Peter Gilbert

''Wounded Healers'': the role of lived-experience in mental health education and practice

Purpose – This article aims to focus on the role of lived‐experience in mental health education and practice as perceived by undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approach – A small qualitative survey was conducted among Social Work and Mental Health Nursing students who were asked about their own experiences of mental ill health and its possible impact on their practice.Findings – The article is contextualised in the concept of “Wounded Healers” as a number of students had previously (and were currently) experiencing mental distress.Originality/value – There is a strong sense that students believe that their personal experiences inform their practice, and that this may assist them in empathising constructively with service users, within the boundaries of a professional relationship.

Faith in one city: exploring religion, spirituality and mental wellbeing in urban UK

Purpose – There are intense current debates about the place of belief systems in a secular society, and also whether the mechanistic approach to mental health care is sufficient for human beings. This paper aims to describe the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation NHS Trust (BSMHFT) spirituality and mental health research programme within that context.Design/methodology/approach – The research studies are placed within a discourse of current debates, but also within the specific context of the city of Birmingham. Birmingham is Englands second city to London, and is an increasingly multi‐ethnic and multi‐cultural environment.Findings – Those who use mental health services increasingly state that they wish to have the spiritual dimension of their lives attended to by professionals. The BSMHFT project reinforces this message and demonstrates the merits of close working with faith communities and engaging with staff in their understanding of spirituality.Originality/value – The research by Profes...

‘I Wanna Tell You a Story’: Leaders as Storytellers

The authors explore the concept of leaders as storytellers and suggest that this approach to leadership is helpful as a way of communicating effectively with people. The authors conclude that story skills are also helpful for people with mental health problems to create their own recovery stories, frontline staff designing their professional development and leaders negotiating organisational change.

Leadership Lessons in Health and Social Care Integration: Mental Health

Integration is a watchword in Government policy, designed to give more seamless, and therefore more effective, services to people in need. One concern, though, is that this is merely a ‘structural’ approach that just rearranges the deckchairs. This paper gives a practical example of a positive, local leadership approach to integration within a national context.

“I, Robot”: has the modern workplace lost its soul?

Purpose – In the context of the current financial crisis, this paper aims to examine values and spirituality in the modern workplace.Design/methodology/approach – Using contemporary examples and examining recent literature on spirituality and loneliness, the paper considers the concept of loneliness and argues that this may stem from an over‐preoccupation with the workplace and employment‐based achievement, at the expense of having rounded lives as human beings.Findings – It is demonstrated that, over the last decade at least, the levels of stress in life and work have risen noticeably. In this context, leaders need even more to be forgers of a sense of meaning and purpose in the workplace and engage the hearts and minds of staff towards improved outcomes.Originality/value – The current financial crisis is also a major spiritual crisis. Now there seems to be a growing gap between leaders and the led, and an increase in what the author terms “soul‐less leadership”, which fails to engage and motivate and in...

Afghanistan – the “great game” without end?

Purpose – The purpose of this viewpoint is to provide a perspective on political and military leadership in a current geo‐political situation, with some reflections on how this relates to other public services.Design/methodology/approach – This paper makes use of historical and political sources in order to reflect on current aspects of leadership in public services.Findings – Throughout history, Afghanistan has often played a pivotal role between the superpowers of any particular era. In the ancient world, the Greeks of Alexander the Greats Macedonian hegemony: Persians; Mongols under Genghis Khan and his successors; and a host of other groups have vied for control, often leaving ethnic traces within a complex tribal and ethnic makeup in modern Afghanistan. In the nineteenth century it was part of the “Great Game” between Great Britain and Russia; in the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries, there have been both Soviet and NATO incursions; and now, Afghanistan retains a pivotal role between India and Pa...

From the cradle – to beyond the grave?

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the content and import of a conference held in partnership between Staffordshire University and The National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum on the importance of considering life in the context of human mortality, and the meaning and purpose of our lives. It was one of a series of conferences on the theme of health and multi‐belief systems; other conferences were on mental health and civic regeneration. A fourth conference is planned for 2012 on dementia and beliefs.Design/methodology/approach – The conference and its format, including case studies is placed within the intense debate concerning the meaning of life in the context of death and what might be beyond “the grave”. With this conversation, and the issue of assisted dying becoming more prevalent, it was felt important to bring into the paper not just philosophical writings but examples from novels and “popular culture” which highlight the intensity of the dialogue.Findings – Considering the perspectives o...