bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Useful Mental Health Websites
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

The Internet is becoming a feature of our lives. About six million people in the UK are connected to the Net and the number is growing. We are increasingly using it to talk to each other, buy goods and services, publicise our organisations and activities, gather information or simply idle away hours pottering in cyberspace. Internet cafes are now everywhere. Politicians drone on about e‐commerce. The future is webshaped and there is probably no escape. The Network page looks at some of the more interesting sites for readers of A life in the day.
The Minimum Wage on Therapeutic Earnings? How about selfemployment?
Authors: Scott Judy
Published: August 2011

Are people on the therapeutic earnings concession entitled to the minimum wage? Yes, says the legislation, they might be; or they might not; it depends. So how can an employment project which is subject to the Act offer realistic work opportunities? The £15 disregard limits paid work to a maximum of 4 hours and 10 minutes a week!The National Minimum Wage Team at the Department of Trade and Industry offer advice as to when and where the Act is likely to apply. They warn that where uncertainty exists tribunals and courts may decide.Self‐employed people are however exempt. If your project is risking falling foul of the Act, or is languishing in the past with a ‘patients’ attendance allowance, now may be the time to strike out and look for a new model. Three work projects have kindly provided some interesting examples for you to consider.
Strategies for Living
Authors: Faulkner Alison
Published: August 2011

On the 13 March 2000 the Mental Health Foundation launched a groundbreaking report based on a three‐year investigation of the ways in which people with mental health problems manage their own mental health. The project was funded by the National Lottery Charities Board.
Writing therapy to writer…
Authors: Bates Peter
Published: August 2011

Many day centres run creative writing groups as a therapeutic exercise. Sadly, few of the staff involved have thought through how participants could make the transition from writing for therapy to participating in the wider community as a person who loves reading and writing. People who have used mental health services could utilise their writing as a means to develop contact and build friendship with people in the wider community who have had no prior contact with mental health services. Here is a collection of ideas about how that transition could be made.
Benefits flexibility pilots — a chance to put the arguments to the test
Authors: Scott Judy
Published: August 2011

The arguments about loosening up the benefits system to allow disabled people to work and retain more of their benefits need testing and evaluation in practice if they are ever to be resolved. The Government's encouragement of area based initiatives to help improve the health and wealth of deprived communities provide an opportunity to do just this. The scheme below is just one idea that is being put forward. A life in the day would welcome news of others.
User networks
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In this issue we include profiles from two organisations run by and representing services users. The European Network of (ex‐) Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP) works at a European and international policy‐making level, seeking better mental health services and enhanced user participation. Their profile describes their activities, but also touches on the historical development of user participation and what the terms ‘user’ and ‘survivor’ mean to them. Closer to home, North Staffordshire's User Group has been working vigorously and successfully since 1993 to improve the quality of mental health services, helping to shape the development of new community‐based education, training and employment services. Both networks are playing a key role in developing better work and day‐time opportunities.
The Aberdeen 50/50 approach to service development and commissioning
Authors: Hughes Rob
Published: August 2011

A quiet but exciting revolution has been going on in Aberdeen for the past two years. At its heart has been a shift in the balance of power between users of mental health services, commissioners and professionals. Rob Hughes describes the process ‐ how it started, what happened along the way, and also offer some thoughts on the lessons to be learned for the future.
The Palace
Authors: Allard Simon
Published: August 2011

From time to time A life in the day gets a ‘snippet’ of information about a project or development that is only just under way or about to happen and which we think our readers should know about at an early stage. One such project is ‘The Palace’ ‐ an ambitious contribution to community development by a user/survivor‐managed organisation from the London Borough of Newham, the Independent Newham Users' Forum (INUF). At the time of writing there are a few legal loose ends that need to be tied up, as is the nature of finalising such property transactions. However, since it is such an inspiring idea we thought that readers might want to be told about the project soon enough in order to offer encouragement and practical support to this innovative user/survivor initiative in its formative stages.
Working for individual choice
Authors: Graham Cecil
Published: August 2011

Cecil Graham, Chief Executive of Action Mental Health in Northern Ireland, describes one organisation's attempts to bring more lateral thinking into providing work and training programmes for people with mental ill health. Action Mental Health, under its previous name ITO, has long been an established part of the mental health scene in the Province. Over the past few years it has faced up to the challenge of modernising its services to meet user aspirations and, more ambitiously, has tried to change the way mental illness is perceived by the whole community. This is the story so far…
What sort of ‘support’ in employment?
Authors: Perkins Rachel , Evenson Erik , Lucas Shareen , Harding Emma
Published: August 2011

