Critical Perspectives on Mental Health

Hopton, John; Coppock, Vicki

doi:10.4324/9780203129593

Cited by 20 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Tew 2005). They show the value of responses to mental health needs based around a community development approach and humanistic ethos of equality, participation, social and cultural connection and social support (Stefan 1996;see also Crawford et al 2013;Carpenter and Raj 2012a;Coppock and Hopton 2000) as an antidote to the experiences of oppression, exclusion and alienation which adversely impact people's mental health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Responding to the mental health and well-being agenda in adult community learning

Lewis

2014

Research in Post-Compulsory Education

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In the United Kingdom, changes in the policy, funding and commissioning landscape for mental health and well-being are posing opportunities and challenges for adult community learning (ACL). Opportunities include increased recognition of, and funding for, the 'wider benefits' of learning, whereas challenges include the risks of ACL provision becoming hijacked by a health and well-being agenda that compromises its primary educational purpose and values. This paper engages with these policy debates through reporting on a study of mental health ACL that employed the capabilities approach along with two other complementary areas of social theory -recognition theories and theories of capitals. Its aim was to explore the means through which ACL impacts mental health and to draw out implications for policy and practice. Findings from focus groups with adult learners and tele-discussions with ACL practitioners revealed three main means through which the provision helped generate interlinked mental health and educational capabilities: providing recognition, generating resources (capitals) and enhancing agency freedom. Elaborating these findings, the paper sets out an argument for interpretation of the mental health and well-being agenda in ACL in terms of a humanistic, liberatory pedagogy that encompasses feminist praxis and draws out policy implications across the areas of ACL and mental health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Responding to the mental health and well-being agenda in adult community learning

Lewis

2014

Research in Post-Compulsory Education

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“…This is particularly pertinent in the field of mental health and distress where the challenges of living as a mental health service user are well documented (Campell, 2001;Coppock & Hopton, 2000;Hopton, 2006;Krumm & Becker, 2006;Link & Phelan, 1999;Newnes & Holmes, 1999;Parker, Georgaca, Harper, McLaughlin, & Stowell-Smith, 1995;Patel & Fatimilehin, 1999), and hence potential 'change' is very welcome. The question raised by emphases on fluidity is how is space (re)made?…”

Section: Space and The Fluidity Of The Everydaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Everyday Spaces of Mental Distress: The Spatial Habituation of Home

Tucker

2010

Environ Plan D

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Theorising psychological activity as a spatial product appears a logical extension of moves in social theory to emphasise the role of space and place in the consideration of experience. Catalysed by turns in social and human geographies to highlight the role of space and location in constituting psychological activity, various forms of the ‘spatialisation of experience’ have emerged. In this paper I will follow this theoretical direction in relation to the underlying destabilisation of everyday life that emerges as a product of theoretical formations that emphasise the fluidity of space. More specifically, I will take the example of the home as a central space in the ongoing activity of people with enduring mental distress. Forging a theoretical line that takes in geographies of mental health, the home, and finally, Gilles Deleuze's work on ‘repetition’ and ‘habit’, I will analyse the role of home spaces in everyday life. Key here is a concern regarding the impact of theoretical emphases on continuity, mobility, and instability on understandings of the everyday lives of mental health service users. This includes addressing conceptualisations of the home space alongside the activities of the people who occupy, and hence co-make, such spaces. The article concludes by framing ‘spatial habituation’ of the everyday as central to creating a perceivable stability, analysis of which can aid understanding of the challenges facing people suffering with mental distress.

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“…Distinctively, in the mental health field disagreement over theory and practice continues, in ways which cross-cut occupational demarcations [18]. Professional knowledge remains open to contest, and differing views can be found (even in single teams) on the interventions which practitioners might use [19] and between workers and those being helped [20]. Although the mental health field may be less obviously reliant on new technologies than other areas of health care, over time the emergence of new physical and psychosocial therapies has helped shape the system as a whole [21].…”

Section: Comprehending the Mental Health Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where the wicked problems are: The case of mental health

Hannigan¹,

Coffey²

2011

Health Policy

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ObjectiveTo use systems ideas and the concept of 'wicked problems' to frame examination of a decade-and-ahalf of UK mental health policy. MethodsTheoretically informed policy analysis. ResultsModern health care is complex, and mental health care particularly so. In the UK the mental health system has also become a policymaking priority. Features of this system mean that many of the problems policymakers face are of the 'wicked' variety. Wicked problems are resistant. Problem formulations and their solutions are contestable. Solutions which have 'worked' in one setting may not 'work' in another, and evidence to guide change is open to challenge. Actions trigger waves with widespread system consequences. In the case of the UK's mental health field significant shifts have taken place in formulations of 'the problem' to which actions have been directed. These have included assessments of community care failure, formulations emphasising problems with the professions and, most recently, the need for action to promote mental health and wellbeing. ConclusionsIn their efforts to secure improvement in a neglected field UK policymakers have unleashed a torrent of top-down actions. Attention needs to be paid to constructing strong, system-wide, partnerships and to examining the cumulative impact of policy actions.

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Critical Perspectives on Mental Health

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

Responding to the mental health and well-being agenda in adult community learning

Responding to the mental health and well-being agenda in adult community learning

Everyday Spaces of Mental Distress: The Spatial Habituation of Home

Where the wicked problems are: The case of mental health

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