Policy Press

Mental health service users in research

Critical sociological perspectives

Edited by Patsy Staddon

Mental health service users in research

  • Published:

    14 Jan 2015

  • Page count:

    200 pages

  • ISBN:

    978-1447307341

  • Product Dimensions:

    156 x 234 mm
  • £25.99 £20.79You save £5.20 (20%)
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  • Published:

    12 Jun 2013

  • Page count:

    200 pages

  • ISBN:

    978-1447307334

  • Product Dimensions:

    156 x 234 mm
  • £77.99 £62.39You save £15.60 (20%)
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  • Published:

    14 Jan 2015

  • Page count:

    200 pages

  • ISBN:

    978-1447320593

  • Product Dimensions:

    156 x 234 mm
  • £24.99 £19.99You save £5.00 (20%)
  • Add to basket

  • Published:

    14 Jan 2015

  • Page count:

    200 pages

  • ISBN:

    978-1447320609

  • Product Dimensions:

    156 x 234 mm
  • £24.99 £19.99You save £5.00 (20%)
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This book aims to show the value but also the difficulties encountered in the application of 'insider knowledge' in service user research. Mental health service users in research considers ways of 'doing research' which bring multiple understandings together effectively, and explains the sociological use of autobiography and its relevance. It examines how our identity shapes the knowledge we produce, and asks why voices which challenge contemporary beliefs about health and the role of treatment are often silenced. An imbalance of power and opportunity for service users, and the stigmatising nature of services, are considered as human rights issues.Most of the contributors to the book are service users/survivors as well as academics. Their fields of expertise include LGB issues, racial tensions, and recovering from the shame and stigma of alcoholism. They stress the importance of research approaches which involve mutualities of respect and understanding within the worlds of researcher, clinician and service user/survivor.
Patsy Staddon is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Plymouth, and a survivor researcher in the sociology of alcohol and mental health. She is a member of INVOLVE and Shaping Our Lives, and chairs the service user controlled WIAS (Women's Independent Alcohol Support).
Sociology and survivor research: an introduction ~ Angela Sweeney;
Mental health service users’ experiences and epistemological fallacy ~ Hugh Middleton;
Doing good carer-led research: reflecting on ‘Past Caring’ methodology ~ Wendy Rickard and Rachel Purtell;
Theorising service user involvement from a researcher perspective ~ Katherine C. Pollard and David Evans;
How does who we are shape the knowledge we produce? Doing collaborative research about personality disorders ~ Steve Gillard, Kati Turner and Marion Neffgen;
Where do service users’ knowledges sit in relation to professional and academic understandings of knowledge? ~ Peter Beresford and Kathy Boxall;
Recognition politics as a human rights perspective on service users’ experiences of involvement in mental health services ~ Lydia Lewis;
Theorising a social model of ‘alcoholism’: service users who misbehave ~ Patsy Staddon;
'Hard to reach’? Racialised groups and mental health service user involvement ~ Jayasree Kalathil;
Individual narratives and collective knowledge: capturing lesbian, gay and bisexual service user experiences ~ Sarah Carr;
Alternative futures for service user involvement in research ~ Hugh McLaughlin;
Brief reflections ~ Patsy Staddon.

"The most sparkling aspect of this edition assembled by Staddon is its turn away from psychiatry towards sociology." Disability & Society

"A testament to how far the survivor movement has come in the long struggle to get the experiences of mental health services users taken seriously in the production of knowledge." Journal of Social Policy

"A thought-provoking and insightful text." Social Research Association

"Draws on the experiences of key contributors to this area and provides a comprehensive and accessible discussion of the challenges and tensions within mental health research." Journal of Social Policy

"A useful reference book for health care professionals in pre- and post-qualification training, and for all those interested in service user research." Dr Paul Godin

About the book

This book aims to show the value but also the difficulties encountered in the application of 'insider knowledge' in service user research. Mental health service users in research considers ways of 'doing research' which bring multiple understandings together effectively, and explains the sociological use of autobiography and its relevance. It examines how our identity shapes the knowledge we produce, and asks why voices which challenge contemporary beliefs about health and the role of treatment are often silenced. An imbalance of power and opportunity for service users, and the stigmatising nature of services, are considered as human rights issues.Most of the contributors to the book are service users/survivors as well as academics. Their fields of expertise include LGB issues, racial tensions, and recovering from the shame and stigma of alcoholism. They stress the importance of research approaches which involve mutualities of respect and understanding within the worlds of researcher, clinician and service user/survivor.

Content

Sociology and survivor research: an introduction ~ Angela Sweeney;
Mental health service users’ experiences and epistemological fallacy ~ Hugh Middleton;
Doing good carer-led research: reflecting on ‘Past Caring’ methodology ~ Wendy Rickard and Rachel Purtell;
Theorising service user involvement from a researcher perspective ~ Katherine C. Pollard and David Evans;
How does who we are shape the knowledge we produce? Doing collaborative research about personality disorders ~ Steve Gillard, Kati Turner and Marion Neffgen;
Where do service users’ knowledges sit in relation to professional and academic understandings of knowledge? ~ Peter Beresford and Kathy Boxall;
Recognition politics as a human rights perspective on service users’ experiences of involvement in mental health services ~ Lydia Lewis;
Theorising a social model of ‘alcoholism’: service users who misbehave ~ Patsy Staddon;
'Hard to reach’? Racialised groups and mental health service user involvement ~ Jayasree Kalathil;
Individual narratives and collective knowledge: capturing lesbian, gay and bisexual service user experiences ~ Sarah Carr;
Alternative futures for service user involvement in research ~ Hugh McLaughlin;
Brief reflections ~ Patsy Staddon.
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