlock Simon , Hallé Liz
Published: August 2011

Tapestry is Britain's first social relationship agency dedicated to helping people recovering from a mental illness find and sustain social relationships. Simon Proudlock and Liz Hallé describe this revolutionary project, based in Reading, that offers members a packed social calendar and helps them learn or regain social skills, develop meaningful relationships and build friendship networks.
Chipmunkapublishing
Authors: Matthews John
Published: August 2011

Chipmunkapublishing is a unique, London—based, social enterprise that aims to help people with mental health problems through the publication of literature — mostly autobiographies — on mental illness. John Matthews profiles the first publishing house to specialise in publishing the voices of the sufferers of mental illness, and describes how it is helping to buck the trend of negative portrayals in the media of people with mental illness.
Making radio waves
Authors: O'Sullivan Mike
Published: August 2011

Mike O'Sullivan visits Radio Nikosia, a radio station in Barcelona run by people with mental health problems that broadcasts to the city once a week. He believes the time is ripe for just such a radio station here in the UK, to empower service users and challenge stigma.
There be monsters
Authors: Balazs Suzie
Published: August 2011

When Workshop and Company was commissioned by the National Archives to make a mosaic sculpture for its grounds at Kew, members were slightly daunted. But 650 hours and 15,150 pieces of glass mosaic later ‐ to say nothing of a ton of concrete ‐ everyone is amazed and delighted. Suzie Balazs describes how the major challenge of completing such an ambitious project was a huge boost to members' confidence ‐ and her own.
Political or parental?
Authors: Popperwell Ian
Published: August 2011

Should mental health workers be subsidising service users' expenses on trips and outings? Ian Popperwell believes that the common practice of paying for meals, entry tickets and travel is patronising and stigmatising, and negates efforts to achieve social inclusion and independent living.
Helping people reclaim their lives
Authors: Helman Claire
Published: August 2011

Can volunteering help people with mental health issues reclaim their lives? Claire Helman describes the Capital Volunteering project, which aims to tackle social exclusion by increasing volunteering opportunities across London.
When opposites attract?
Authors: Williamson Toby , Crepaz‐Keay David
Published: August 2011

How far is our position within the mental health system ‐ as service user, survivor, carer or practitioner, for example ‐ fixed and defines what we can achieve? Is ‘expertise by experience’ something we all have and can share, irrespective of position, even when it may differ dramatically? Toby Williamson, previously head of policy at the Mental Health Foundation and an experienced practitioner, and David Crepaz‐Keay, senior policy advisor responsible for public and patient involvement at the Foundation and well known particularly within the survivor movement, debate these issues in an open and frank exchange of emails.
Mapping arts and mental health projects
Authors: Spandler Helen , Secker Jenny , Hacking Sue , Shenton Jo
Published: August 2011

Helen Spandler and colleagues report on the first phase of a project to map arts and mental health projects in England and evaluate their benefits in terms of participants' mental health and how well they promote social inclusion, both in promoting peer friendships and networks and in supporting the development of links with the wider community.
Reaching out to Vietnamese communities
Authors: Shieh Jack
Published: August 2011

Jack Shieh profiles the Vietnamese Mental Health Service (VMHS), an agency set up in 1989 to promote culturally sensitive services for people from Vietnam who have mental health problems. The agency now employs nine full‐time workers and provides a range of care and support throughout the UK. Since its inception VMHS has provided services to over 450 individuals and their family members.
Leading by example
Authors: Carolan Stephany
Published: August 2011

This article by Stephany Carolan describes the start of a journey by Hampshire Partnership Trust towards becoming an exemplar employer through participation in the CSIP Leading by Example project. The trust aims to become an exemplar employer for all staff ‐ but explicitly for those who have experienced mental ill health.
Celebrating diversity
Authors: Hill Sarah , Halsey Robert
Published: August 2011

North London Forensic Service is one of the largest NHS medium secure units in the country. Sarah Hill and Robert Halsey describe how the hospital held an inaugural Festival of Culture. With the well‐documented over‐representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) service users in secure hospitals, the event aimed to provide a forum for user involvement and celebration, as well as feeding into the wider race equality agenda. It also provided an opportunity to realise the benefits and value of therapeutic risk taking.
Voyage on a painted sea
Authors: Teall Wendy , Tortora‐Cailey Annie , Cunningham Jill
Published: August 2011

