July – August – New courses in Kent & Leicester
I’m excited to be offering 3 courses in Canterbury (Kent) and Leicester over the next few months. The workshops are open to people with lived experience, family/friends, mental health workers and anyone interested in the topic area. If you know someone who might like to attend, please share this information with them. All courses are […]
Breaking The Silence: Supporting Young People who Hear Voices
Harry: Do you think I should have told them? Dumbledore and the others, I mean. Ron: Are you mad? Hermione: No, Harry. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn’t a good sign. – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In the last few years I’ve developed a sincere admiration for those youth workers […]
Me & The Meds: The Story of a Dysfunctional Relationship
This article first appeared in Mad in America (www.madinamerica.com). The use of medication in mental health services is a hot issue. Despite the paucity of evidence supporting its long-term efficacy, critiquing the use of ‘antipsychotic’ medication can be felt as a personal attack both on those who use it to manage distressing experiences and those […]
Short Thought #1: “Don’t Confront. Don’t Collude?”
Short Thought #1: ‘Don’t Confront, Don’t Collude?’ from Rai Waddingham on Vimeo. This is the first in a series of free ‘shorts’. This one explores the mantra, woven deep into psychiatric practice – the belief that we should neither confront nor collude with beliefs that are seen as ‘delusional’. In the video, I share some […]
Alternative Mental Health Perspectives – Yorkshire AMHPs
As the Alternative Mental Health Perspectives conference approached, I felt a mix of nerves and excitement. After all, this was a fantastic opportunity to engage AMHPs across Yorkshire in both unflinchingly confronting the current problems in the mental health system and think about innovative approaches that offer real alternatives. Robert Whitaker The day launched with […]
Symptom or Experience: Does Language Matter?
Whenever we talk about ourselves we tell stories. Without these stories, our experiences would sit – unconnected – like a thousand tiny beads. Telling our story helps us to weave connections between these beads, linking them together with different threads to create a tapestry full of meaning. This is a fluid and continually evolving process. […]
The Schizophrenia Commission: A personal perspective
As someone who has lived experience of being diagnosed with schizophrenia (amongst other things) the release of the ‘Schizophrenia’ Commission Report has left me with very mixed feelings. First and foremost, I applaud the hard work of the members of the commission and all those who gave evidence and contributed to it. During the evidence-gathering […]
Voices: Unlocked – Hearing Voices Groups in Prison
On 9th July, Mind in Camden’s Prison Project held a one day conference in London: ‘Voices Unlocked’. Having set up, and worked on, this project since its launch in 2010 – I was both excited and nervous to share our work with a wider audience. The day was a huge success, bringing together people from […]
Beyond Medication – Soteria Bradford
I was excited to trek up to sunny Bradford in December to take part in Soteria Bradford’s ‘Beyond Medication – How do we reduce our dependance on psychotropic drugs?’ conference. Rather than getting stuck in expounding the drawbacks and dangers to psychotropic medication, this conference also gave space to explore creative alternatives to drugs. This […]
Voices Matter: Hearing Voices Movement
Between 19th & 21st September, hundreds of people from around the world descended on Cardiff, Wales, for the annual World Hearing Voices Congress. This annual event is one of the highlights of my year, and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to go every year since 2009. It’s a fantastic opportunity to […]
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