Dr Bill Penson

Included in this book is recommended further reading and an index of legislation, making it an ideal resource for students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, together with researchers and practitioners in the field.

Aims and objectives of the presentation: • To orientate participants to methods for coaching interpersonal skill development • To look at how educators can develop criteria for feedback and reflection, • To discuss how this can be built into curriculum design • To review learner feedback in using this experience It can be challenging to develop skills that are transferable, leading to both increased employability and interpersonal effectiveness. Literature suggests that such ‘people skills’ are very important in a number of fields, and developing competence in this area, and an ability to reflect on such skill deployment, is essential. Furthermore, to maximise learning, interpersonal skills practice needs to be embedded into a curriculum. We will draw on learning and teaching across a number of modules designed to make clinicians, counsellors and therapists more interpersonally effective, and we will present and discuss the benefits of developing ‘on the spot’ feedback and reflection when engaged in interpersonal skills training. Aside from presenting the methods used to develop these skills in students, participants will practice in the workshop the use of a relevant ‘people skill’ area, and will give each other feedback to reflect on. By the end of the workshop participants will have been exposed to methods that can be taken back into teaching and learning, and will have considered how to develop rapid feedback as well as having practiced a skill.

Bill Penson and Darren Hill ask whether the bestiary might offer an alternative account of madness and distress to psychiatric and psychological models.

In the UK it is estimated that a third of patients in mental health services have a substance use problem, and that half of patients in drug and alcohol services have a mental health problem. Part of Palgrave's Foundations of Mental Health series, this book explores the intertwined issues of substance use and mental health as a social phenomenon and offers a critical, informative guide to understanding dual diagnosis. Written by authors with extensive experience within mental health and drug treatment services, Working with Dual Diagnosis explores areas that are key to understanding the relationship between the two, including: * models for understanding substance use, mental health and the correlation of complex social and psychological factors; * treatment processes for working with individuals, groups and families and within a community setting; * the historical social, political, economic and legislative context of mental health and substance use; * practice implications for dual diagnosis, including how practitioners can work with and promote better treatment, after care and support for those experiencing dual diagnosis issues. Enriched with reflective exercises, case studies and key points, this book will inform all work related to dual diagnosis populations within health, social and criminal justice service, and is an essential text for social work, nursing, occupational therapy and probation students.

There is an uncomfortable duality, which sits at the heart of British social work practice, as Leung (2012, p. 348) suggests social work is ‘baffled’ by a basic dissonance in its intention to help people accommodate to the status quo, whilst challenging the status quo by attempting to bring about social change. In this chapter we will take a long view of the profession, examining the historical dislocations of attempting a professional accommodation to this seemingly contradictory position. In writing this chapter we must collectively acknowledge that it is written from a Critical Theory Position and draws heavily upon Post Structural, Marxist and Radical Social Work Theory; we make no apologies for this. The history we explore within this chapter is not chronological, it is thematic and based upon discourse analysis and identified themes that intersect with power relationships and social class. We are making the case that social work is part of a vast system that perpetuates systemic violence and that we contribute to a system of “benevolent violence”, in which we offer a complex system of care and control, that has mitigated and supported the rupture of indigenous people from the common land in both the UK and abroad.

The need to increase the capacity of developing countries to meet the mental health needs of their populations is widely acknowledged. This article examines some of the challenges associated with a British Council DelPHE project aimed at strengthening the capacity of mental health educators to prepare the mental health workforce in Zambia for a shift from an institutional to a community-based model of care. The analysis draws on data from two focus groups in which the participants were drawn from college educators who had taken part in workshops intended to enhance curriculum alignment to ensure that the education and training provided for clinical officers (psychiatry) and mental health nurses was "fit for purpose." In particular, the article highlights their perspectives on some of the tensions in focusing on mental health as opposed to broader health care and in ensuring appropriate opportunities for practice or field placements. The continuing impact of stigma and limited resources available for mental ill-health is acknowledged within the wider context of inequities in mental health care. Findings of this evaluation may be applicable to other sub-Saharan contexts, but should be understood only within the Zambian context.

Epidemiological assessment of the prison population globally shows undeniable health need, with research evidence consistently demonstrating that the prevalence of ill health is higher than rates reported in the wider community. Since a meeting convened by the World Health Organisation in the mid-1990s, prisons have been regarded as legitimate settings for health promotion and a myriad of interventions have been adopted to address prisoners’ health and social need. Peer-based approaches have been a common health intervention used within the prison system, but despite their popularity little evidence exists on the approach. This paper presents findings from an expert symposium – part of a wider study which included a systematic review – designed to gather expert opinion on whether and how peer–based approaches work within prisons and if they can contribute to improving the health of prisoners. Experts were selected from various fields including the prison service, academic research and third sector organisations. Expert evidence suggested that the magnitude of success of peer interventions in prison settings is contingent on understanding the contextual environment and a recognition that peer interventions are co-constructed with prison staff at all levels of the organisation. Implications for developing peer-based interventions in prison are given which assist in developing the concept, theory and practice of the health promoting prison.

Purpose: Formalised support services for prisoners that rely on peer methods of delivery show promising health and social outcomes but there is also conjecture that negative effects, both at an individual and organisational level, can occur. Design/methodology/approach: Individuals with recognised professional expertise from various sectors (including ex-prisoners) were invited to contribute to an expert symposium to share their perceptions of the positive and negative effects of peer interventions in prison. Discussions and debate were audio recorded with the consent of all delegates and verbatim transcripts were analysed using Framework Analysis. Findings: According to the participants, peer interventions in the prison setting created both positive and negative impacts. It was clear from the evidence gathered that peer interventions in prisons can impact positively on health outcomes, but these effects were perceived to be more well-defined for peer deliverers. The notion that peer deliverers can be subjected to ‘burnout’ suggests that supervisory processes for peer workers need to be considered carefully in order to avoid the intervention from being counter-productive. Organizationally, one of the salient issues was the adverse effects that peer interventions cause to the security of the prison. Originality/value: To our knowledge, this is the first time an expert symposium has been conducted to specifically examine peer interventions in prison and to consider the effects, both positive and negative, of such schemes.