Start in Manchester uses art as a vehicle to help people recovering from serious mental distress re‐establish their lives in their communities. Wendy Teall, Annie Tortora‐Cailey and Jill Cunningham describe one recent project with Manchester University's Whitworth Art Gallery that aimed to explore how and why arts work is so good for mental health and well‐being.
Pilots without planes
Authors: Butterworth Roger
Published: August 2011

Roger Butterworth has been a pioneering figure in the field of job retention services for people with mental health problems over the last decade ‐ both running services himself and encouraging others to do so. In this article he offers a personal view of the service landscape and recent developments.
Mentoring for students with mental health problems
Authors: Heyno Ann
Published: August 2011

Opportunities for people with mental health problems to go to university are now much greater, thanks to the Disability Discrimination Act. Also, many universities now offer support to students with mental health difficulties. Ann Heyno describes the student mentoring service introduced at the University of Westminster for people with mental health support needs, and how it complements the counselling and advice service the university also provides.
Spiritual and cultural care in recovery
Authors: Khan Quisra
Published: August 2011

Changes in the way mental health services are provided and in the religious profile of the population require changes in the way the NHS provides its chaplaincy services. Qaisra Khan describes the new, multi‐faith spiritual and cultural care service introduced by Oxleas NHS Trust and how it aims to transcend labels and reach out to people in the community as well as those receiving inpatient care.
Pathways in health and well‐being
Authors: Wiltshire Kim
Published: August 2011

Kim Wiltshire describes how Pathways, a Manchester‐based three‐year arts programme, helped people overcome the challenges of living with mental ill health.
What makes an entrepreneur?
Authors: Hallam Sophy , Seebohm Patience , Grey Paul
Published: August 2011

Sophy Hallam (consultant) and Patience Seebohm (independent researcher) discuss what makes an entrepreneur, and Paul Grey, Ross Parker and Mark Swift (all experts by experience in mental health and enterprise) share their views on what it takes to set up and run your own business
Criminal justice, mental health and employment
Authors: Hammond Judith
Published: August 2011

Judith Hammond outlines the particular barriers facing offenders with mental health problems trying to get back into employment following release from prison.
Challenging stigma and discrimination
Authors: Pinfold Vanessa , Borneo Toni
Published: August 2011

Vanessa Pinfold and Toni Borneo describe the successes of the Rethink anti‐discrimination campaign in Norwich, which aimed to test out ways to challenge negative public attitudes to mental illness
Working together to improve access to learning
Authors: James Kathryn
Published: August 2011

Kathryn James outlines a national partnership project established to promote and facilitate access to adult education for people with mental health problems.
The Vishvas mental health project
Authors: Gharial Narinder
Published: August 2011

Narinder Gharial makes a case for separate mental health support services for South Asians, whose language and cultural needs are often neglected by the statutory mental health services.
Overcoming social isolation in rural communities
Authors: Graham Nancy
Published: August 2011

WELL stands for Well‐being, Education, Lifestyle and Living. Nancy Graham describes how the WELL Project in Northern Ireland provides social, educational and activity groups for people with long‐term mental illness living in rural communities, using local venues, with the aim to support them into using mainstream leisure and education services, and into employment.
Opening doors for young people
Authors: Devlin Ciara
Published: August 2011

The Junction is a unique mental health service for young people between the ages of 18 and 25 ‐ a social outlet that provides opportunities not only to meet new friends, but also to develop new skills that could support entry into training and employment. Ciara Devlin, Karen McElligott and Justin O'Neill describe what if offers, and the benefits reported by young people.
Enabling mental health through social and cultural inclusion
Authors: Clare Alicia , Collier Elizabeth , Higgin Steven
Published: August 2011

blueSCI is a not‐for‐profit organisation based in Trafford that aims to enable good mental health through facilitating progress towards personal goals and development for people in the local community. Alicia Clare, Elizabeth Collier and Steven Higgin describe this inclusive, person‐centred, recovery‐oriented service that has emerged from a boundary‐breaking partnership between a mental health professional and a professional artist.
Researching the benefits of employment‐related support
Authors: Bray Beatrice
Published: August 2011

