Critical Mental Health Nurses’ Network Launch
This article was written as a review for the Mental Health Nursing Journal for their June edition. Conferences often perplex me. Heavy with anticipation, I pour through the programme hungry for something that will challenge, excite or inspire me. On a good day, I find something truly delicious – stimulating ideas or possibilities that I hadn’t expected. On […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Problem With Psychiatrists
Are doctors really trained to provide what we, as people with mental health problems, really need? Ok, this might ruffle a few feathers, but it has been on my mind for a while so I’m gonna go with it anyway. In the years I’ve been in contact with the ‘specialist’ mental health services I’ve had […]
Conference: Medicating Human Distress
In November 2011 I was privileged to contribute to a fantastic conference ‘Medicating Human Distress: Concerns, Critiques and Solutions’ in Cork (Ireland). The conference was the second annual event arranged by the Irish Critical Voices Network and University College Cork. It featured a range of wonderful speakers and workshops, all of which brought some fresh life to […]
Recent Comments