Despite a growing amount of literature concerning the success of supported employment initiatives in enabling people with mental health problems to work successfully in open employment (Bond et al, 1997), less attention has been paid to the type of support people might require. Rachel Perkins and her colleagues explore this issue from the perspective of the Pathfinder User Employment project. (See An act to follow, in: A life in the day 2 (1) 1998.)
Snapshots from the East
Authors: Nica Raluca , Rjabova Olga
Published: August 2011

As the European Union (EU) looks east for further expansion, we in the UK will need to form partnerships with organisations in the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe in order to access EU development and innovation funds. We also have much to learn from people who have struggled to manage the transition from communism and the command economy. In the west we tend to view mental health service developments in Eastern Europe as a form of ‘catching up’. However, we should not make assumptions or be complacent. Those working for reform inside the system have been tempered in the fires of adversity and exchanges of information, ideas and friendship have been mutually rewarding for UK organisations with the vision and the humility to engage. Raluca Nica is Executive Director of the Romanian League for Mental Health. Olga Rjabova is Executive Director of the Nevsky Clubhouse in St Petersburg. Both have worked with UK organisations and are keen to go on sharing their experience with people from the UK on a partnership basis. Here are snapshots of their work.
Getting in touch with employers
Authors: Pistell Bernard
Published: August 2011

The first working day of this millennium year was a landmark event for Milton Keynes MIND when the Mental Health ‐ Employers' Roadshow was launched at the new Milton Keynes Theatre. The event, attended by health service officials, local Members of Parliament, the Mayor of Milton Keynes and other councillors and council officials, marked the beginning of a year long process aimed at raising awareness of employment related mental health issues among employers and their representatives. The project was funded by the National Lottery Millennium Fund.
Social inclusion ‐‐ a framework for evaluation
Authors: Bates Peter , Repper Julie
Published: August 2011

The concept of ‘social inclusion’ has become shorthand for all kinds of desirable service outcomes, but what does it actually mean? Can it be deconstructed in to component parts and measured? In this article Peter Bates and Julie Repper have made a start at addressing these issues and are looking to carry forward the discussion through the Social Inclusion Research Network, featured in A life in the day 5.1.
Online information and the Survivor Research Network
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In this issue we include profiles of the Ermis database, now available on the net, and the Survivor Research Network. Many of you will already be familiar with Ermis which has for a number of years been providing invaluable information on who's doing what and where in the field of employment and disability, both in the UK and abroad. If you haven't encountered Ermis before, it's well worth a visit to their site. The Survivor Research Network is a user‐led programme that aims to support and promote research led by people with personal experience of mental health problems, and is part of the Mental Health Foundation's Strategies for Living Project.
Poverty, social exclusion and mental health: A survey of people's personal experiences
Authors: Bird Lisa
Published: August 2011

Focus on Mental Health is a UK forum which was formed in 1993. It consists of representatives of leading UK mental health groups, who work together on common objectives. In 2000/2001, Focus was funded by the Department for Education and Employment to carry out a programme of work looking at issues around poverty and mental health. This paper will focus on the results of a survey of people's personal experiences of mental health problems and living on a low income led by a sub‐group of Focus members.
Fragments: A book from new writers in Aberdeen
Authors: Strathearn David
Published: August 2011

In this snippet David Strathearn reports on an unlikely outcome of the closure of an industrial therapy unit. Other exciting aspects of the transformations that have been going on in Aberdeen are described in issue 4.4.
Practice makes perfect
Authors: Hathaway Paul
Published: August 2011

People often say that working to expand opportunities in rural areas is one of the greatest challenges faced by mental health services. Paul Hathaway describes a uniquely individualised way of working that enables service users to participate in and contribute to the communities in which they live, while at the same time improving their skills and employability.
Making it work in Romania: Mental Health NGOs develop their marketing strategies
Authors: Cutler Paul , Shears Jane
Published: August 2011

This article describes the partnership between Hamlet Trust and Romanian mental health NGOs to develop local marketing strategies. All the NGOs are seeking to create employment opportunities for their members whilst raising sustainable independent revenue to fund their activities. The article explores some of the lessons learnt over the last year and identifies some pointers for the future.
Out of touch with reality: Benefits system or psychotic illness?
Authors: Webster Andrew
Published: August 2011

Andrew Webster is a writer and innovator with a special interest in increasing employment opportunities for people with mental health problems. He was for many years Director of the charity Talent to Work and now works freelance as an adviser to Government and agencies involved in delivering services to disabled people. In this article he contrasts his own first experience of the benefits system with a more recent episode. The lessons he draws from differences contain important messages for those responsible for managing the welfare system.
Workplace assessment for people with mental health issues
Authors: Chapman Jenny
Published: August 2011

