The following is an interview, conducted with Mark Evans. The Network would like to thank Mark for this comprehensive and personal piece, which explains why he has chosen to leave the profession immediately after qualifying. At our recent conference, it was noted that one of the problems with teaching students a more critical outlook is... Continue Reading →
Escaping Psy-Dominance: Ideas from Critical and Community Psychology
One of the four workgroups at the Birmingham conference in Sept 2015 was by Mel Wiseman-Lee and Jonathan Gadsby, titled 'Escaping Psy-Dominance: Ideas from Critical and Community Psychology'. (Other session summaries will be available soon). The session aimed to discuss the critical voices within psychology and introduce the network of recent developments there. Also, to generate... Continue Reading →
Next Steps
Dear Critical Mental Health Nurses' Network, Thank you very much for making yesterday so special. Thank you to everyone who travelled such large distances. Over the next few days you can expect: Summaries of the presentations and workshop discussions. A digest of the feedback you gave. Details of the document we made together in the... Continue Reading →
THE BIRMINGHAM EVENT: WORKING TOGETHER TO RECLAIM MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Dear Friends, We have been doing a lot of work to pull together a conference we feel very excited about attending. The 9th of September will be a day to meet others and turn critical thinking into important initiatives and action. The programme is going to include many of the themes which have been emerging through... Continue Reading →
My Journey to Becoming a Critical Mental Health Nurse (Part 1)
I’ve just completed my second year of nurse training, but my journey began many years ago. I’ve always been known amongst friends and family for being both a deep thinker, and a little eccentric; I have a natural tendency to dig deeper and resist the status quo. I had the “6 Cs”, as we all do to varying degrees, but I believe my questioning nature was key to developing them. I would rather show than explain how I feel this happened, so what follows is narrative, rather than analysis. My parents split when I was three, and in a decision practically unheard of in the seventies, custody was awarded to my father. My mother’s lack of emotional stability was cited as the main reason, something I was more reminded of by people other than herself. I accepted this and got on with growing up. What seemed like an outward course leading away from childhood began.
Bonnie Burstow Book Review
The following post is a book review by Jonathan Gadsby. If you would like to review a book or write a response to a book, please let us know. We have a list of great books to recommend, or perhaps you have one that you want to introduce to us. Our list of books and... Continue Reading →
The 2nd Critical Mental Health Nurses Network Event: Working together to reclaim mental health nursing
You are warmly welcomed to the CMHNN second national conference, Birmingham City University (City South Campus), 9th September 2015. The Critical Mental Health Nurses Network is for anyone who has a stake in the quality of mental health nursing in the UK and beyond. Interest in the Network has been growing strongly and we hope... Continue Reading →
Perpetuating unkindness
We are very grateful to Dr Alec Grant, who has contributed the following post. Alec is Reader in Narrative Mental Health in the School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton. He originally trained as a mental health nurse in the 1970s, then as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist. After teaching and writing in these areas for many... Continue Reading →
Psychopolitics in the 21st Century
The following post is by Jonathan Gadsby, and is a report on a conference that he attended following an invitation to the CMHNN by one of the supporting organisations, the Social Work Action Network (SWAN). SWAN are the social work equivalent of the CMHNN (more information can be found on their website.) Thank you to... Continue Reading →
An Investigation of Mental Distress and Modernity
The following post is from Ed Lord, a mental health nurse who has worked in acute settings since graduating from the University of Nottingham in 2007. Ed describes himself as an activist of green-anarchist persuasion. In this piece he introduces the work of his MSc, which brings together his understandings as a nurse with his... Continue Reading →