Beatrice Bray describes the work of the Mental Health and Employment Research Network ‐ a UK collaboration of organisations determined to address the lack of a research evidence base on which to build effective employment support initiatives for people with mental health problems.
Supporting employers
Authors: Frost Richard
Published: August 2011

Work‐related support is not just about the person experiencing mental ill health. Richard Frost explains how MINDFUL EMPLOYER™ provides an innovative approach towards helping employers retain staff.
Policy and action
Authors: Hill Sarah
Published: August 2011

Sarah Hill introduces a new, regular section from the National Social Inclusion Programme (NSIP) on policy developments and best practice in social inclusion and mental health.
Stay well — stay working
Authors: Edmonds Vicky , Neumann Anton
Published: August 2011

Earlier this year Richmond Fellowship launched its new RETAIN job retention service for people with mental health problems. Vicky Edmonds and Anton Neumann describe why the service was developed, and how it aims to help people experiencing difficulties at work.
With Art in Mind
Authors: Stickley Theo , Merryweather Willow , Leighton Paul
Published: August 2011

Based in a deprived inner city area in Nottingham, Art in Mind aims to improve individual health and well‐being and to raise mental health awareness by encouraging self‐expression through the arts and participation in community activities. Theo Stickley, Willow Merryweather and Paul Leighton describe the power of the arts to change minds and lives.
Opportunities for transformation
Authors: Di Francesco Franco , Gourlay Tom
Published: August 2011

Franco Di Francesco and Tom Gourlay describe the process of changing Hastings Resource Centre from a traditional mental health day centre to a modernised community resource centre, and the ongoing challenges of adopting a ‘wellbeing approach’ and working towards a resource that promotes well‐being more generally within the local community.
Business minds
Authors: Fitch Chris , Anderson Stu , Kinross Vyvyan , Joyce Lionel , Cormack Drew
Published: August 2011

Can mainstream business advice agencies on the high street help people with mental health problems set up their own enterprises? The Business Minds demonstration project in Newcastle aimed to find out. Chris Fitch, Stu Anderson, Vyvyan Kinross, Lionel Joyce and Drew Cormack report.
Policy and action
Authors: Hill Sarah
Published: August 2011

Sarah Hill outlines project developments and new reports linked with the National Social Inclusion Programme
Where there's life, there's hope
Authors: Bucknall John
Published: August 2011

John Bucknall was a heroin addict for over 10 years until he woke up one day and decided to check himself into a rehab clinic. Today he is the commissioning manager in a voluntary sector drug and alcohol service for children and young people. Here he describes how he clawed his way out of addiction, and why we need to invest in drug and alcohol prevention services so that more lives are not wasted.
Co‐production, time banks and mental health
Authors: Reed Zoë , Belinda Belinda
Published: August 2011

Zoë K. Reed, with Bee Harries, describes the role and potential of time banks to contribute to social inclusion and people's recovery from mental illness.
Thinking big: mental health at the heart of the equalities agenda
Authors: Sayce Liz
Published: August 2011

We have put social inclusion at the heart of the mental health agenda, but we should be more ambitious, argues Liz Sayce: we should be putting mental health at the heart of the equalities, human rights and disabilities agenda.
Finding our place in the world
Authors: Knowles Barbara
Published: August 2011

Barbara Knowles describes how she came to be involved in The Well, an arts co‐operative in Norwich founded and run by people with experience of mental health problems.
Social inclusion: what psychiatrists can do about it
Authors: Gleeson Stefan , Kingdon David
Published: August 2011

Stefan Gleeson and David Kingdon suggest practical steps that psychiatrists can take to promote a socially inclusive and better quality of life for their patients.
The Speakers Bureau: a voice in the media
Authors: Furner Ben
Published: August 2011

