scholarly journals Person-centred phenomenology: service user experiences of exercise

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Pickard ◽  
Alison Rodriguez ◽  
Kiara Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sport And Exercise ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of sport and exercise amongst a group of mental health service users. Participants were recruited from a north of England NHS mental health trust that was piloting a sport and exercise intervention for adults with mental health needs. Design/methodology/approach In depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with five mental health service users. The chosen phenomenological methodology was collaborative and interpretive. Findings Two essential themes were highlighted: “Intermittent health breaking through heavy clouds of illness” and “The cycle of recovery”. In addition, this person-centred research identified a number of intervention benefits beyond those relating to the impact of physical activity on mental health and wellbeing. The main findings are expressed using visual imagery which participants found expressed their perceptions and experiences better than written prose. This includes the way day-to-day illness impacts on the journey of health for people with mental health problems. Research limitations/implications The intervention looked to help the transition between leaving mental health services and developing a regular routine to promote recovery. The study illuminates the voices of service users and identifies that sport and exercise for mental health service users can be beneficial for recovery and feelings of belonging which can strengthen perceptions of the self. Originality/value Few studies have approached this methodological approach. This study demonstrates the value of phenomenological research with a collaborative, person-centred or indeed an involved patient focus. This collaborative approach enabled a shared understanding of the phenomena.

scholarly journals Mental health recovery and arts engagement

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Arts Engagement ◽  
Creating Meaning

PurposeArts and cultural activities have been illustrated to be beneficial for mental health service users. The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits of museum visits and engage in arts activities for mental health service users.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 mental health service users in Denmark. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data and theoretical lens of sociological theories of institutional logics was employed to explore the findings.FindingsThese benefits are perceived to include empowerment and meaning in life, which are two of the core principles of recovery; arts engagement can, therefore, be a useful tool in recovery. The findings also show that the experience of visiting a museum was not always positive and depended upon the interaction with the museum educators.Originality/valueThe service users identified arts engagement as creating meaning in life and empowerment, which are two element in the conceptual framework, CHIME (an acronym for: Connectedness, Hope and optimism, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment), that describes the human process of recovery. The findings also highlighted that if museums want to engage positively with people with mental health problems and contribute to their recovery then the training of staff and the improvement of institutional approaches to support working with vulnerable people are essential.

scholarly journals Mental health advocacy outcomes from service user perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 280-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Ridley ◽  
Karen Newbigging ◽  
Cathy Street
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Mental Health Systems ◽  
Health Advocacy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Children And Adolescent ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Health Advocacy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address a knowledge gap on advocacy outcomes from mental health service users’ perspective, and the implications for evaluating advocacy impact. The studies discussed highlight challenges for measuring the outcomes of advocacy, but underline the importance of doing so, and of involving service users alongside other stakeholders in co-designing evaluation systems. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses findings from three qualitative studies of independent advocacy involving focus groups and interviews with: 30 African and African Caribbean men who were mental health service users; 90 “qualifying patients” in a study of Independent Mental Health Advocate services; and nine young women in children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Findings A comparative analysis and synthesis of findings from three studies identifies four common dimensions: how mental health advocacy is conceptualised and understood; how service users define advocacy outcomes; wider impacts; and, user involvement in evaluating advocacy outcomes. Advocacy outcomes were conceptualised as increasing involvement, changing care and treatment and supporting personal development. There was evidence of advocacy acting to empower mental health service users, and of broader impacts on service regimes and policies. However, there was limited evidence of transformational impact. Evaluating advocacy outcomes is increasingly seen as important. Originality/value Few researchers have focused primarily on the perspectives of people using independent mental health advocacy, or on the experience of “advocacy as empowerment”, and none have done so across diverse groups. This analysis adds insight into the impact of independent advocacy. Data from empirical studies attest to the important role independent advocacy plays in modern mental health systems.

scholarly journals Experience of stigma among mental health service users in Hong Kong: Are there changes between 2001 and 2017?

