The experience of learning from mental health service users and carers

Date11 March 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-06-2018-0036
Pages119-130
Published date11 March 2019
AuthorCharlotte Wilson
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Mental health,Mental health education
The experience of learning from mental
health service users and carers
Charlotte Wilson
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore student experiences of learning from mental health service
users and carers.
Design/methodology/approach In total, 30 clinical psychology trainees and ex-trainees took part in an
online survey (n ¼21) or focus group (n ¼9). Responses were analysed using interpretative thematic analysis.
Findings A number of themes were identified. There were two pre-conditions of learning: valuing the
teaching and emotional arousal. Participantslearning experiences were characterised by cognitive and
meta-cognitive processes: active learning, reflection, increased attention and vivid memories. Furthermore,
participants might have a meta-cognitive experience of having learned something, but being unsure what that
something was. Participants reported learning about the lives of service users, about themselves and about
the wider societal context for people with mental health difficulties.
Practical implications In order to facilitate learning students should value the input of service users. This
allows them to contain and use the emotional arousal the teaching produces. Furthermore, leaving students
with a feeling that something has been learned but not being exactly sure what that has been may facilitate
students seeking out further opportunities for service user involvement.
Originality/value Few studies have explored the process of learning from mental health service users and
carers. In the current study, the emotion aroused in participants was primary. Furthermore, a new
meta-cognitive experience, namely, the experience of having learned something, but not being sure what has
been learned, has been identified.
Keywords Learning, Higher education, Thematic analysis, Meta-cognitive emotion,
Service user teaching
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Research on the involvement of mental health service users in services is well established
(Tambuyzer et al., 2014). There is also a flourishing literature on the involvement of mental health
service users in producing or co-producing (Borg et al., 2009; Russo, 2012; Sweeney and
Morgan, 2009). However, understanding the impact of mental health service users and carers
have when they provide teaching in mental health professional training courses lags far behind.
This could be considered surprising when several mental health professional bodies require the
involvement of service users in their training, and others provide strong recommendations of the
same. The evaluations of mental health service users being involved in the training of mental
health professionals show that the outcomes are mixed. Many studies report positive benefits of
service-user-led teaching including challenging misconceptions about people with mental health
difficulties (Byrne et al., 2013), developing enhanced empathy (Wood and Wilson-Barnett, 1999),
working with the values of clients rather than the values of the service providers (Khoo et al.,
2004) and increased awareness of the wider societal and cultural influences on mental health
(Maher et al., 2017). Furthermore, we are becoming increasingly aware that students and
educators may themselves have experience of mental health services and/or of caring in a
personal capacity and that teaching that bridges the gap between someones personal and
professional identities can be powerful and a useful forum for learning (Wood et al., 2013).
However, there are also difficulties and barriers within service user and carer-led teaching; not all
Received 22 June 2018
Revised 5 December 2018
Accepted 10 January 2019
The author would like to thank all
the participants in the study and to
John, Regina, Sally, Collette and
Ray for conversations about the
project. The author also thanks
John, Andrew and Orla for their
support in thinking about higher
education practice. There was no
external funding for this project.
Charlotte Wilson is based at the
School of Psychology, Trinity
College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-06-2018-0036 VOL. 14 NO. 2 2019, pp. 119-130, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228
j
THE JOURNAL OF MENTALHEALTH TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PRACTICE
j
PAGE119

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