Jenny Chapman is a practitioner, consultant and lecturer in vocational rehabilitation, and has extensive experience of rehabilitation, training and service management in Australia and the UK. Continuing our occasional series on lessons from other countries we asked Jenny to give an account of some aspects of a very successful programme in which she worked for a number of years. The Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service (CRS) in Australia, where Jenny gained her experience in vocational rehabilitation, continue to provide effective ‘return to work’ programmes for disabled people. The use of methods such as workplace assessment is one reason why Australia is extremely successful in return to work and placement rates.
Private lives
Authors: O'Sullivan Chris
Published: August 2011

Chris O'Sullivan uses his own experiences to make some important points about the needs of people with mental health problems in higher education.
Special interest networks
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In this issue we include profiles of one regional and three national networks. SWEMPNET is a network of practitioners in the south west aiming to promote good practice in employment and mental health provision. RuralMinds focuses on the mental health needs of those living in rural areas. We also provide updates on two networks profiled in previous issues ‐ the Mental Health Employment Research Network and Skill's Mental Health Special Interest Group.
Friendship, intimacy and sexuality among persons with serious mental illness
Authors: Rich Nan , Whetstone William , Lowson David
Published: August 2011

Genuinely user‐centred mental health services claim to respond to the wants and aspirations of people with mental health problems. Surveys of service users' wants show that they are much like those of the rest of us ‐ a decent home, a reasonable income, a good social life and activity we find meaningful. However, mental health service users' wants in terms of sexual expression, romance and parenthood are in practice ignored, or seen purely as ‘problems’. We reprint here an article from the States that starts to explore positive ways to respond to the aspirations of service users.
Trumpeting volunteers
Authors: Munday Trevor
Published: August 2011

The words ‘meaningful occupation’ have been used and abused in official documents and journals but it is rare that anyone ever says what they mean. We are not going to attempt a definition ‐ far better to illustrate in narrative form the kinds of relationships that give meaning to work and to life. Following the theme of other articles in this edition of the journal, Trevor Munday gives a first‐hand account of why what he does is meaningful to him and the other people in his life.
Bridging those troubled waters
Authors: Hutchison Mo
Published: August 2011

Many people who have even a short period in hospital through mental illness lose their jobs. In one Bristol hospital, a survey showed that about 80% of people who had jobs on admission were unemployed a year later.1 This was not necessarily because they stayed in hospital for a long time. Most were never asked whether their job was being kept open for them, and it was just assumed by hospital staff that supporting a return to work or talking to employers about their employee's chances of recovery was not part of the job. Mo Hutchison gives a first hand account of her own recent experiences and her own unique "back to work" strategy, designed and tested by herself with some much‐valued help — and not a little scepticism from the hospital staff.
Foundation for Employment and Further Education: Course at Bridgend College to help people with enduring mental illness
Authors: Davies Huw , Davies Bob , Davies Stephen , Moule Diana
Published: August 2011

There is more to life and personal development than work — although it is sometimes hard to persuade funders of this fact. This article traces the development of a supported education initiative and demonstrates how effective such programmes can be in improving peoples' lives.
Your Flexible Friend: Finance Schemes in Mental Health
Authors: Pritlove Jeremy
Published: August 2011

It has often been said, as a sort of joke, that everyone would be better off if day services were closed and the money given directly to service users to spend on themselves. The schemes described in this article take the principle of direct payments very seriously and show practical ways of overcoming at least part of the poverty trap that mental health service users often find themselves in.
Editorial
Authors: Grove Bob
Published: August 2011

I was at a meeting recently to discuss priorities around mental health promotion and social inclusion. It quickly became clear that there were two ‘camps’ in the room. One was keen to see that mental health promotion activities engaged with the mental wellbeing of the whole population ‐ not just the needs of people who have a diagnosed mental health problem.
Creativity and change from closure of services
Authors: O'Neil Emer
Published: August 2011

Emer O'Neil describes the development of the Reading Mental Health Resource Centre ‐ a collaboration between mental health service users and a range of local agencies who do not work primarily in the mental health field. Modernising day services in a way that puts enabling the recovery process at the centre of service delivery is the biggest challenge facing mental health services today. The story of MHRC will offer ideas and inspiration for all who are embarking on this exciting but daunting journey.
Dealing with the Personal Capability Assessment
Authors: Scott Judy , Moreau Tamara
Published: August 2011

Judy Scott and Tamara Moreau report on an innovative way of reducing the stress of dealing with the Personal Capability Assessment for people with severe mental health problems who should be exempt.
Coming back to life but not to work: Reflections on the unchanging experience of being an in‐patient
Authors: Hutchison Mo
Published: August 2011

This article is a reflection on the benefits of returning to work. Yet despite those benefits, the author, in describing her personal experience, suggests that not enough is being done to help people back into employment
Escaping boundaries
Authors: Harding Emma
Published: August 2011