The Shift Speakers Bureau is a volunteer databank of around 40 people with mental health conditions or carers who can provide interviews and talk to the media about issues related to living with mental distress. The Bureau aims to increase understanding around mental health and to reduce stigma and discrimination. Training is provided to all speakers as well as preparation for the fact that the media may not take a positive slant. Speakers have built up their own links with local media and, for some, the Bureau has become an important part of their well‐being strategy.
Modernising day and employment services in South Essex: the role of service user researchers
Authors: Secker Jenny , Tebbs Mark
Published: August 2011

A year‐long review of services was carried out in South Essex by local authority and primary care trust commissioners to help inform future commissioning plans. The review included a focus group to consult service users, carers, project staff and referrers across the area. This was undertaken by SE‐SURG, a group of current and former service users who carry out research and consultation work for mental health service commissioners and providers. The results of the consultation are presented here, particularly in relation to the strengths and limitations of current services, service user aspirations and staff expectations.
Mental illness: A parent's perspective
Authors: Jackson Lillian
Published: August 2011

Lillian Jackson details her daughter's experience of illness, and her own trials and tribulations as a carer in finding her daughter the support that she needs.
By name, by nature: the Oasis Cafe
Authors: Dixon Sue , Rowe Vanessa , Seebohm Patience , Baker Marjorie , Lee Stephen
Published: August 2011

Every hospital has a cafe; most of us will have used one to wait for, or recover from, some ordeal. Those who know the Oasis say that this is a hospital cafe with a difference: it doesn't feel like it is in a hospital. They speak of the welcoming, peaceful atmosphere, the high quality of its fare and ambience, and the way it generates enterprise and opportunity for people with past or present mental health problems. In this article we want to share how the cafe came about, what people say about it and what we think the future holds.
In the driving seat: community development and social inclusion
Authors: Seebohm Patience , Gilchrist Alison , Morris David
Published: August 2011

It is obvious to many, but unproven to others, that community development has a positive impact on the mental health and well‐being of those who are touched by it. In our recent study, Connect and Include (Seebohm & Gilchrist, 2008), we found strong evidence that individuals, groups and communities can benefit from the community development process. Positive outcomes included greater democracy and social justice, but in this article we focus on the contribution of community development to social inclusion and the benefits to mental health.
Me and them
Authors: Butterworth Roger
Published: August 2011

This poem was inspired by my work with service users from Mind in the Vale, in Glamorgan, south Wales and contains several examples of their lived experience, thoughts and feelings. I felt that a poem captured more vividly their rejections by society and why they have settled, often for the protection of the ‘mental health ghetto’, even if it is a form of apartheid.
Beat the Blues — a self‐help group for parents experiencing postnatal depression
Authors: Tyldesley Rose , Phillips Linda
Published: August 2011

Beat the Blues is a support group in Stockport providing information and support to anyone who thinks that they may be suffering from postnatal depression. Set up and run by a group of mothers who have lived with postnatal depression, the group offers a range of different activities and an opportunity to talk to others who feel the same. This article describes how the group was developed using a community development approach, and Rose Tyldesley describes her role as a community development worker in facilitating this. Linda Phillips describes how she got involved in group as a committee member, and what the group has meant for her.
The Care Programme Approach and adult learning
Authors: Law Caroline
Published: August 2011

There is general consensus that taking up adult learning is good for mental health. For people experiencing mental health difficulties, taking up learning enhances social inclusion. Learning helps people gain new skills, become more employable, meet new people and grow in confidence. It can also be an exhilarating experience that aids the recovery process. So why are so many people who are experiencing mental health difficulties still missing out on learning opportunities?
Lifting Barriers: African and Caribbean people tell their stories
Authors: Muhxinga Zhenreenah , Douglas Corrine , Francis David , Laville Mark , Millin Sidney , Pamfield Juliana , Smith Peter , Smith Raymond
Published: August 2011

A group of African and Caribbean people decided to tell mental health workers and others in east London about their struggles to achieve mental health. They wanted to show that black people with mental health problems are individuals, with different histories and different talents. They wanted to show that it is possible for African and Caribbean service users to rebuild their lives after a mental health crisis and even after years in and out of hospital. In this article, Zhenreenah Muhxinga describes how they produced a book of stories to challenge the familiar assumption that recovery is not an option for black people.
The Employment and Well‐being Project
Authors: O'Neill Emer , Proto Hannah
Published: August 2011

