What could be different in mental health care, what helps, and what have you found to be useful reading?

[OwFriggingOw]

First off - this is a thread inspired by another thread - not about another thread.

I am a lecturer who teaches mainly MH nursing students, but also Adult, Child and Learning Disability field nurses about MH, and also occasionally medical students. I have no agenda for this thread bar a genuine desire to listen, share ideas, and have an open discussion about what is helpful / less so. I worked in NHS MH for 13 odd years.

In case anyone links the other threads that inspired this thread - I have been comissioned to edit a book about people's experiences (service users and carers / family / friends) within MH services and with MH issues. NONE OF THE POSTS HERE WILL BE USED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM FOR THIS BOOK. You have my ABSOLUTE word on that. Similarly, NONE of the posts here will be used in any of my teaching.

My aim in starting this stems from several PM's and several on-thread comments about how this would be useful/ I hope it can be a helpful, supportive and productive meeting place for thoughts and ideas about what people have found helpful with regards MH care / services / support (statutory and non statutory) and what has been less helpful. Most importantly with regards the less helpful - what can be done differently?

And - beacuse I like books - maybe we can share reading ideas :)

Would it be helpful if I shared parts of my long thread from earlier regarding what I see as needed, without any other details from the thread?

cics can apply for same sort of grants and funding as charities too, on the whole

i honestly didn't
however seeing as she is here to help as are most on here that is what is important, not some petty attempt to continually discredit people. for goodness sake. if you have an issue with me further could you pls message me instead of ruining a very useful thread?

Fabulous , cunnalingo [ and to Alameda about community interest companies

I'd like to help set up such a group in future if I can interest others locally , so had best start educating myself on the finances

< disappears into Charity Commision website >

I didn't know that about cics, Alameda < even more excited >

Alameda community interest company is that purely for England? I know in Wales there are 'social enterprise' groups. Are they the same thing?

futuredream you are more than welcome. If I can work out how to use the pm thingy, please feel free to pm me for assistance. If I can help in any way, I am happy to. Oh and btw, if I say 'I don't know' - I don't!

This thread is immensely interesting, the links very much food for thought.

I don't know, sorry, I am in England

obviously mdf groups come under umbrella of the national charity, although a charity can own a cic - then I start getting confused

am trying to remember what status my other groups were, the women's group was a community education thing so they gave us money to set up a crèche and employ people to staff it etc - it is still going strong twenty years on, hooray for me and my friends

have never set up and registered a charity, it looks difficult compared to a company which is almost immediate

cunnalingo and alameda - brilliant - thank you SO much :) I'm learning so much practical and new stuff from this thread - thank you all!

although cics can apply for grants though they don't necessarily attract them in the same way as charities

I never seem to have ideas that will actually turn a profit, in fact I never seem to have ideas at all these days

Oh wow , thank you so much cunnalingo < sniffs > this is even more helpful than I could have dared hope However I am not going to be able to attempt this yet , so will carry on my wide-eyed first steps & may need to ask some very basic questions , if that would be OK ? I have found peer support groups on the site and will be found scratching my head over the accounts

Brilliant to see you are finding thread useful ,Raisin < makes iced and clinks mugs >

It is easy to set up a company, although I have never done it myself. I have worked with WA groups who established themselves in the '70's as industrial and provident societies:

www.fsa.gov.uk/doing/small_firms/msr/societies

However, when I was trawling around looking for funding for individual groups, I kept coming up against the fact they were not a registered charity, and so were not eligible for grant aid.

raisin - really pleased you've found it interesting :)

well cics are, I think, generally eligible for grant aid - whether the grant givers agree might be another story

I'm not sure why more groups don't set up this way, it might be restrictive in ways I haven't considered?

You have incredibly useful experience Alameda , thank you so much - I will look back over thread as you mentioned some groups earlier .
... Sympathies on feeling unspired by new ideas - may they flow profitably for all these community groups I'm reading about with greatest admiration

you for link & info, cunnalingo !

No attempt to discredit as I can see there's been some excellent advice on here, but it seemed a shame that it didn't seem to be upfront.

I'm not the type to hold things over people, and if you knew me, you'd know I'm not like that.

All the best

Having been upfront and very open from the off, babyheaves I can see why people might not want to be! But it was the right thing for me to do generally I think :)

Generally I think this is a great thread though - all :)

I'm not sure why more groups don't set up this way

I'm experienced in leading, facilitating and training. I have a long history of setting things up and getting them going. I am desperate for person-to-person support and generally love group environments.

So why haven't I done it?

1. I didn't know about it.
2. I am depressed and chaotic. All that formality is beyond me atm, I can't even manage my own very simple finances.
3. I'm a financial shipwreck. No 'body' would give me money, even if I were in a fit state to jump through hoops.
4. If I were in the fit state, I'd be using those skills to revive my business before anything else.
5. I don't want to sit around whining with a handful of fellow depressives, I want focus and direction which would need a professional's guidance.

Now, if I could go to some 'body' and say: Look, I perceive this need which I share. I'm thinking of setting up a little book group to work through things like assertiveness and compassion, a cafe would be a good setting, can I have £100 to get started and some more in a couple of months if it's working? That I could do.
All this CIC funding with its hoops and statutory requirements, goes to bonkers initiatives that benefit existing businesses - well, it does round here anyway!

I realise mine's a 'depressed' answer but maybe that, in itself, helps to answer the question?

Alameda although a charity can own a cic. a cic is probably the same as a Social Enterprise in Wales. Many large charities are getting rattled by the recession and reduction in funding. They are creating 'arm's length' enterprises, cic's or SE's. For example, any charity could chose to set one up to deliver training in their field of expertise. It would function as a company, but all 'profits' can be donated to the charity. It does get very complicated, and I feel tax implications are at the bottom of it, but I don't know for sure.

I meant as CICs, not why aren't they set up at all!

I think I have overlooked or forgotten about something restrictive concerning them.

I don't even know if that makes sense either, I just meant of existing groups there must be a reason why the CIC structure is not always good.

I didn't mean 'why don't people just go out and do it' although I obviously have some sort of intermittent obsession with these things. I just like groups and community things, community supported agriculture was the most recent I think.

Am having a day where I just cannot pull self together at all but not sure if it is mood or a lithium and hot weather combination as am trembly but anyway yes have been somewhere similar when it comes to functioning.

Info on fsa site very encouraging , thanks cunnalingo- have already started planning the cooperative I've always longed to set up Had best do a loooong period of research around here as could overlap with one or two local groups . Then there's making the contacts ... will be an exciting journey !

Thank you garlicbutter , we need to know the many obstacles - would not have described it as a depressed answer either but very sorry for hard time you are having atm .. sorry , more in what you post about groups that I would like to come back to .
For me , main obstacle is have health condition which leaves me doing stuff at snail's pace , plus not being sure how long will stay in area - depends on Dh's job . Do have an idea for a group though , which I think would fill a gap .

Having RL interruptions , as I guess most of us have at this time of day
Alameda , please excuse my ignorance but do levels of lithium in the body rise in the heat ? I thought they did , causing symprtoms like you describe . Perhaps you some medical advice is needed ?- really hope you
feel better as temperatures drop

I LOVE hot weather but always seem to be on something that doesn't go with it like chlorpromazine (amazing tan though) - but surely it needs to be hotter than this, has been about 28 I think and have spent time indoors where it is cool. Hope lithium levels haven't gone up as plan to be somewhere hotter within a few days.

I was briefly obsessed with setting up a housing cooperative recently but I forgot about it

(not taking chlorpromazine now, I mean I had an amazing tan when I did)