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka-Fai Chung ◽  
Samson Tse ◽  
Chit-Tat Lee ◽  
Michael Ming-Cheuk Wong ◽  
Wing-Man Chan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Over Time

Background: Public expenditure on mental health education has grown exponentially in the past two decades. Does the experience of stigma among people with mental health problems improve over time? Our study aims to compare the levels of perceived stigmatization, rejection experiences and stigma–coping among mental health service users in Hong Kong between 2001 and 2017 using longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional study design. Method: The baseline survey was completed by 193 psychiatric outpatients in 2001. They were traced for re-assessment in 2017. Another sample of 193 outpatients matched in age, gender and psychiatric diagnosis was recruited in 2017 for cross-sectional comparison. Participants completed a 39-item questionnaire on stigma experiences, Beck Depression Inventory and Disability Assessment Schedule at both time points. Results: In total, 109 of 193 participants (56.5%) of the 2001 survey were re-assessed. No significant change in perceived stigmatization, rejection experiences and stigma–coping was found among the 109 participants interviewed in 2001 and 2017. For cross-sectional comparison, significant differences in two perceived stigma items were observed upon Bonferroni correction (chi-square test, p < .005) and remained significant after controlling for confounding factors by regression analysis. Improvements in perceived stigmatization were on marriage and friendship, while viewpoints on trustworthiness, dangerousness, devaluation, avoidance and personal failure remained unchanged, and there was no improvement in rejection experiences and stigma–coping. Conclusion: Positive attitude changes over time are unlikely to occur if there is no targeted intervention on stigma. Our findings highlight that evidence-based antistigma interventions are urgently needed.

scholarly journals The impact of a night confinement policy on patients in a UK high secure inpatient mental health service

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Chu ◽  
Kimberley McNeill ◽  
Karen M. Wright ◽  
Anthony Hague ◽  
Tracy Wilkins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Sleep Hygiene ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inpatient Mental Health ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – From 2012, all high-secure forensic mental health services in England began operating a policy of confining patients to their locked bedrooms overnight to increase service efficiency and reduce costs. The purpose of this paper is to assess the views of staff and patients concerning the policy and examine the specific impact of the policy on patients. Design/methodology/approach – Measures of patients’ sleep hygiene, patients’ behaviour, ward atmosphere, engagement with therapy and adverse incidents were taken both before and after the night confinement (NC) policy was implemented. Both patients and staff also expressed their views of the impact of the NC policy. Findings – Results provide converging evidence that the impact of the NC policy on patients is negligible. There were no consistent negative effects of confining patients overnight. Rather, patients and staff were broadly positive about the impact that the practice had on patients. Practical implications – Confining patients to locked bedrooms overnight does not exert any consistent influence, positive or negative, on patients’ sleep hygiene, behaviour or engagement with therapy, and patients expressed a broadly positive view of the practice of NC. Thus, a NC policy may have a contribution to make to the provision an effective high-secure mental health service. Originality/value – The study provides convincing evidence that secure inpatient mental health services that are considering the adoption of a NC policy may do so without fear of a negative impact on patients.

Linking the past and the present: service users’ perspectives of how adverse experiences relate to their admission to forensic mental health services

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Cartwright ◽  
Daniel Lawrence ◽  
Christopher Hartwright
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Forensic Mental Health ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Secure Care ◽  
Adverse Experiences

Purpose This study aimed to explore how forensic mental health service users make sense of their past adverse experiences. Secondly, it aimed to explore whether service users considered their adverse experiences to be related to their current stay in a forensic mental health setting. Design/methodology/approach Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse interviews with eight service users in low and medium secure care. Six of the participants were male and two were female. Findings Four super-ordinate themes emerged from the data: “Living amongst adversity”; “Managing adverse experiences”; “Making sense of going into secure care”; and “Coping with the past in the present”. All participants referred to multiple adverse experiences throughout their lives and used harmful coping strategies to manage these. Individual differences in how they related their past experiences to their detention in secure care were evident. Practical implications Author guidelines state that this section is optional. Implications for clinical practice are discussed at length in the discussion section. Originality/value This study offers an insight into the way in which forensic mental health service users make sense of their past traumas in relation to their current admission to secure services. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has previously addressed this from the perspective of service users.