Holidays can be learning experiences, too…! Emma Harding decribes how her holiday with a ‘client’ caused her to re‐evaluate her perceptions of their relationship to the benefit of both of them.
Travelling hopefully: reflections on A Life in the Day
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

Adam has been an editorial board member from the beginning and is also compiler of the journal's Network page. He looks back and reflects on how mental health and employment services have changed over the last decade.
From exclusion to inclusion ‐‐ or vice versa?
Authors: Sayce Liz
Published: August 2011

Liz offers some reflections on the twists and turns of the political anti‐discrimination agenda during the past five years.
On the way to work: a vocational training project for people with mental health problems
Authors: McGilloway Sinéad , Donnelly Michael
Published: August 2011

An evaluation of the impact on participants' health and wellbeing of a vocational training programme in Northern Ireland begun under the European Union's Horizon initiative.
Reflections on changes to the benefits system, 1997 to 2002
Authors: Scott Judy
Published: August 2011

Is the path back to work paved with incentives? Reflecting on the last five years, Judy, an editorial board member and the regular compiler of the journal's Benefits page, suggests that although improvements have been made, those returning to work after a period of ill health still have to follow a bumpy road.
Employment: ‘too much, the wrong sort, or none at all’
Authors: Bertram Mark
Published: August 2011

It has been said that the trouble with employment is that it offers ‘too much, the wrong sort, or none at all’. Mark suggests that far from relying on ‘rocket science’ the first step towards improving services in the employment field is to explore the insights of people using them.
Double trouble ‐ reflections on the experience of ‘dual diagnosis’
Authors: Webster Andrew
Published: August 2011

Andrew Webster is a regular contributor to A Life in the Day. His personal reflections concern his changing understanding of the relationship between his own alcoholism and mental health problems over the last five years. He suggests that physicians need to understand why both conditions need to be treated for either to improve.
What's new?
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

Many readers will have heard the acronym NIMHE being bandied around and we provide a short profile of this new government agency. Next, Direct Payments are little used, but may offer significant potential for giving recipients of day services more control over the services they receive. Unlocking Potential is a network of mental health service users, aiming to provide a mental health employment service ‐ designed and delivered by service users. The Community Fund is a familiar ‘friend’ to many voluntary sector agencies and we offer a few pointers for those familiar with or new to the fund. Finally, we bring to your attention some new publications which may be of interest.
A pathway to employment
Authors: Fenwick Pete
Published: August 2011

The Making Space ‘Options’ scheme in Stafford works with adults who experience mental health needs and aims to support them in accessing leisure, education and employment. Pete Fenwick, day services co‐ordinator with the scheme, reports on an Employment Log Book which has been developed to help people keep track of their aspirations and progress.
Voluntary work benefits mental health
Authors: Clark Sherry
Published: August 2011

Sherry Clark, Development Officer, Mental Health at the National Centre for Volunteering, reports the findings from her recent survey amongst people with mental health issues who had taken up voluntary work. The survey found that 66% of the 120 respondents volunteered on a weekly basis, nearly 75% said that the organisation where they volunteered offered valuable support and 81% felt that volunteering had made a positive impact on their mental health.
Core Arts ‐ a labour of love
Authors: Austin Tracey
Published: August 2011

Tracey Austin, trustee, Core Arts, grapples with the task of describing an arts project that manages to engage with and inspire a very diverse population. Despite funding difficulties the project finds room not only to welcome all its members, but also to draw out creative potential and to support participants, volunteers and staff in dealing with whatever life brings along. This article will make you wonder about what turns an ordinary project into an extraordinary one like Core Arts.
Football for fun
Authors: Danforth Jane
Published: August 2011

Sport is a big deal in our society. It makes some people millionaires, promotes personal fitness and well‐being for participants and gives everyone a topic of conversation. Jane Danforth describes a partnership between several organisations that has led to football and more.
Hidden Skills, Hidden Talents
Authors: Seebohm Patience
Published: August 2011

During a consultation with Black and minority ethnic communities in 2002, some 300 people shared their ideas and experiences about how Black and minority ethnic people with mental health problems fare in the employment market. Everyone is encouraged to combat racism by rejecting low expectations and harnessing hidden talents.
Crossing the great employment divide: from service user to service user development worker
Authors: Relton Peter
Published: August 2011

Peter Relton is employed as a service user development worker in the Bradford Home Treatment Team. His job is to challenge and develop the team ‐ to bring his insights and perspectives to bear on the way they do their work. While some ‘user workers’ operate from a position somewhat apart from the local team, Peter describes an approach that has the potential to knit a service user perspective right into the fabric of mental health services.
Physical activity and mental health
Authors: Crone Diane
Published: August 2011