Depression interferes with your life; it robs you of joy and can steal your dreams, hopes and aspirations. When it grips hold of your life, it can make you doubt your ability to do all the things you know you can do when you are well, such as your job, maintaining your relationships, or simply having fun.
Voices of survival
Authors: Sorribes Júlia , Ruthen Phil , Jenner Simon , Richards Sally , Mann Steve
Published: August 2011

Survivors' Poetry was established in 1991 by four major poets who had first‐hand experience of the mental health system. The current CEO of Survivors' Poetry, Simon Jenner, describes the national charity's main aim as promoting poetry and associated literary arts ‘by and for survivors of mental distress’ and to play a part in enabling recovery. There is an array of oppportunities available to publish new poetry and prose, attend workshops, perform at public readings, join the National Mentoring Scheme and a moderated online community of writers and artists.Even today, the overwhelming majority of staff, volunteer workers, advisors and trustees come from a survivor background. As such, Survivors' Poetry is in a unique position to support people who seek emotional and mental stability through imaginatively expressed language transformed from traumatic experiences. Survivors' Poetry actively supports and promotes the linguistic talent that many survivors bring from insight into their own circumstances and those of others.
Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service — survivor‐led philosophy in action
Authors: Venner Fiona
Published: August 2011

Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service was set up in 1999 by a group of service users, who had campaigned for five years to develop the service. We were set up to be a place of sanctuary – an alternative to hospital admission and statutory services for people in acute mental health crisis. The service was established, and continues to be governed, managed and staffed by people with direct experience of mental health problems. We have our own unique perspectives on what it feels like to be in crisis, and what helps and doesn't help. We have developed our service based on this knowledge and experience, while responding to the needs articulated by our visitors and callers.
The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival ‐ promoting social change through the arts
Authors: Clarke Pamela , Knifton Lee
Published: August 2011

Now in its third year, The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is fast becoming a significant cultural annual event, which aims to achieve social change through the arts. Through innovative programming of arts events, the Festival explores the relationship between mental health and creativity, celebrates the artistic achievements of people with experience of mental health issues, and promotes positive mental health and well‐being. It aims to promote the rights and recovery of people who experience mental ill health, while exploring mental health and inequalities that affect us all. The multi‐arts Festival focuses on audiences' existing interests in film, theatre, comedy, music, literature and visual arts to tackle stigma and engage people.
The innovative role of user‐led organisations
Authors: Munn‐Giddings Carol , Boyce Melanie , Smith Lesley , Campbell Sarah
Published: August 2011

This article gives an overview and selected findings from a study funded by the Mental Health Foundation in 2007, which was collaboratively carried out by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University and two freelance researchers. The research team included members with direct and indirect experience of mental distress. The findings add to our knowledge of an under‐studied part of the voluntary sector: organisations run for and by people who share the same health or social condition. The reported study explored and identified the innovative organisational features and funding arrangements of four mental health user‐led organisations, as well as assessing service users' perceptions of the role that such organisations play in promoting social inclusion and recovery from their mental health problems.
Riverscross: a soap opera
Authors: Blazey David
Published: August 2011

As part of their provision for children and adolescents, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provides acute and elective inpatient and day patient care for young people aged between 12 and 18 years at the Snowsfields Unit at Guy's Hospital. An important aspect of the unit's work consists of supporting young people to continue their engagement with education, and a curriculum is provided by the Bethlem and Maudsley School that focuses on positive re‐engagement with self, others and, by extension, with mainstream education. There is a strong cross‐curricular emphasis on personal, social, health, emotional literacy and creative education, alongside the consolidation of basic skills for living (literacy, numeracy, ICT and life skills).
Voices for change ‐ involving BME groups in commissioning mental health services
Authors: Bhat Sasha , Kaur Kulvinder , Kauser Shabana
Published: August 2011

In this article, Sasha Bhat describes a project in Bradford set up to improve mental health services by researching and designing better systems for involving black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in commissioning. Two members of the project, Kulvinder Kaur and Shabana Kauser, describe their reasons for joining, what they got out of it and what they hope will come out of it.
The National Day Services Modernisation Network
Authors: Taylor Ben
Published: August 2011