Neoliberalism, advanced marginality and mental health

2020 ◽  
pp. 111-128
Author(s):  
Ian Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Spatial Concentration ◽  
Modern Context ◽  
The Impact

This chapter will discuss the broader impact of neoliberal social and welfare policy. In particular, it explores the impacts of increased inequality and the spatial concentration of poverty. These processes are referred to as “advanced marginality”. This concept captures the ways, in which, areas of poverty are surrounded by areas of affluence. In addition, advanced marginality symbolises the processes whereby groups and individuals are effectively excluded in a literal and metaphorical sense from major areas of modern society. This section is influenced by the work of Loic Wacquant (2008a, 2008b, 2009a and 2009b) and his notion of territorial stigmatisation. This is the modern context of community. It then goes on to examine the impact of austerity policies that have been followed since 2010 on both mental health service users and wider mental health provision. The links between poverty and poor mental health are examined below.

The experience of learning from mental health service users and carers

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-130
Author(s):  
Charlotte Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Emotional Arousal ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cognitive Experience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore student experiences of learning from mental health service users and carers. Design/methodology/approach In total, 30 clinical psychology trainees and ex-trainees took part in an online survey (n=21) or focus group (n=9). Responses were analysed using interpretative thematic analysis. Findings A number of themes were identified. There were two pre-conditions of learning: valuing the teaching and emotional arousal. Participants’ learning experiences were characterised by cognitive and meta-cognitive processes: active learning, reflection, increased attention and vivid memories. Furthermore, participants might have a meta-cognitive experience of having learned something, but being unsure what that something was. Participants reported learning about the lives of service users, about themselves and about the wider societal context for people with mental health difficulties. Practical implications In order to facilitate learning students should value the input of service users. This allows them to contain and use the emotional arousal the teaching produces. Furthermore, leaving students with a feeling that something has been learned but not being exactly sure what that has been may facilitate students seeking out further opportunities for service user involvement. Originality/value Few studies have explored the process of learning from mental health service users and carers. In the current study, the emotion aroused in participants was primary. Furthermore, a new meta-cognitive experience, namely, the experience of having learned something, but not being sure what has been learned, has been identified.

An evaluation of peer-led self-management training for people with severe psychiatric diagnoses

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Cyhlarova ◽  
David Crepaz-Keay ◽  
Rachel Reeves ◽  
Kirsten Morgan ◽  
Valentina Iemmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnoses ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Health Promoting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the effectiveness of self-management training as an intervention for people using secondary mental health services. Design/methodology/approach – A self-management and peer support intervention was developed and delivered by secondary mental health service users to 262 people with psychiatric diagnoses living in the community. Data on wellbeing and health-promoting behaviour were collected at three time points (baseline, six, and 12 months). Findings – Participants reported significant improvements in wellbeing and health-promoting lifestyle six and 12 months after self-management training. Peer-led self-management shows potential to improve long-term health outcomes for people with psychiatric diagnoses. Research limitations/implications – Due to the lack of a control group, the positive changes cannot definitively be attributed to the intervention. Other limitations were reliance on self-report measures, and the varying numbers of completers at three time points. These issues will be addressed in future studies. Practical implications – The evaluation demonstrated the effectiveness of self-management training for people with psychiatric diagnoses, suggesting self-management training may bring significant wellbeing gains for this group. Social implications – This study represents a first step in the implementation of self-management approaches into mental health services. It demonstrates the feasibility of people with psychiatric diagnoses developing and delivering an effective intervention that complements existing services. Originality/value – This is the first study to investigate the effectiveness of a self-management training programme developed and delivered by mental health service users in the UK.

scholarly journals Coping with stigma and discrimination: evidence from mental health service users in England

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 577-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Isaksson ◽  
E. Corker ◽  
J. Cotney ◽  
S. Hamilton ◽  
V. Pinfold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Stigma ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination

Aims.Mental health stigma and discrimination are significant problems. Common coping orientations include: concealing mental health problems, challenging others and educating others. We describe the use of common stigma coping orientations and explain variations within a sample of English mental health service users.Methods.Cross-sectional survey data were collected as part of the Viewpoint survey of mental health service users’ experiences of discrimination (n = 3005). Linear regression analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with the three stigma coping orientations.Results.The most common coping orientation was to conceal mental health problems (73%), which was strongly associated with anticipated discrimination. Only 51% ever challenged others because of discriminating behaviour, this being related to experienced discrimination, but also to higher confidence to tackle stigma.Conclusions.Although stigma coping orientations vary by context, individuals often choose to conceal problems, which is associated with greater anticipated and experienced discrimination and less confidence to challenge stigma. The direction of this association requires further investigation.

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