Alison Faulkner

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Alison Faulkner is a survivor researcher and trainer in mental health with over 30 years’ experience of working in mental health research and consultancy. She has a particular interest in survivor research as a result of her personal experiences of using mental health services, and the personal & political belief in the right of people with lived experience to contribute to the mental health research and service agenda. She has worked for most of the major mental health charities, including the Mental Health Foundation, the Centre for Mental Health, NSUN (the National Survivor User Network), Mind and Together for Mental Wellbeing. She has a PhD from City, University of London: Knowing Our Own Minds: the role and value of experiential knowledge in mental health research.

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Whose camera is it anyway? The use of body-worn cameras in acute mental health wards

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Alison Faulkner writes a powerful blog on the use of body-worn cameras in acute mental health services, which centres around a qualitative interview study conducted with service users, staff and nursing directors.

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‘The Expert’ and ‘The Patient’: analysing Parliamentary debates on the 2007 Mental Health Act

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Alison Faulkner writes about a discourse analysis of the House of Commons’ debates regarding the 2007 Mental Health Act, which is very relevant to the current White Paper consultation on the Reform of the Mental Health Act.

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The Recovery Narrative: challenging the dominance of a narrative genre #RonR2019

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Alison Faulkner reflects on an important paper, which argues that The Recovery Narrative is at serious risk of homogenising the lived experience of madness.

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The impact of racism on mental health

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Alison Faulkner considers a recent report on racism and mental health by the Synergi Collaborative Centre, which covers the impact of interpersonal racism, the multidimensional nature of disadvantage, structural disadvantage and mental illness, and pathways to mental health care.

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Whose Safety is it Anyway? Service user and carer involvement in mental health care safety #MHNR2018

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Alison Faulkner takes a recent study as the starting point for an exploration of mental health care safety, service user and carer involvement, raising concerns, risk, harm, power, relationships and much more.

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How should we redirect research on psychiatric drugs? #PsychDrugDebate

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Alison Faulkner dissects the new McPin Foundation Talking Point Paper by Jasna Russo entitled: Through the eyes of the observed: re-directing research on psychiatric drugs.

Follow #PsychDrugDebate today on Twitter for further discussion about this vital issue.

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Family involvement in acute mental health care

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Alison Faulkner carefully considers a recent collaborative conceptual review, which asks why and how families should get involved in acute mental health care.

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The role of pets in supporting people living with mental distress

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Alison Faulkner (and her cats) delight in a recent qualitative study looking at the impact pets can have on the everyday lives of people diagnosed with a long-term mental health condition.

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A social model for understanding madness and distress

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Alison Faulkner on a new Shaping Our Lives report, which addresses service user and survivor views about ways of understanding madness and distress, but in particular about the potential of a social model.

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People’s experiences of taking antidepressants

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Alison Faulkner reflects on the findings of a qualitative study from New Zealand that explores users’ diverse experiences of taking antidepressants.

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