Editorial

Citation

Pozner, A. (2012), "Editorial", Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Vol. 16 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mhsi.2012.55716aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Volume 16, Issue 1

Welcome to the early spring issue of Mental Health and Social Inclusion.

We start, as always, with our regular features. In “Policy watch”, Simon Lawton-Smith provides his invaluable overview of current developments in mental health policy across the UK. In this issue, he reports on the Office for National Statistics work on measuring wellbeing in the whole population, current investment levels in English mental health services, and the new Welsh Assembly vision for health services in Wales for the next five years.

In “Research watch”, Sue Holttum reflects on two very interesting research papers. The first evaluates a scheme training people to manage their mental health or physical condition so as to increase their chances of gaining employment. The second examines the social causes of psychosis.

Working in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health, Southdown Housing Association is an accredited IPS Centre of Excellence, delivering Individual Placement and Support vocational services across Sussex. Martin Dominy and Toby Hayward-Butcher report on research which examines whether paid employment produces positive social capital returns for people with severe and enduring mental health problems.

In a stimulating and challenging paper, Peter Chadwick discusses psychotic delusion as a creative experience, suggesting that enhanced creativity during psychosis might be put to better productive use during the process of recovery. Artistic cultures are sometimes more receptive and supportive to psychosis sufferers, and in so doing can promote earlier recovery and social inclusion.

Jason Davies and colleagues describe a social care facility designed to provide tenancy and high relational support to individuals with enduring mental health problems. Reporting results from an interim evaluation of the service, they suggest that high relational support delivered by not-for-profit providers can significantly improve the social inclusion levels of individuals with complex, enduring and severe mental health problems, as well as being sustainable and cost efficient.

And finally Alison Faulkner and Thurstine Basset review current perspectives on peer support in mental health, drawing upon consultations with five groups of service users engaged in different forms of peer support.

As always, do tell us what you think of the journal and how we can improve it.

Adam Pozner