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Experienced Social workers

The following illustration may help:

I work as an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) in a busy inner city Early Intervention team in early on-set psychosis. My case load largely consists of young men who are currently experiencing their first episode of psychosis. Their lives are often in chaos at the time I become involved, with family members struggling to cope with frequently bizarre behaviours. The young people and their families struggle with the stigma of mental health and this can sometimes have worse effects than the mental health problem itself. Terry, who is black, is 19 and is experiencing frequent auditory and visual hallucinations. He no longer has any friends and he would struggle to hold down a job. He spends most of his time alone at home ruminating in his room. His parents are very reluctant to acknowledge his difficulty and their own isolation is, at least in part, preventing them from accessing appropriate services. They have also said that services are not culturally appropriate in that they do not recognise the specific difficulties faced by young black men who have mental health problems. Terry and his family are somewhat typical in my service. Consequently, I campaigned to establish a support group for black service users to explore the stigma related to mental health problems and race and to find collective ways of overcoming its worst effects. I was able to demonstrate that, in my service, stigma for black service users can be very damaging and that we should try to do something about it, particularly given the research evidence in this field (Crabtree, J. et al (2010), Mental Health Support Groups, Stigma, and Self-Esteem: Positive and Negative Implications of Group Identification, Journal of Social Issues, 66, 3, 553-569). I was concerned that the service would not be compliant with Disability Discrimination legislation if we did not provide a tailored service for families like Terry's. I have subsequently engaged the local radio station to organise some on-air discussions about the effects of mental health problems in the black community and especially the impact of stigma.

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