Published: Thursday, 25th February, 2010 9:46am

More open about mental health

Dear Sir, - I would like to comment on the very moving and brave story by Mags O'Reilly published in the Impartial Reporter on 29th 0ctober 2009 under the heading 'The living nightmare of being sectioned'. I only read the story recently whilst on holiday in Enniskillen, hence the delay in responding. I would like to see more people follow the example of Mags by being more open though I also appreciate mental health is a very sensitive subject. I have worked in the field of mental health nursing for 30 years as a qualified mental health nurse. Over the last 6 years I have devoted a great deal of time specifically towards tackling the stigma and discrimination that Mags referred to. My work has been to promote more social inclusion for all who experience mental illness. Sadly so many people experience stigma daily as a consequence of having a mental illness. In a modern society this is totally unacceptable.

I have carried out anti stigma work in schools, colleges, employment and the media here in England. Last year I completed my autobiography 'Sticks and Stones' with the aim of promoting more understanding, empathy and tolerance. I speak as someone who has been the nurse and the patient. I have treated hundreds of people who have suffered with a mental illness and also experienced depression myself. Writing my life story was cathartic but the main aim was to educate and inform as to how things were in the 'bad old days' and now. It was also to show that we can all make a difference when it comes to tackling stigma and discrimination, individually and collectively.

I would hopefully like to offer some reassurance to Mags by saying that I feel optimistic that positive change is happening, albeit slowly, and society is becoming more accepting and understanding of mental illness. Treatment programmes no longer involve using 'padded' cells ( most were removed from psychiatric hospitals in the late 1980s) overuse of tranquillising medication with severe side effects, and institutionalisation. More emphasis today is placed on treatment at home in the community with psychological therapies such as counselling. The patient, now termed service user or client, is at the centre of the planning and delivery process of their own care. And this is how it should be.

We now have increased advocacy movements as never before, and clients have a real voice in the way mental health services are commissioned, planned and delivered. This is so far removed from when I first started working in psychiatric hospitals in the late 1970s. Empowerment is a word that is more frequently used to describe these changes and I have seen for myself how this has become a reality for many and not just tokenism. The shift of power ensures that care is now more collaboratively planned and this is crucial to the recovery of anybody who experiences mental ill health. Much more still needs to be done and we must not become complacent, but I feel great strides have been made to right the wrongs in more recent years.

National campaigns such as 'Time To Change' are starting to make a difference and attitudes are changing as a consequence of this. Mental illness doesn't discriminate. It crosses social, religious and cultural boundaries and affects one in four of the population. The future as I see it lies in the normalisation of mental illness. I long to see the day when people feel as comfortable discussing their own mental health issues as they would in discussing physical health conditions, such as a broken arm or leg. More teaching of mental health in primary schools will go some way towards this process of normalisation. Teaching of mental health at an early age will equip children to be more mentally resilient for when they become adults and have to face all the stress life can throw at them.

Yours faithfully,

Lawrence Butterfield

1 Evendale,

Pinehills,

Guisborough,

North Yorkshire,

TS14 8JW.