Voices of Experience – Narratives of Mental Health Survivors

Thurstine Basset is a social worker who now runs his own independent training and development consultancy. His current clients include the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and Education not Discrimination at Rethink. He is the Chair of the Mental Health Training Forum, Middlesex University and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Brighton. Together with Theo Stickley, he is joint editor of Teaching Mental Health (Wiley, 2007) and Learning About Mental Health Practice (Wiley, 2008). Theo Stickley is Associate Professor of Mental Health in the School of Nursing at the University of Nottingham. Previously, he trained and worked in both mental health nursing and counselling. Theo has led on a number of educational research projects in collaboration with people who use mental health services. He uses narrative as a research method, especially amongst people engaging with arts activities. He leads the East Midlands Arts and Health Research Group; he is also a Director of City Arts, Nottingham, and leads the Art in Mind programme of work.

About the Editors. Contributors. 1. Introduction (Thurstine Basset and Theo Stickley). Poem: Recovery - Libby Jackson. 2. The Antidote to Madness: Crystallising out the Real Self (Peter Chadwick). Poem: But What is the Cause? - Libby Jackson. 3. Surviving the System (Peter Campbell). Poem: They Come and Go - Dave St. Clair. Poem: Fixing Dinner - Dave St. Clair. 4. Measuring the Marigolds (Alison Faulkner). Poem: The Tears I Cry - Mariyam Maule. 5. Coping Strategies and Fighting Stigma (Joy Pope0> Poem: Day by Day - Libby Jackson. 6. Living with the Dragon: The Long Road to Self-Management of Bipolar II (Peter Amsel). Poem: In Exile - Mariyam Maule. 7. Coping Strategies (Ruth Dee). Poem: Puppeteer - Esta Smith. 8. What's it Like Having a Nervous Breakdown? Can You Recover? (Laura Lea). Poem: A Journey beyond Silence - Mariyam Maule. 9. The Bridge of Sighs and the Bridge of Love: a Personal Pilgrimage (Peter Gilbert). Poem: Have You Ever Felt Lonely? - Dave St. Clair. Poem: He Saved My Bacon - Dave St. Clair. 10. The Holy Spirit - Healer, Advocate, Guide and Friend (Richard Lilly). Poem: Mist of Tears - Brice Jones. 11. CAPITAL Writings (Thomas France, Timothy Bird, Richard Love, Kay Phillpot, Howard Pearce, Clare Ockwell and Jude Smith). Poem: Nicely Nicely Nought - Martin Snape. Poem: Feel Easy-Fit - Martin Snape. 12. The Value of Self-Help/Peer Support (Caroline Bell, Sarah Collis and Joan Cook). Poem: The Clear Sky - Dave St. Clair. 13. A Recovery Approach in Mental Health Services: Transformation, Tokenism or Tyranny? (Premila Trivedi). Poem: To What Could Have Been - Mariyam Maule. 14. Stand to Reason (Jonathan Naess). Poem: I Am - Libby Jackson. 15. Walking with Dinosaurs (John Stuart Clark). Poem: Negatives and Positives - Libby Jackson. 16. Conclusions, Discussion and Ways Ahead (Thurstine Basset, Joan Cook and Theo Stickley). Poem: The Heart of Humankind - Mariyam Maule. Index.