With strong evidence to show that most of us feel mentally better if we take exercise, there's clearly a positive relationship between physical activity and mental health ‐ but what's responsible for it? In this article, Diane Crone summarises the theories that have been developed by researchers to explain how it works. She then reviews the research that has asked exercisers for their own opinions about what makes the difference for them and concludes with some practical advice for people using or providing exercise opportunities.
Network page
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In this issue, we profile two agencies which help individuals with mental health problems participate in the wider community and build relationships with people who do not use mental health services ‐ Mainstream in Liverpool and CAPE in the London Borough of Ealing. We also draw your attention to a new email list and a number of important new publications.
Experience of the first two years of a social firm
Authors: Novák Pavel , Lintymerová Kateřina , Praha Fokus
Published: August 2011

The city of Prague has become a popular tourist attraction in recent years, and many people will also recall the disastrous floods that submerged part of the city in the summer of 2002. There is another story that is worth telling: the history of Fokus and its mental health work that has burgeoned since the Velvet Revolution of 1989. People at Fokus seem to have an insatiable appetite for development and are constantly learning, adapting and innovating. Here, Pavel Novák and Kateřina Lintymerová describe some of the progress that has been made over the past two years, and take time to reflect on what they have learned.
‘It made me feel better about myself’
Authors: Irving Gwen , Flockton Andy , Webster Steve
Published: August 2011

In Hull, staff in the mental health service have established a link with colleagues at the university and worked together to make a qualitative evaluation of a sports group for mental health service users ‐ the Sport in the Community programme. Their findings reveal that a substantial level of organisational commitment is required to make the most of the opportunity.
Fit for Life
Authors: Summers Emily , Moss Rachel
Published: August 2011

Emily Summers has been project leader of Fit for Life for three months, during which time she has helped clients to access a wide range of activities, from yoga to astronomy. Emily introduces the project, and Rachel Moss describes her experience of Fit for Life from a mental health service user's perspective.
The Work Support Course: preparing for employment
Authors: Egan Jennifer , Behan Steve
Published: August 2011

Span is a training centre for people who have experienced mental health difficulties. It provides people with the opportunity to learn practical skills and gain qualifications, build their confidence and self‐esteem, and meet others who share similar experiences. This paper describes one of the courses run at the centre.
Network page
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

Programmes offering support for individuals with mental health problems to run their own businesses are still rare, yet self‐employment could be an ideal approach for many people. In this issue we offer profiles of two pan‐disability agencies providing support for individuals to move towards self‐employment and entrepreneurship. Business Ability is a multi‐agency project operating in the south east, offering comprehensive packages of support tailored to each individual's need. East Lancs Into Employment, a charity based in Burnley, also offers a range of support for self‐employment, but with different components. Both agencies are working successfully with individuals with mental health problems and business survival rates are good. Usefully, these agencies have been able to identify critical success factors for working with this group, which may be of particular interest to A Life in the Day readers. We conclude with a book review.
Life on the borderline
Authors: Desmond Laury
Published: August 2011

Laury Desmond describes her personal journey from despairing teenager to self‐harming college student to psychiatric patient. Now she is battling back from the edge to forge a life and career for herself as a writer and activist, determined to change things for others following the same path.
Learning journeys
Authors: Snell Olga
Published: August 2011

Olga Snell reviews a new handbook for tutors and managers in adult education offering information and guidance on supporting people with mental health difficulties.
From caterpillars to butterflies
Authors: Hawkes Hilary
Published: August 2011

Modernising a sheltered workshop into a new, vocational service providing individual placement support was a painful but ultimately rewarding and worthwhile experience for Hilary Hawkes and the service users with whom she works.
Network page
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In this issue we offer profiles of Wakefield JobNet and Catering Plus ‐ both employment initiatives developed by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Wakefield JobNet is an Intermediate Labour Market project offering work experience, skills training and job search support to unemployed people within time‐limited, but paid, employment opportunities. Catering Plus is a social enterprise specifically designed to offer paid employment opportunities but within a more supportive work environment. Both projects are working successfully with individuals with mental health problems but serving individuals with overlapping but different needs. The development of both these models in Wakefield clearly illustrates the need to develop multiple options in each locality.
Payments to service users: what is the solution?
Authors: Heywood Diane
Published: August 2011

The issue of paying people for user involvement activities is one that affects every NHS trust in the country. This is an exploration of how one NHS trust has used the conflicting information from the various agencies to implement a system that meaningfully involves service users in the planning and delivery of services in line with the Department of Health directives on patient and public involvement ‐ and pays them for their work and time.
Day services modernisation and social inclusion
Authors: Davis Fabian , Alder Sue , Jones Phil
Published: August 2011

