News Release, 29 June 2001
The Mental Health Foundation's latest publication explores the range of ways in which people have learnt to manage their own mental health. Something Inside So Strong is a 108-page report which focuses on individuals' varied approaches to managing their own mental distress.
The publication is in two sections, success stories and systematic strategies. The collection of success stories are accounts by individuals of their own mental distress and the variety of strategies that they have explored, either individually or as part of a more structured programme, to manage their mental health. Many of these involve taking control, building up self-esteem, the importance of support from understanding and accepting friends, alternative therapies, creativity and spirituality. For some of the writers featured, success is becoming independent of mental health and psychiatric services and medication, whereas for others services and approaches such as psychotherapy have been key.
The more structured or systematic strategies covered in the second section include the Manic Depression Fellowship's self management training programme, the National Self-Harm Network's Hurt Yourself Less Workbook, re-evaluation or co-counselling (where people are trained to listen to each other), and a positive self-awareness training course developed specifically for people of African descent.
"There is a wealth of expertise in these different ways of managing mental distress that people have pieced together from their own experience," said Alison Faulkner, head of service user initiatives, Mental Health Foundation. "This book celebrates people's strengths and recognises that different approaches work for different people. It is a completely different approach to the more typical large-scale studies which attempt to reduce people's personal experiences to a lowest common denominator. We hope that the individual accounts will inspire others experiencing mental distress to find their own strategy for living using whatever variety of approaches works for them."
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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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