Events
On 21st November 2020 Brunel University interviewed Warren Stewart, who gives some fascinating insights into his work in prisons as a researcher with some personal views on how peer support can work in prison. You can listen here:
Wednesday 18th November 2020
Thankyou to all who participated in this mornings special interest group. The subject generated some incredibly thoughtful questions around working with otherness in nursing practice. A huge thank you to Dwight Turner for sharing his work . For those that were not able to make it, the session was recorded in two parts, see below for links to the recordings.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/3ca5bb53-33e4-483e-9315-5816b70472b5
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/f0d1457b-d711-436a-832d-055fa736da2f
On Wednesday 18th November between 10:00am to 12:30 through Microsoft Teams Mental Health Special Interest Group Code tcp6ms4 Dr Dwight Turner will facilitate a mental health Special Interest Group “Exploring the intersections of Privilege and Otherness” This will be facilitated through Microsoft Teams Mental Health Special Interest Group Team
Dr Turner is Senior Lecturer within the School of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Brighton, lecturing on their PG Dip and MSc courses in Counselling and Psychotherapy, a PhD Supervisor at their Doctoral College, a psychotherapist and supervisor in private practice, and a part-time lecturer at the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education (CCPE) in London. He completed his PhD through the University of Northampton and the CCPE in 2017. His phenomenological and heuristic study used transpersonal and creative techniques such as visualisations, drawing and sand play work to explore the unconscious intersectional nature of privilege and otherness. An activist, writer and public speaker on issues of race, difference and intersectionality in counselling and psychotherapy, Dr Turner can be contacted via his website www.dwightturnercounselling.co.uk
Friday 10th July 2020
Warren Stewart will be at the Education and Student Experience Conference, University of Brighton. Below is a copy of his abstract.
Undertaking educational research with vulnerable populations
Warren Stewart, School of Health Sciences
In this seminar I present a sequence of self-reflexive observations based on my experiences as a lone researcher, conducting sensitive qualitative research with vulnerable adult male prisoners who were undertaking an educational programme. The closed nature of the institution, security processes, hierarchical structures and aspects of the prisoner culture increased the complexity of the research process. Data collection was imbued with practical, ethical and subjectively experienced challenges including, accessing the various research sites, issues relating to rapport building and dealing with the emotional dissonance emanating from the management of unsolicited data. Given that other researchers conducting sensitive research with hard to reach populations may encounter similar issues, this paper aims to capture in detail, some of the difficulties I encountered and presents the main points of learning from my experience.
References:
Stewart, W. (2018). ‘What does the implementation of peer care training in a UK prison reveal about prisoner engagement in peer care giving?’ Journal of Forensic Nursing 14 (1), 18-26 2
Stewart, W. (2019). ‘Reflections on the Performance of Emotion, Masculinity, and Position Within a Prison Ethnography Journal of Forensic Nursing.
Monday 1st June 2020:
Mental Health Nursing Special Interest Group with Emma Wadey RN MH, Head of Mental Health Nursing, NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Emma Wadey RN, recently appointed as Head of Mental Health Nursing, NHS England has had her new role somewhat interrupted to include the mental health nursing response to COVID-19. Nevertheless, there was no doubting her clarity and focus for the future of mental health nursing. This group was held online in MS Teams, it was structured according to a ‘life history’ interview developed by Dan McAdams (1988). The interview centred around four key questions, these were: ‘What influenced you to become a nurse? What were your career peaks/nadirs? Who are your legends? Finally, the method provides the opportunity for participants to construct the next chapter in their life story. This process was followed by questions and answers from 27 mental health nursing students in their first, second and final year of pre-registration training at University of Brighton. In excess of 173 responses from students and lecturers within the hour gave us some insight into how mental health nursing remains relevant, forward thinking and has an invaluable contribution to make towards the health and wellbeing of our population.
Emma gave a brief history of her career to date, speaking with both courage and conviction as to the personal motivation for her work. She explained how working with recovery focused values means sometimes speaking out with an unpopular view. This at times has come with some personal cost. However, her fundamental belief in the need to be “human” and work from a person-centred perspective has meant that she has benefitted from the rewards that come from human connectiveness. She cited the example of bumping into an ex client who she sat around a fire within a recovery meeting some years before, who remembered her role with gratitude. She talked about the support and belief in her that has come from mentors and supervisors and how this has built her confidence to work with the unknown and new, daily. It is incidences like this that have given her the gravitas to carry on and work to bring attention to the difference that mental health nursing can make. She maintains her practice as a mental health nurse one day a week.
For the future, Emma spoke about the development of a new mental health nursing strategy for England in collaboration with the influential Tony Butterworth CBE. She will be actively seeking input from right across the mental health nursing community. She talked about two areas for inclusion into the strategy. Firstly, our focus as needing to continue working alongside and advocating for those with more enduring mental illness, ensuring that those with multiple and complex needs remain central to our expertise. Secondly, our enhanced contribution towards public health which includes the promotion of wellbeing and psycho- social interventions.
It was a genuine pleasure to have Emma attend the Special Interest Group and we look forward to inviting her back again as she continues and develops her role.
Lucy Colwell and Warren Stewart
We were disappointed to postpone our last MH-SIG event with Emma Wadey @nursingemma Head of Mental Health Nursing NHSE on 20th March, just as our COVID-19 experience began. Looking forward to inviting her and others back.
Watch this space for more events/ talks/ reflective spaces
Mental Health Awareness Week (UK) 18th to 22nd May 2020