This article explores some service development practices that help to promote social inclusion through day services modernisation (DSM). It is based on the experiences of one NHS trust that successfully negotiated the transition from segregated, buildings‐based in‐house day care services operating during working hours to ones that are individualised, person‐focused and operate at times and in places used also by the general public, providing individual, person‐to‐person support to enable recovery and quality of life in the wider community. Key to success is the concept of the modern, inclusive day service as a community bridge builder operating across a number of life domains and spanning the mental health/community boundary while retaining strong connections with the rest of the mental health system.
When Channel One met Year 10: using the arts to combat stigma
Authors: Brewer Paul , Moore Kylie , Reid Marlene
Published: August 2011

Surveys of mental health services users consistently report stigma as a major barrier to recovery. Service users from black and other minority ethnic groups, of course, suffer double discrimination. This article describes a pilot project in which service users and staff from two voluntary sector organisations organised an awareness‐raising event for pupils in an inner city school to challenge and inform them about mental illness.
Beyond the sheltered workshop: balancing continuity with change
Authors: Neumann Anton
Published: August 2011

In common with many other agencies, Richmond Fellowship Employment and Training has been grappling with the problem of how to modernise its sheltered workshops to meet the changing employment and training needs of clients. A further complication is how to make these changes while continuing to provide services for people who are unlikely ever to cope with open employment. Anton Neumann describes how RFET is managing this difficult balancing act, and the obstacles they encountered on the way.
Network
Authors: Pozner Adam
Published: August 2011

In the first issue this year (volume 8, issue 1), Network profiled self‐employment support programmes offered by Business Ability and East Lancs into Employment. In this, the final issue of the year, we look at another self‐employment scheme, operated by West Norfolk MIND ‐ one that demonstrates how much can be achieved by seizing local opportunities, despite quite limited resources. Hopefully, the new Phoenix Development Fund monies now available from the Small Business Service (see action point 14 of the Social Exclusion Unit report (www.socialexclusion.gov.uk)) to support further pilot initiatives will give this sector a much‐needed boost … We also profile the new regional maps and networks for learning developed by NIACE in partnership with NIMHE, as well as some new publications that may be of interest to readers.
A life less ordinary: developing an out‐of‐hours inpatient activity programme
Authors: Wildgoose Deborah , Flanagan Peter , Crewe Melanie
Published: August 2011

Lack of therapeutic activities, or simply ‘something to do’ has been widely criticised as a major shortcoming of acute inpatient psychiatric units. Deborah Wildgoose and colleagues describe how one trust introduced a flexible, innovative programme of evening and weekend activities run by sessional workers from outside the mental health services. The programme was devised in consultation with service users and was reported by patients and staff to have reduced the stress of hospital admission and improved the whole ward atmosphere.
All talk: experiencing userled research
Authors: Gillard Steve , Stacey Estelle
Published: August 2011

Steve Gillard and Estelle Stacey of Slough User‐Led Consultation (SULC) describe the particular benefits of people with experience of mental health problems undertaking research if the service users being interviewed are to feel able to talk freely and openly about their views and experiences of services
network
Authors: Bates Peter
Published: August 2011

This month's round‐up of innovative projects that support social inclusion for people with mental health problems is by Peter Bates
Social inclusion through the arts
Authors: Saunders Jo
Published: August 2011

The Old Parcels Office Arts Centre is a community arts‐in‐health project in the heart of Bridlington that aims to promote positive mental health for all through creative activity. Josephine Saunders describes the origins of the project and how it manages to bring together the issues of mental health and social inclusion by opening its doors to all the people of Bridlington, not just people with a diagnosis of mental health problems.
Making it work: service users and professionals as research partners
Authors: Hayward Mark , Ockwell Clare , Bird Tim , Pearce Howard , Parfoot Sheree , Bates Theresa
Published: August 2011

Capital is a user‐led training, consultancy and research organisation based in West Sussex. When the local mental health trust decided to evaluate its assertive outreach team, Capital bid to conduct a qualitative review through one‐to‐one interviews with the team's clients and their carers. In this candid article the project team members describe the process, the hurdles and obstacles they encountered, how they were negotiated or overcome, and what they learned from the experience.
Social inclusion for all? meeting the needs of low secure service users
Authors: Wakefield Rachel , McGrath Noel , Holliday Terence
Published: August 2011

Standard one of the national service framework for mental health (DH, 1999) requires health and social services to promote social inclusion for all. Users of secure services are, arguably, the most excluded of all those in the care of mental health services and thus the most in need of active social inclusion. Yet they are the least able to participate in the community‐based programmes that would help them re‐engage with ordinary living following discharge. In this article Rachel Wakefield and colleagues describe the obstacles they had to overcome to introduce a socially inclusive resettlement programme for service users in the low secure unit where they work.
A ray of hope
Authors: Sharples Josephine
Published: August 2011

