‘I thought I would write my life story…’
Brilliant cartoon by Merinda Epstein
‘Our Struggle Is A Struggle For The Self-Determination Of Our Lives’: 6th World Hearing Voices Congress – Greece 2014
At the 6th World Hearing Voices Congress, which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece earlier this month, a Declaration was agreed upon (http://www.symvoli.gr/conference/hearingvoices/en/page/main). The Declaration was formulated first in Greek (or this is my understanding), so it is published here in both languages – Greek and English. Read more
My experience of taking antidepressants – An everlasting ‘love and hate’, acutely ambivalent affair…
Back in November 2012 I was interviewed about my experience of taking antidepressants in the context of a research project undertaken by The Health Experiences Research Group or ‘HERG’ at Oxford University’s Department of Primary Care in collaboration with the DIPEx charity. Read more
Very encouraging feedback on Asylum magazine from New Zealand…
A week and a half ago I came back from Australia and New Zealand…I went Down Under for 2 weeks for a conference on Service User Academia in Melbourne and then I went to New Zealand to stay with a colleague…fantastic trip, a very rich experience on many levels …I was sorry to come back…
Call for Papers: Critical Underpinnings of User/Survivor Research and Co-Production
I have been thinking a lot about User/Survivor research in the area of mental health in the past year and I feel that Maze is a very pertinent metaphor for it that reflects its complexity and impasses. A really interesting call for papers relating to User/Survivor research below… Read more
Why did I need 20 years of intensive psychotherapy to get where I am today, if I could have done it in just 12 weeks?
Last weekend I watched the first episode of Bedlam, a four-part series on mental health/mental illness on Channel 4, which – according to the programme information – seeks to ‘boldly challenge myths and taboos about mental illness, as well as promote better awareness and understanding of mental health issues, through unprecedented access to the patients and staff of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) – the world’s oldest psychiatric institution’ (Link to programme). Read more