The Recovery In-Sight Centre Launch

No more ‘them and us’?

Rebalancing relationships in the service of mental health

Glenn Roberts

Guiding Principles

Them and Us?• Doctors and patients• Normal and abnormal• Strong and the weak• Ok and the not ok• Allegedly mad and supposedly saneConsequences • Othering and segregation• Stigma and shame• Alienation and exclusion • Disempowerment

MB., Ch.B

I grew up and I found my

purpose and it was to be a physician. My intent wasn’t to save the world as much as to heal myself. Few doctors with

admit this , certainly not young ones, but subconsciously, in

entering the profession, we must believe that ministering to others will heal our woundedness. And it can. But it can also deepen the

wound. (p6)

‘

September 2008

‘If recovery is about one thing it is about the recovery of hope and it is very unlikely that staff can give hope if they do not have it for themselves and the services they provide.’

Key findings: ‘a wealth of experience’

• 560 respondents = 23% of the workforce, it is not possible to say how representative their answers are of the workforce as a whole.

• A significant indication staff feel we work in a ‘them and us culture’ and more so by staff with more personal experience.

• 43% of respondents reported personal experience of mental health problems

• Of those, over half (56%) also had personal experience of services or treatments

• 61% of respondents had experience of supporting someone close to them with mental health problems and about 2/3 included contact with mental health services or treatments.

• About 2/3rds of both groups were able to be open with their managers and colleagues.

• Of the 1/3 that could not be open: 138 gave reasons - major issue = fear of stigma, misunderstanding

or rejection in all its forms.

Implications

There is a sound political, business, ethical and service rationale to work on improving the health and wellbeing of the mental health workforce and to value the ‘lived experience’ of the workers as a potential resource in recovery oriented practice.

From experience to expertise ...

‘Lived experience’ and the mental health workforce

• Witnesses with lived experience offering orientation / induction to staff

• Recovery trainers with lived experience • Peers as visitors in clinical settings• Peers in the workforce as colleagues• Valuing the lived experience of the workforce• Selecting, training, supporting and supervising

people in the light of their personal experience• Valuing ‘dual qualifications’

Finally, it is a widely accepted ‘recovery competence’ that in

order to provide effective recovery services staff and

service organisations need to attend to their own hope and

morale. Both hope and despair are contagious and for the first

time we are considering guiding principles and values for our work that emphasise that the health and wellbeing of the practitioner, and their

organisation are a prerequisite for effective practice. (p26)

illness vs experience A two sided issue

• Boorman (2009) concluded ‘It is ironic that the NHS is trying to focus on the public health agenda yet not making it available to its own staff, because staff should be exemplars.’

Coming soon ...

Moving towards, ‘Recovery at the heart of all we do’: Workforce development and the

contribution of ‘lived experience’

Glenn Roberts, John Good, James Wooldridge and Elina Baker

The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice