Exploring Mental Wellbeing in our African and Caribbean Communities

7/27/2019 Exploring Mental Wellbeing in our African and Caribbean Communities

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Hello everyone, welcome to another audio blog by Matthew McKenzie a carer from Lewisham workingwith the South London and Maudsley along with Slamtwigops to promote services and keep carers,service users and health professionals informed.

ou can check out our !acebook page which usually has daily news updates on mental health newsin and around South London, we sometimes upload photos to !acebook and love likes and

discussions. !eel free to follow Slamtwigops twitter page on updates and perhaps retweet anythingyou feel interested in. "r for more in#depth details you can follow Slamtwigops blog which sometimeshas similar updates to !acebook, but more in#depth topics on many updates concerning mental healthand health communities in South London.

"n the $%th of Saturday "ctober $&'(, ) took a trip to Southwark on a rainy day. ) went over to covera black history month event, but this one was looking into how mental health was affecting the *fricanand +aribbean communities. he event was presented by +ambridge House, but before ) go on, whoor what is +ambridge House-

+ambridge House tackles the inustice of poverty by promoting social ustice and driving communityempowerment. hey have done this for '$/ years. 01uipping communities with the tools they need tobreak free from poverty by providing access to education, ustice, empowerment and opportunities for

self#e2pression. +ambridge House also supports the development of the sector, sharing theirknowledge and practices with charities, corporations and government to build bridges throughoutsociety and increase the reach of their work. Last year alone, they helped /3,&&& children and adults.

+ambridge House provide both social ustice and community empowerment services.

Social JusticeSince '445, +ambridge House has stood up for those who lack the ability and capacity to protect theirown rights.

0veryone should have access to ustice and liberty and that no voice should ever go unheard. )t iseasy to take ustice and liberty for granted. 6ut, too often, we are deprived of these basic rights.7overty strips away the knowledge, resources and capabilities we need to get our voices heard.

6y offering free e2pert legal advice and professional advocacy services we 8give voice9 to the mostvulnerable people in our society, increase access to ustice for those without the means to pay,promote social inclusion, tackle ine1uality and address gaps in statutory provision.

Law Centre# offering the most vulnerable people in our community free access to high1uality, independent and e2pert legal services

Advocacy services# :orking in partnership with vulnerable individuals, taking their side,and helping their voices to be heard. his service area focuses on our communities withmental illnesses.

+ambridge House e1uips communities with the tools they need to break free from poverty. 6y

creating pathways to education and employment, supporting the vulnerable to live their lives to thefull, enabling families and communities to tackle deprivation and nurturing the successor generations,they empower individuals and organisations to strive for a better future.

Youth Empowerment# 0mpowering young people to tackle the inustice of poverty and fightfor a better future.

Education Projects# :e provide creative programmes and activities for children, youngpeople and adults with disabilities and Special 0ducational ;eeds.

!amily Support and


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0mployability # provide holistic support that acknowledges individual needs, encouraging andfacilitating long#term change that will enable people to escape the cycles of unemploymentand poverty for good

0nterprise # )n addition +ambridge House works as a social enterprise. Making the most ofour recently redeveloped building, we offer building facilities and services including office and

meeting space to like#minded community organisations. :e currently have '> residentorganisations which operate permanently from our building and a large database oforganisations and community groups which rent our meeting rooms and halls on a regularbasis. )n $&''='$ over ',&&& people came through our building every week.

Where They Work+ambridge House have a local to national ethos which means that to affect long#term social changeand impact, we?

@evelop and pilot services in our local area

Ase this e2perience to offer best practice initiatives across London

Share their work and e2periences with government, businesses and the voluntary andcommunity sectors across the country

"ur frontline services are delivered in Southwark, the /'st most deprived borough in 0ngland. heyare increasingly delivering across London, including the boroughs of )slington, :altham !orest,Lewisham, Lambeth and the +ity of London.

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So ok, what was in store for me or those visiting the event called

B02ploring Mental :ellbeing in our *frican and +aribbean communitiesC

:ell there were three main activities at the event.

"ne was the screening of the hard hitting film called Che revolving @oorCSecond was the CLets discuss mental wellbeing in our *frican and +aribbean +ommunitiesC

# with guest panellists?SLaMDs own @r "laide, Eary 0llison and Fac1ueline 6est#Gassell. he panel wasfacilitated by 0arl 7ennycooke

hird was the C6eat itC activity, which was *frican drumming workshop from the )


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# )t is noted that 3&J or more black people suffering mental health problems are likely to enter themental health system via police# //J likely to be sectioned# $5J restrained# 7lus other devastating findings, but ) guess you get the picture by now.

# Karin noticed that there is usually an increased level of enforced treatment, which in turn produces afear of services, which is actually meant to help them to recover.# Karin spoke of how she met with $ women, and they told Karen of their e2periences as they felt theywere being institutionalised.# Karin also talked about those who were restrained and inectedI most were not refusing treatmentand wanted tablets.# Karin then mentioned of how health professionals notice that those who use psychotherapy and notdrugs can sometimes lead people back into hospital.# She felt that severe side effects of the medications seem to not be discussed, can lead to diabetes,Karin spoke of how someone lost their kidneys due to the medication.# Most disturbing was that everyone was given the same treatment even if different diagnoses.# Karin then talked about how the mental health service seems to push back the physical problems

Karin then thanked 0arl 7ennycooke on assistance and structure and she also thanked 0ve Eyimah.

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;e2t 0ve Eyimah introduced the activities of the event being the film, discussion and drums.

but first, we were shown a film called Che


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# only those very close asks about his medication, being his mother...this shows the emphasis oncarers, but even then they struggle to cope with caring.

# eventually the sufferer does reaches out to his mother, she then liaises with the psychiatrist,because of her worry, he is now readmitted due to negative social engagement thus the revolvingdoor turns again.

# stigma becomes now uicy gossip for the community and his work contract is terminated, words arenow used to describe his health.

Marcus feels that sometimes he thinks too much, he is looking for answers, but not sure what theycould be.

He then asks us.....:hat could we do---

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he film was a great lead up to the panel discussion with the audience participating. ;ow ) must warnyou, the 1uestion and answer session was fast and sometimes heated, but ) tried to get as much

information as ) could in a fair meaningful way, although please note these are my interpretation ofwhat was said.

6efore ) continue, let9s have a brief bio of each of the panellists.

!irst we have the !acilitator

0arl 7ennycooke is the manager of the Southwark user council, Southwark and Lambeth mind.

0arl 7ennycooke is the manager of Southwark user council. )t is a uni1ue service that deliversfeedback to commissioners from Southwark ++E and works closely with SLaM managers to givestakeholder feedback on services. 0arl has both personal and professional e2perience of the mentalhealth services for over (& years.

7rior to his role with Lambeth and Southwark mind he managed a similar proect for a Mental Healthand substance misuse charity work. :here he was the user involvement manager working acrossLondon and the south east to ensure service users voices were heard in local and national forums.

;e2t on the panel

Earry 0llison # Mental Health Service user consultant

!or the last % years Earry has been working with a wide variety of mental health sector organisations,services and charities. His passion is 7eer support and other initiatives that facilitate holisticapproaches to care planning.

He is currently doing work with the following organisations and this is 1uite a lotN, Southwark MindAser +ouncil, he 7eer $ 7eer initiative, Social *ction for Health, he


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"ver the past (& years, @r "laide has contributed to and developed many services for ethnic minoritymental health. He has given many public lectures, made media appearances and published twobooks and numerous articles.

Last but not least on the panellist

Fac1ueline 6est#Gassell # from South London and Maudsley

She has been through a $% year personal ourney into the mental health services, suffering from 7ost#;atal @epression, she has had a difficult ourney with the mental health services. She got on theinvolvement register and managed to access a wide range of professional courses from SLaM, one ofthese lead her to undertaking a 60+ @iploma in ;ursing and going on to work in the field. She alsohas worked as an educational psychologist in schools and colleges for over '4 years and feels had itnot been for her personal e2perience in mental health services, she would not believe that this routeinto adult mental health would have been one she would have looked into.

So then what was discussed at the panel- 7lease remember a lot discussed was at speed and ) mayhave misinterpreted what was said, but )9ll try to do the best ) can.

0arl # Started off by wanting to draw out some themes on what is mental illness.Earry # felt that if you are mentally unwell it seems that you do not fit into society, but felt even thoughMarcus was unwell, he :*S productive in society.

0arl # then wondered what the audience thought about the illness.

Someone asksN # was these based on real events-

Someone else repliedN # it9s hard to define mental illness, the connection is what we can see andwhat we are going through does not seem to be there. )t cannot be easily measured.

@r "laide # hen posed 1uestion. :hat is mental illness- Mental illness is a variation of normality.:e are able to make sense of our e2perience, but then when it becomes difficult to make sense, thenit turns into a gradual withdrawal, where you lose capacity to do things. ou lose your ability tofunction. @r "laide then gave an e2ample of those who are e2posed to stressful situations, somerecover, but unluckily for those who have difficult mental health symptoms suffer from these all thetime.

0arl # !elt there are so many definitionsN # someone from the audience then asked can you show us e2amples of these-

0arl # then spoke about the terms in the @SM @iagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental @isordersN

psychiatrists9 bibleN, he spoke about the first manual to work out mental illness and points out the firstworld war symptoms, and mentioned how *merican psychiatrists have managed to form a structure ofso many definitions of the illness. he book was Michel !oucaultDs he birth of the +linic.

@r "laide # felt these are different definitions, 7S@. :ent into the term of schizophrenia. He spokeabout the history of the terms and definitions of schizophrenia.

@r "laide spoke about @r Kraepelin, 1uite interesting to hear, as we learn more of the history of thistype of illnessN, he also described catatonia, hypephrenia, simple schizophrenia, paranoidschizophrenia.

@r "laide moved on to state the tragedy of the label of Marcus that is the young black man sufferingfrom mental health problems in the film shown earlier, for those who have forgottenN, @r "laide

asked how many people did Marcus interact with- He felt the social stigma is prevalent. Had his care


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co#ordinator came to see him, and then he would be fine. @r "laide also criticised Marcus9 managerMarcus boss in the filmN who has no time to him.

0arl # wondered how people could challenge these stigmas-

Karin :oodley +0" of +ambridge HouseN # spoke to the audienceI she spoke about how do we as a

community understand and support and remove stigma-

She mentioned there were two levels to this "ne being the micro level, she felt Marcus problemscould not be normalised, the other level being the macro level, she wondered how many black menare being diagnosed because they were in an oppressive culture-

Karin asked how do we address the over diagnosis- he over#reaction- How can we combat these-How can we combat institutions that can be oppressive and lead others, especially black people toillness-

0arl # then placed this 1uestion back to the panel.

Fac1ueline # felt that primary health is the beginning, these things ust do not occur, they build up over

time, sometimes you do not even know yourself what9s going on. :e need to look within. How doyou individualise mental health, perhaps you don9t :hat is normality-

N # Some from the audience asked who9s to say what you do- )t9s *uthority, they put ideas on theperson. he person might be thinking of something, so why do they want to do this to people-7eople do not 1uestion people all the way to the hilt- )t is fear perpetuating fear.

N # Someone else spoke of someone who has gone through such difficult mental health problems, hefeels it seems that they were over thinking. Leaflets of the mental health definitions were given out tohis friendI they read this information and began to panic. he simplest way to recover from mental tohealth is ust talking.

* lot of the audience agreed, but someone countered this argument

N # She felt smart people did overthink, for e2ample 0instein, no one 1uestioned their thoughts.

N # Someone in the audience spoke about the reaction to the leaflets and named this as transferal.

Earry # felt talking is a big part of healing.

0arl 7ennycooke # mentioned a book, about '%th century mental health services, he felt that theyhave to talk the language the health professionals understand. he problem of language andcommunicating with mental health professionals is a difficult issue.

N # Someone from the audience felt it9s ust one rule over another, she blamed Margaret hatcher.

0arl # disagreed and felt a lot of social pressure ends up on immigrants who in turn end up using themental health service.

Fac1uie # asked another important 1uestion. :hat can we do as a group of people....black people tocombat this-

N # someone from audience felt that the best form of defence is attack.

Fac1uie # felt talking therapies is usually best.

N # however some felt that black people are the ones mostly doing the talking


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Fac1uie # Fac1uie replied ok are we able to do this now-

0arl # !elt the black population needs to access )*7s.

@r "laide # felt Migrant populations always have over representation of mental illness.

@r "laide also felt that as people become more integrated into society they become more powerful inclass, the risk of illness becomes less. )t seems the social class are more at risk of the mental illness.

N # he audience agreed that money and class do have an effect.

@r "laide consultant psychiatrist # !elt we seem to blame our community, he has seen many blackpeople who *


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0arl # felt that this needs to be a community discussion that comes together, and not ust theindividual.

Karin :oodleyN # 7oised another important 1uestion.....*s a collection of people, what are thecommon e2periences that we need to deal with this- How do :0 ask those 1uestions of thosehospitals on how we should be treated- hose practices are damaging our families and our

communities.

N # Someone from the audience felt we should start at the hospitals

N # *nother person felt that how can you make changes against those who are preudice

N # another audience member made what ) felt was an important statement. )t went like this #O )f youhave relations, the treatments are different compared to those who are isolated. :e as people do notwork as a family unit, this needs to change. !or our younger generations we need to go into schoolsand make sure those of a young age understand mental health, it9s a best way forward.

@r "laide # felt the last statement is a very good point, He mentioned we as black community need to

work as a family unit which is more cohesive.

@r "laide also spoke about that the way people behave sometimes affects their treatment,sometimes medication that is given can often be too much, but the reason why-

He stated that it9s because they are too ill, but this treatment )S reduced if they recover. his is theway medication is designed, the dosage levels will usually be at ma2imum will be more helpful inorder to aide to recover.

0arl # then apologised for the discussions being short, but stated that a lot of answers will not besolved in such a time limit, he still wants us to think about the issues at least.

!rom there, the panel discussion ended.

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*fter a short break and networking, the event moved to the last *ctivity.

6eat it *frican @rumming with the )roko heatre +ompany #

)ntro fades in drumsN

;ow *frican @rumming workshop goes to the roots of DdembeD meaning Deveryone gather together inpeaceD and it encourages a reflection of *frican heritage to support current challenges.

)


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@embe drum6atP drum6ougarabou drum

:e then got involved in a practice session. Here is what we practiced

!ade in practice drumsN

!ade out practice drumsN

) admit after the heated panel session earlier, ) noticed something, that listening to the drums seemedtherapeutic, ) felt this was interesting.

;e2t the )

Exploring Mental Wellbeing in our African and Caribbean Communities

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