News Release, 13 March 2000
To be effective, mental health services need to switch their focus to individuals rather than medical diagnoses according to new research from the Mental Health Foundation. The call comes as a result of a groundbreaking report, Strategies for Living, based on a three-year investigation of the ways in which people with mental health problems manage their own mental health. The project was funded by the National Lottery Charities Board.
"This report poses a real challenge to the assumptions made every day by medical professionals," said Ruth Lesirge. "We need to start listening to people about what works for them, just as we would if they had diabetes and were managing their own condition. We must ensure that all mental health services understand and address the need for creative and flexible services which put a high value on human relationships rather than relying solely on medication."
Strategies for Living, a 115 page report, examines what people find most helpful in managing their own mental distress, and urges all mental health professionals and policy makers to recognise the expertise of mental health service users. More specifically it recommends that the Government establishes an Expert Patients Task Force in mental health to provide advice to the Chief Medical Officer on how to establish a nationwide programme of self-management on mental health problems.
In-depth interviews with 71 mental health service users highlighted that what people with experience of mental health problems find most helpful is not medication, but accepting relationships with other people. Interestingly this included relationships with mental health professionals as well as friends, family and other service users, but the key factor was the human relationship, and being able to talk to someone, rather than receiving structured services. An earlier study on what people need in times of distress indicated that for most people (66%) the priority was for someone to talk to and personal support.
Dr Phil Thomas, Consultant Psychiatrist with Bradford Community Mental Health Trust, commented: "At the heart of Strategies for Living is a message that everyone, especially our political masters, would do well to heed. Strategies for Living is the definitive statement about expertise by experience."
The report also highlights the importance of other strategies such as physical exercise, complementary and alternative therapies, creative expression and religious and spiritual beliefs. It shows that people with mental health problems are aware of what strategies will help them at different times, according to whether they are well, approaching a crisis or experiencing acute distress.
Despite the depth of knowledge that people hold on their own mental health and reactions to medication for example, one interviewee commented that she had never before been asked for her opinions on her care or treatment. "Nobody has ever sort of asked my opinion on anything like this before – how I feel about anything. It’s all within the psychiatrist’s room, and you have to agree with what he says, and that’s it."
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For further information and interview requests contact please contact the press office on 020 7803 1105 / 1128 or email the press office
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