Editorial
| Pages | 2-2 |
| Published date | 18 August 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5042/mhsi.2010.0436 |
| Date | 18 August 2010 |
| Author | Adam Pozner |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Mental Health and Social Inclusion • Volume 14 Issue 3 • August 2010 © Pier Professional Ltd2
10.5042/mhsi.2010.0436
Patience Se ebohm and colleagues discuss t he
labels we currently use to describe se lf-organising
community g roups – ‘self-help’, ‘peer sup port’
and ‘servic e user’. They tease out the similariti es
and differe nces betwee n these groups, and the
increasingly close rel ationship t hat they have with
statutory a gencies. Hi storical, c ultural and social
factors are discussed to help explain differences and
separate de velopments within Afri can, Caribb ean
and other black com munities.
Annie Lau, a consul tant psychi atrist and student
of Japanese flower arrangement for over 30 years,
offers a fascinating account o f how Ikebana can be
used to promote wel l-being. An nie was involved
in the d esign and development of a Japanese
tranquillity garden wi thin Goodma yes Hospita l
in Essex, and runs Ikebana worksho ps for s taff
and patient s to pro mote well-b eing and explore
creativity.
And finally , Simon Bradstreet and Rebekah Pratt
offer an interesting account o f how pe er support
programmes and roles have deve loped in Scotland.
This includ es findings from an evaluation of thei r
Peer Suppor t Worker Pilot Sche me, which assessed
the impact of the pilot on service users, peer
support wor kers and the wider service system.
As always – do l et us kn ow about any projec ts
that are using crea tive approa ches to making soci al
inclusion a reality. Or better still, write about it for
the journal !
Adam Pozner
Welcome to the summer issue of Mental Health and
Social Inclusion. We cover a particularly varied range
of topics in this issue – day service modernisation,
peer support, Japanese flower arrangement, ward
visiting and ‘green care’.
We start with Simon Lawton-Smith’s policy
update, an invaluable overview of recent changes in
national policy.
Dwight Reynolds describes the highly innovative
ward visiting scheme developed by Canerows and
Plaits, a group organised by mental health service
users from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
His article describes the unique approach taken by
ward visitors from their scheme, and how staff and
service users on the wards have responded to this.
Peter Swan describes the results of a survey of day
service staff that explored their views and experiences
of modernisation. The survey suggests that while staff
might see modernisation as a daunting prospect, it
does appear to be effective at improving well-being
and promoting social inclusion for service users. Peter
suggests that intensive support needs to be given to
some individuals throughout any modernisation process,
and that efforts should be made to ensure that long-
term service users are not further marginalised.
Joe Sempik, Research Fellow at the Centre
for Child and Family Research at Loughborough
University, offers a comprehensive and fascinating
account of the role that gardening, horticulture and
farming can play in promoting mental well-being
and supporting recovery, tracing the historical
development of social and therapeutic horticulture
over the centuries.
Editorial
Adam Pozner
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