The National Day Services Modernisation Network was launched in January 2009 and is a collaboration between the Inclusion Institute (taking on the role previously held by the National Social Inclusion Programme), Mind, Rethink and Richmond Fellowship. The Network came about in recognition that many of those involved in modernising mental health day services were struggling with the same issues, often in isolation, and that there was a need for a forum to discuss and develop approaches to these issues.
Survivors' history
Authors: Campbell Peter , Roberts Andrew
Published: August 2011

Veterans of the user‐survivor movement, Peter Campbell and Andrew Roberts, profile the Survivors' History Group, a network of approximately 100 members across the UK and Ireland, who believe that the history of individual and collective action by service users/survivors is both interesting and important, and worthy of preservation.
A ‘homecoming’ for arts in mental health
Authors: White Mike
Published: August 2011

This article considers how participatory arts programmes within mental health services can contribute to the challenging agenda of improving both individuals' well‐being and helping a community to flourish. Health services and other statutory bodies supporting this work, however, need to understand the potential of the arts to be a transformational force and not just an instrumental tool for therapeutic diversion. Patient demand for creative activity as an integral part of care plans can help this pioneering field of arts practice to develop influentially within mainstream services, however, we need to think beyond an individual therapy model to one of social integration in which everyone can feel ‘at home’.
There needs to be change
Authors: Joof Brian
Published: August 2011

Brian Joof, a young man of West African origin who has experienced and overcome long‐term mental health problems, describes his recovery process, during the course of which he has experienced the additional challenges of migration, racism, homelessness, drugs, prison and long‐term unemployment. Brian tells us how he has overcome each of these difficulties in turn to build an increasingly full and satisfying life for himself.
The challenge and the choice ‐ providing evidence‐based employment support within mental health services
Authors: Riley Terence
Published: August 2011

Commissioners of adult health and social care services in the London Borough of Camden are keen to see the spread of evidence‐based practices in mental health and employment services. Jobs in Mind, a trusted third sector provider already delivering employment support services in the borough since 1999, was uniquely placed to expand its service delivery into a partnership with the local NHS trust to deliver an innovative individual placement and support (IPS) pilot. A Life in the Day went to Camden to find out how it is going.
Recovery heroes ‐ a profile of Gordon McManus
Authors: McManus Gordon , Morgan Sarah , Fradgley Jane , Carson Jerome
Published: August 2011

The influential Sainsbury Centre report, Making Recovery a Reality (Shepherd et al, 2008), talks about clinical and social aspects of recovery. The issue of psychological recovery is not discussed at length, although other workers have put forward a psychological model of recovery (Andresen et al, 2003). While there are numerous definitions of recovery, the one developed by Gordon, the focus of this profile, is unlikely to be matched for its parsimony. Gordon describes recovery as ‘coping with your illness and trying to have a meaningful life’ (McManus, 2008). In this paper, he outlines his background. He is then interviewed by Sarah Morgan about his life, illness and recovery. Finally, Jerome gives an appreciation of his contribution to our developing understanding of recovery.
Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health
Authors: Wain Barbara
Published: August 2011

I am proud to be known as an expert by experience in recovery from mental distress, but I am also a co‐founder and director of a multi‐award winning, peer‐led charity called Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health. In the 1980s, after experiencing my third breakdown, I was an extremely angry person because of the lack of cross‐sector service provision to assist me in becoming whole again. Thankfully I used my rage to develop, along with my co‐founder Dave Wheat, our Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health services to meet the needs of those in mental distress. Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health provides person‐focused, recovery‐rooted services that aim to promote recovery, enabling people to become contributing members of society again. This is the history of Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health, our achievements and the challenges that we have faced in developing the services that we provide today.
Reluctant conscripts? Service users' experiences of vocational service modernisation
Authors: Bird Helen , Huxley Ursula , Ring Chris
Published: August 2011

Helen Bird and colleagues report on a small‐scale research project completed in west Yorkshire that examined the effects of the closure of a traditional sheltered workshop on those who attended. The closure was contentious, and the report questions the centrality accorded to ‘social exclusion’ as a central feature of current policy and practice. They argue for a more nuanced approach, which reflects both service users' actual preferences and current social realities.