Josephine Sharples describes how a creative writing and computer course changed the course of her life
network
Authors: Crone Diane
Published: August 2011

Diane Crone at the University of Gloucestershire has been involved for over a decade in the design, delivery, evaluation and research both of exercise referral schemes and the use of physical activity for people with mental health problems. In this network page, she welcomes the Mental Health Foundation's new Up and Running? campaign that aims to promote exercise as an alternative to medication for treatment for mild and moderate mental health problems, and challenges the leisure industry to open its doors to people with mental health problems.
Horse sense and mental health
Authors: Holland Sue
Published: August 2011

Sue Holland describes a unique project for people with mental health problems from black and minority ethnic communities that aims to support recovery through teaching people how to handle, care for and ride horses.
Friendships as strong as bamboo
Authors: Chan Jason , Wong Wilson , Lee Man , Luu Dien
Published: August 2011

The Yao Yao Social Group was set up three years ago to tackle the social isolation of people from London's Chinese community who have mental health problems. The group provides a safe environment where people can feel comfortable and speak their mother tongue, and participate in a wide range of activities and outings. Jason Chan, Wilson Wong, Man Lee and Dien Luu describe the group and what it means to them.
Partnership in peril
Authors: Bray Beatrice
Published: August 2011

Beatrice Bray relates her battle to regain the life, loves and career she lost when she became ill. She has, she says, finally managed to get the medical care she has always known she needed. Now she wants help to get back into work, and to overcome the stigma that traps her, a qualified journalist, in low skilled occupations.
Stepping Out Theatre Company
Authors: Hennessy Steve
Published: August 2011

Formed in Bristol in 1997, the Stepping Out Theatre Company has produced a wide range of work on mental health themes and is open to people who have used mental health services and their allies. Development worker Steve Hennessy describes how the group developed, its unique ethos, and some lessons it may have to offer those working in the wider field of the arts and mental health.
Making a million
Authors: Bray Beatrice
Published: August 2011

The government's proposals for the reform of Incapacity Benefit offer more stick than carrot to people with long‐term and severe mental health problems, writes Beatrice Bray. Here she explains the proposals and why, contrary to the government's protestations, they fall short of a true vote of confidence in the capacity and capabilities of people with severe and disabling mental health problems.
Through pain and isolation to acceptance
Authors: Williams Shaun , Bertram Mark
Published: August 2011

The importance of employment for people who use mental health services has been highlighted with the release of the Mental Health and Social Exclusion report (SEU, 2004). However, what remains less clear is what this process actually involves for service users and vocational rehabilitation staff. This article describes the process from the perspectives of a person receiving mental health services (Shaun Williams) and someone working in a vocational support role (Mark Bertram). Both accounts highlight how crucial supportive relationships and time are in helping people on their vocational journeys.
A grand day out?
Authors: Mayes Debbie
Published: August 2011

When Debbie Mayes went with a group of arts—loving service users to visit two sculpture parks, their reception could not have been more different. Here she describes what happened, and why the traditionally exclusive arts world needs to do much more to be truly socially inclusive.
Mental health in the mainstream
Authors: Rankin Jennifer
Published: August 2011

Imagine a world where mental health is everybody's business and mental health problems no longer a source of social stigma. Jennifer Rankin believes this isn't an impossible dream and sets out here the government policies and practical steps currently being taken to achieve it.
Don't mention God!
Authors: Gilbert Peter , Watts Natalie
Published: August 2011

For many people with mental health problems, spirituality is an essential part of their recovery. This is something that mental health services are beginning to recognise. Peter Gilbert and Natalie Watts outline the role and aims of the NIMHE spirituality project and the issues it aims to address.
My story
Authors: Laville Mark
Published: August 2011

Mark Laville describes how AKABA, a specialist outreach education and employment support programme for black men with mental health problems, has helped him turn his life around ‐ from homeless, jobless alcoholic and psychiatric patient to community worker and researcher studying for a university qualification.
Travel Matters: from NHS to independent sector
Authors: Lockett Helen , Reynolds Sally , Cobbett Peter
Published: August 2011

Travel Matters, based in Redhill, Surrey, is an independent travel agency offering a wide choice of travel and holidays at competitive prices. As a fully bonded travel agency, it operates in the same way as any high street or business travel agent. But, as Helen Lockett, Sally Reynolds and Peter Cobbett report, ten yeas ago it was one of a number of employment projects run by an NHS trust to provide work experience to service users. Here they describe the long journey towards independence.
Leading by Example
Authors: Bray Beatrice
Published: August 2011

