Kayleigh Beard-Blackband in conversation with Jerome Carson
| Pages | 208-211 |
| Published date | 14 November 2016 |
| Date | 14 November 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-07-2016-0019 |
| Author | Kayleigh Beard-Blackband,Jerome Carson |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
Kayleigh Beard-Blackband in conversation
with Jerome Carson
Kayleigh Beard-Blackband and Jerome Carson
Kayleigh Beard-Blackband is
based at the Department of
Psychology, University of
Bolton, Bolton, UK.
Jerome Carson is a Professor
of Psychology at the
Department of Psychology,
University of Bolton,
Bolton, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Kayleigh Beard-Blackband.
Design/methodology/approach –Kayleigh provides a short biographicaldescription of her life. She is then
interviewed by Jerome.
Findings –Kayleigh achieved so much while under intense domestic and academic pressure. This gives her
hope that she will be able to recover from recurrent depression.
Research limitations/implications –Single case studies are of course only one person’s story. However,
they can offer key personal insights and provide encouragement to others.
Practical implications –Kayleigh’s comments “It is easy to fall off the radar in mental health services”,
suggest services need to ensure that all referrals are followed up.
Social implications –Services need to offer individuals the help that they want. Many will have a preference
for individual over group treatments. People should be offered a choice.
Originality/value –Kayleigh’s story is a remarkable account of survival and growth against all the odds.
Keywords Counselling, Depression, Recovery, Education, Alcoholism
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Kayleigh is one of those people who always have a smile for you whenever you see her. I often
saw her outside my office waiting to see my Criminological and Forensic Psychology colleagues.
I think she had volunteered to help them with some of their research, as she was a Student on
their pathway. It was only when she came to see me to enquire about the options of studying for
a masters’degree that I learned something of her life. I was stunned to discover that her father
had died only a few months previously, and yet she had completed all her course work and thesis
on time. Most people in those circumstances would have suspended studies, but not Kayleigh.
Let her take up the story …
Brief biography by Kayleigh Beard-Blackband
The first timeI was told I had depression waswhen I was 16. I had taken my GCSE’s a few months
earlier, duringwhich my dad’sbestfriend(ormy“uncle”–notby blood, but the sentiment was the
same) was murdered,and I had not coped. By this, I do notmean that I had not recovered well,or
that I struggledto come to terms with what had happened. I meanthat I literally had not coped with
it, at all. I did not acknowledge it, I blocked it out. Even now I do not remember the date he died,
and I have never asked to be reminded. In terms of how I felt, the first few days were hard and
I experiencedthe overwhelming sadnessthat you expect when someone dies,but then that switch
went off. I passed my GCSEs and gave the outward impression of being happy, because I knew
PAGE208
j
MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
VOL. 20 NO. 4 2016, pp. 208-211, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/MHSI-07-2016-0019
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