Why I chose to leave mainstream psychiatric services: a peer supporter’s personal perspective
| Pages | 153-160 |
| Date | 12 June 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-03-2017-0012 |
| Published date | 12 June 2017 |
| Author | Sue Irwin |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
Why I chose to leave mainstream
psychiatric services: a peer
supporter’s personal perspective
Sue Irwin
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences and reflections of a paid peer support
worker (PSW) working on an acute ward within mainstream psychiatric services.
Design/methodology/approach –A PSW’s reflective and narrative account of working in an acute ward
setting over a 12-month period.
Findings –Working as a paid PSW within mainstream services can create personal moral conflicts and
challenges which can sometimes compromise individual authenticity and integrity.
Originality/value –This paper is written from a personal perspective and as such is highly original.
Keywords Peer support, Mainstream mental health services, Personal perspective
Paper type Viewpoint
If we plant a seed in a desert and it fails to grow, do we ask, what is wrong with the seed? No. We
must look at the environment around the seed and ask, what must change in this environment such
that the seed can grow? (Deegan, 1996).
Introduction
Four months have now passed since I left my post as a paid peer support worker (PSW) on an
acute in-patient ward within mainstream mental health services in the UK. I left because I had
reached a point where I felt I could no longer work in an environment which compromised my
own values, and the values of peer support. It is now time to reflect upon why I made that
decision, based upon my own experiences. Although I do not have years of working in mental
health services nor a paper certificate hanging in a frame on my wall, I do have almost two
decades of experience of using mental health services, of spending many hours speaking with
and listening to my peers, and I have the scars on my body and in my mind which are
qualifications enough. My hope is that this paper will encourage an informed and constructive
debate around the very real problems that mental health services are facing today, and although
it sometimes feels a frightening and lonely path to follow by questioning the status quo,
my conscience will not allow me to ignore what I see as madness within modern day psychiatry.
Where did it all begin?
My own personal journey of healing has been shaped by the damaging effects of childhood
abuse and trauma and the subsequent emotional distress that I experienced over many years.
The long-term effects began to manifest themselves in a truly distressing way after the birth of my
third child and what to others might have seemed like an ordinary internal procedure during
labour, was the trigger for deeply buried memories and feelings from this abuse. Shortly after the
birth, I entered the mysterious world of psychiatry and its treatment of the mind.
Sue Irwin is an independent
Peer Support Facilitator in
Worcester, UK.
DOI 10.1108/MHSI-03-2017-0012 VOL. 21 NO. 3 2017, pp. 153-160, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308
j
MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
PAG E 15 3
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