Beatrice Bray reviews Leading by Example, the report from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health on its programme of support for trusts seeking to introduce mental health‐friendly employment polices and procedures.
Creating star wards
Authors: Janner Marion
Published: August 2011

The time and skills of inpatients and staff on acute psychiatric wards could be put to much better use by introducing more activities, says Marion Janner. Here she outlines the Star Wards initiative, and some of its 75 low cost, simple ideas for improving acute inpatients' quality of time.
Everybody's business
Authors: Gilliard Jane
Published: August 2011

Older people with mental health needs are everybody's business, says Jane Gilliard in this article outlining the Department of Health's policy framework for delivering better services to this long‐neglected group.
Enabling the entrepreneur
Authors: Dixon Sue , Holcroft Ann , Scott Judy , Seebohm Patience
Published: August 2011

People who experience mental distress are no less capable than the rest of the community when it comes to starting a business. In this article Patience Seebohm talks to Sue Dixon from the Laughing Buddha Bubble Incubator project and Ann Holcroft from Inspire about their work with people with mental health problems to help them develop their entrepreneurial skills, and Judy Scott adds useful advice about Working Tax Credit for those starting a business.
Putting on a show
Authors: Whitehouse Andy
Published: August 2011

The Circle arts centre in Worksop started out 15 years ago as a small rehearsal and recording facility above a youth club. Today it is significant performance and participatory arts venue, attracting artists from around the world. Enter The Circle and you will discover that the running of the arts centre goes hand in hand with a non‐stigmatised, open access volunteering and work experience opportunity for people with mental health problems and others at risk of exclusion. Andy Whitehouse explains how they have created a safe and supportive, if somewhat hectic, environment where creativity thrives.
Creating inclusive learning opportunities
Authors: Dutton Yanina
Published: August 2011

Yanina Dutton describes the Pathways to Learning and Skills project, which set out to create inclusive and culturally sensitive learning opportunities for adults with mental health difficulties from black and minority ethnic communities.
From risk to recovery
Authors: Smith Peter
Published: August 2011

Peter Smith tells the story of how he battled with cannabis use and his own denial to escape from the ‘twilight zone’ of severe mental health problems, and his work now with local voluntary organisations and mental health services to help others to do so too.
From therapy to vocation
Authors: Bourne Sarah , Hogg Ruth , Whitehouse Nina , Bertram Mark
Published: August 2011

Sarah Bourne and colleagues describe the success of a pilot study to explore whether focused occupational therapy input within a community mental health team could help clients achieve better vocational outcomes. The study found that, with individualised assessment and support, a significant number of people were able to move on to a range of socially inclusive opportunities ‐ although fitting the work into already packed caseloads was a major challenge for the occupational therapists involved.
Supporting people with mental health problems to quit smoking
Authors: Bremner Jane , Edmonds Nerys
Published: August 2011

The implementation of smoke free legislation presents a huge opportunity to improve the health of people who use mental health services, as well as that of the staff working with them, say Jane Bremner and Nerys Edmonds. Here they outline how stop smoking support has been developed for mental health service users in West Surrey.
The play's the thing
Authors: Hennessy Steve
Published: August 2011

Steve Hennessy describes how two mental health arts organisations collaborated to put on a series of performances in Southwark with the direct aim of influencing mental health service delivery in the borough. The project has received the wholehearted support of the local NHS mental health trust and is a very good example of partnership working between the statutory sector and service user led groups.
It's not only about flower arranging…
Authors: Peden Kate , Hall Sandra
Published: August 2011

Kate Peden and Sandra Hall describe the making of a multimedia resource on the benefits of learning for people with mental health difficulties, in which service users themselves played a key role.
Working in partnership to deliver training
Authors: Jones Em , Hahn Sue
Published: August 2011

Service user involvement in mental health services is now accepted by mental health trusts and commissioners as an important feature of service development. Service users are playing an increasingly important role in training professionals, and can be particularly effective in challenging beliefs and prejudices held about mental illness. Em Jones and Sue Hahn describe how they have been working together, delivering training on sexuality and mental health, and self‐harm.
How do we get from here to there?
Authors: Taylor Ben
Published: August 2011

Modernisation and restructuring of mental health day services presents a huge challenge to trusts and commissioners. Ben Taylor outlines the common barriers and suggests some fundamental principles to guide those venturing on this task ‐ not least of which is the involvement of current and potential service users.
Promoting mental health in further education
Authors: Eaton Colette
Published: August 2011

The mainstreaming of students with mental health and/or learning support needs means further education college tutors are carrying an increasingly heavy burden of social and emotional care, often in crisis situations. Colette Eaton says colleges should do more to support tutors in their pastoral roles.