Emerging Proud in Powys

by guest author Caroline Andrews

On Tuesday 2 April I took the plunge and held a film screening at the Friends' Meeting House here in Llandod. The film? “Emerging Proud: coming out of the Spiritual Closet."

For my whole adult life, I’ve walked a balance of being “here and yet not here”. In the world and yet not of it. Having experienced a prolonged spiritual awakening after the second year in university, yet being treated like I was wrong and ill, I tried to dumb myself down and “fit in”, playing it safe.

A few years later, however, my soul had other ideas and another download of information, energy and spiritual awareness occurred. Once more, I was treated like I was ill and slightly “wrong”, forcibly injected with toxins and locked away, to awaken with my senses deadened and feeling this time like nothing that felt important to me was safe to explore.

A year later I had clawed some light back in to my life and re-gained my confidence though once more experienced a prolonged peak state that landed me one more time in hospital.

This time, I had the support of a loving partner, and a deep knowing inside that this was a spiritual awakening. “One flew over the cuckoo's nest” sprang to mind as I set to have as much fun with the other “inmates” as possible until I managed to set up a tribunal. Luckily I was released before it came to court.

10 years later, I’m showing a screening of a film that speaks volumes about my own journey and the profound times we are living in. People from all over the world speaking about their experiences and how the labels they were given vastly underestimated the value of their profound and revealing life changing experiences. Time after time, we hear from people that validation of their path was the most helpful part of their journey, in opposition to the treatment by the psychiatric system that would dumb down and medicate the person creating invalidation and inner turmoil.

The campaign whose name echoes the film title, Emerging Proud, was started by Katie Mottram, also author of “Mend the Gap”. In her book, Katie shares her own experiences in life, from being a carer in the mental health system to being herself an experiencer, and her realisation that the spiritual aspect of the journey was often overlooked though sometimes the most valuable part of the experience.

I trained with Katie through the organisation Emerging Proud to become an Emerging Kind peer group facilitator. In these peer groups we share from the heart, and listen without judgement. This is a safe space, where there are no labels, just love and acceptance for each other. Last year I ran a group here in Llandrindod Wells for 10 months. There were tears and a lot of laughter and for me a profound sense of home. Having felt so alone for my whole adult life, I had finally found a place to share my experiences without fear of being re-sectioned or ridicule.

Now in its second year, I have created a new peer group, based on the attendees of the film screening and at present, we are full to capacity. If you’d like to join the group, I can keep you on the waiting list. The film itself is worth watching for a life changing feeling of seeing people all around the world experiencing exactly what I did. Check it out for yourself here:

And find out more about Emerging Proud here.

“Times, they are a-changing,” and so should the solutions to our challenges. Emerging Proud supports the growing notion that mental health crisis is in fact an invaluable and life changing experience and with the right support and encouragement we may all come out the other side transformed like the butterfly, spreading our wings to take on a new horizon.

To find out more about Emerging Proud in Powys, contact Caroline by emailing carolinemaryandrews@hotmail.com or ringing 07749 232 366.

CRAZYWISE - the Brecon screening

“Crazy…or wise? The traditional wisdom of indigenous cultures often contradicts modern views about a mental health crisis. Is it a ‘calling’ to grow or just a ‘broken brain’? The documentary CRAZYWISE explores what can be learned from people around the world who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience.”

On the longest (and probably hottest) day of 2017 I was at The Wellington Hotel in Brecon with PAVO colleagues, community groups, staff from mental health services and individuals to watch this new documentary film by directors Phil Borges and Kevin Tomlinson. The free community screening had been arranged by Avril Meyler of Emerging Paradigms in partnership with PAVO and Brecon community organisations. My colleagues Anne Woods, Philip Moisson and Jane Cooke helped organise the event and also facilitated the open discussion sessions following the screening.

Regular readers of this blog will know that we are keen to promote alternative approaches to looking at mental health distress, asking what has happened to a person who is in mental health crisis rather than concluding that something is wrong with them. So we were delighted to be asked to be involved in the first screening of this groundbreaking, powerful and as it turned out, very moving film, in Powys.

Avril explained in her introduction that she first saw CRAZYWISE at an #EmergingProud event in London during Mental Health Awareness Week in May and knew immediately that she wanted to bring it to her local community. (She has written about the Brecon screening on her blog: A Multidimensional Paradigm).  Avril anticipated that the documentary would prompt much interesting discussion, and suggested some of the questions we might ask at our tables once we'd watched the film, such as: “What can we learn from people who have successfully navigated a psychological crisis?” and “Is it time to pay more attention to the psycho/social and spiritual underpinnings of mental health and bring a more balanced approach to mental health care?”

Phil Moisson, Anne Woods, Avril Meyler, Jane Cooke, Andy Hall, Paul Stephens

And so to the film. “CRAZYWISE follows two young Americans diagnosed with “mental illness.” Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life.” 

Interspersed with Adam and Ekhaya’s stories are interviews with mental health professionals and indigenous peoples, and the director Phil Borges discovers: “a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning.” 

In the early scenes of CRAZYWISE, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil tells us what inspired him to start filming. After many years documenting indigenous cultures, he realised that their interpretation of “psychotic” symptoms as a journey of spiritual transformation is completely different to the way that psychosis is regarded in the West and a deep curiosity drew him to find out more. In an interview with Frontier Therapy magazine Phil describes changing his mind about “mental illness” – which he used to think was caused by a “chemical inbalance in the brain. “I now look at it as a natural transformational process waiting to happen. Unfortunately our culture does not look at it this way and so there is little support in helping the individual find meaning and purpose in their suffering."

Round table discussions

The film prompted some really thought-provoking discussion throughout the remainder of the day. Without divulging personal stories, I picked up on several key themes: 

The not so good…

• Questions about what has happened to you are never asked.
• In Powys the first port of call for someone in mental health distress is the GP – so people are set on to the medical route right at the start.
• If a GP was amenable to other options what would they offer? What is the alternative in Powys?
• It is horrendous trying to fight for help if labelled as an “alcoholic” or “nicotine-dependent.”
• People are labelled as having a problem when often the problem is external, such as work-related stress.
• If you have a problem outside Mon-Fri 9 – 5 you are stuck mental health-wise.
• Some people feared that if they referred to a spiritual experience that this would just add to their medical diagnosis.
• Patients with a physical illness are trusted to understand and monitor their medication. This happens far less with mental “illness”. 
• Being challenging is not an illness.
• Doctors will always be in control as they prescribe the medication.

Jane Cooke, Senior Officer Mental Health at PAVO and Tania Dolley, Psychologist at Powys Teaching Health Board

The opportunities for different approaches…

• “When I am in emotional crisis I want a community that welcomes the symptoms and says it will be alright. That is so healing.”
• “This could be a half-way house that accepts me for who I am. I don’t mind if the people there are peers or professionals, so long as they are the right people. This would save money as it would prevent long-term issues from developing and also possibly hospitalisation.”
• There should be a support system for people using services to empower them to question treatments and medication.
• In the film the professionals who supported The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) are now against it. Some people in the system are more open-minded.
• "It would be nice to present a “basket of fruit” to the world – what works for one person is different for another. Someone might want a peach one day and a nectarine the next."

Andy Hall edits One in Four three times a year, available from Brecon & District Mind

And other questions and comments…

• Several people were keen to find out more about shamanism. (In some cultures a psychotic experience is viewed as a calling to become a healer or shaman). Others pointed out that a spiritual way is different for everybody – it could be a drumming session…. it could be being a mother….
• