Welcome to Mental Health and Social Inclusion

Citation

Pozner, A. (2013), "Welcome to Mental Health and Social Inclusion", Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mhsi.2013.55717aaa.001

Welcome to Mental Health and Social Inclusion

Article Type: Editorial From: Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Volume 17, Issue 1

As always, we start with Sophie Corlett’s Policy Watch column, an invaluable overview of current developments in mental health policy in the UK. Sophie reviews the impact of current welfare reforms on people with mental health problems, criticizing the general “direction of travel” in welfare policy, and calling for a rethink of fundamental assumptions that underpin this.

Sue Holttum offers her regular reflection on recent research relating to mental health and social inclusion issues. Here she summarises two research papers on social exclusion and mental health within minority Asian population groups in the UK and the USA.

Our Remarkable Lives, feature offers a profile of Andrew Voyce, an extraordinary man with a long history of using both asylum and community mental health services. His interview with Professor Jerome Carson reveals a remarkable journey of recovery, from a life as a “revolving door” patient, via a long period of homelessness, to re-establishing an ordinary life in the community.

Drawing on a year long ethnographic study at a community arts and health charity in the rural north west of England, Peter Swan discusses how the organisation has successfully promoted the social inclusion of people with mental illness. He explores how it offers a safe and non-judgemental environment for vulnerable participants, whilst avoiding the downsides associated with services aimed solely at people with mental health difficulties.

A fascinating study by Pawel Mankiewicz, David Gresswell and Colin Turner challenges widespread socially exclusive assumptions about the limited emotional capabilities of those with severe mental health problems. Their research study demonstrates that individuals with psychosis are capable of experiencing happiness.

Eleven members of a group of user and carer researchers describe their experiences of a research and evaluation project which aimed to identify changes that took place as over 300 people moved from hostel accommodation into independent tenancies in flats and bungalows. The paper describes the process of involving user and carers in the research process, as well as identifying the range of benefits for them and for the design of future services.

Jacqueline Ann Taylor, Simon Lawton-Smith and Hannah Bullmore report on a study examining the views of approved mental health professionals on the impact of supervised community treatment on their work and their patients’ lives in the community. A majority agreed that compulsory treatment orders could benefit patients by earlier identification of relapse, however they do not improve patients’ access to employment, education, training or recreational activities.

And finally, Tony Ryan, Michael Clark and Nick Dixon introduce the Social Inclusion Outcomes Framework which offers a framework that can be applied to mental health services that seek to promote social inclusion. The article describes how the framework has been adopted successfully in the north west of England.

Adam PoznerSenior Researcher at TriNova Research.