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Newsletter: Genesis - Ringing Change
July 2008
Support & Compassion
Counselling: Does it Help?
Ward Forums: Beaumont
Peer Advocacy Training at LAMP
Support & Compassion
The Lord mayor of Leicester came to Nework for Change at the request of Open Assembly member Viv Addey.
The Lord Mayor camme over as an honest and sincere person, and she spoke about her mental health breakdown in the hope that talking about the issues openly will help to remove the barriers that people encounter in their everyday lives.
She said there was "more to life than medication".
The Lord Mayor felt that peole needed lots of support, help and compassion, to be able to overcome the disabling aspects of mental health problems.
Counselling: Does it Help?
The first time I understood or came to the conclusion that I needed some form of alternative therapy was when I found myself telling my personal problems to almost everybody I met. Although I am on medication, I needed someone impartial from the 'system' or hospital setting to help me. I did not want to be seen with the label or stigma that mental health patients have but as a unique individual who has feeligns, experiences and reasons for behaving 'oddly' or 'abnormally'. I wanted to explore why I was ill and come to some form of conclusion and understanding of myself and the so called 'illness'.
The Leicester Counselling Centre is where I turned to. I was on the waiting list for a very long time but it was worth the wait. I am still using their services. The counselling sessions last 50 minutes each and I have been told I can have counselling for a maximum of 2 years. All I have to do in the session is talk and say what is concerning/bothering me and explore feeligns with the counsellor. The setting is very informal and the counsellors are very trustworthy. The counsellors will only breach confidentiality if they feel you are in danger or someone else is. There is no set fee but I pay between £5 and £10.
In my opinion, it is worth seeing a counsellor because they are impartial from the clinical setting adn you are not judged or labelled, just listened to. I have been helped to have a clearer understanding and offload unwanted thoughts and memories. I feel that I am 'dissecting my mind and coming to terms with the cause of my illness, not just a quick fix cure leadign to relapse later on, as with medication. Counselling has left me with less pain and more peace, comfort and control. I just wish that waiting lists are cut short and there are more counsellors so more people can be helped.
Bina Ravat
Ward Forums: Beaumont
On 1 July we did a ward forum on Beaumont. We always go into the ward office first oa all, to let them know we are around. The ward manager told us abotu the new projects that were happening and going to happen on the ward.
Th old smoke room that once was, has now had a lick of pait, windows have been frosted for privacy and gym equipment has been added and is now open for use after people have gone through an orienteering process.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoon staff are now holding wellbeign clinics ont eh ward where people can get their blood pressure, BMI and have any other physical concerns checked.
Alongside this flurry of activity they are hoping to introduce healthy eating, looking at side-effects of medication and Tai Chi in the not to distant future.
So it would seem that people have been listened to as all the above have been at the request of what people wanted to see happen on the ward.
Peer Advocacy Training at LAMP
The peer advocay training is based on a self actualisation approach, consisting of debates and discussions on how peer advocates through their knowledge and experience can help the patient to be empowered, discover potential and know their rights.
Effective communication through body language, tone of voice and dress code was highlighted as well as guidelines and conduct on the ward. The Managing Actual or Potential Agression (Mapa) training course enabled to learn self-defence techniques in an emergency on the ward. The emphasis in the training is on peer advocates remaining impartial but recognising how the patient's experiences can affect them. At the same time as being impartial, the peer advocates are taught to be concerned and listen. The aim of the training was to help understand that advoacy is not about giving advice but about empathic, non-judgemental listening. Although the peer advoacy trainign has officially ended, they are still learnign and sharing skills through debate and discussion and their experences on the wards.
Bina Ravat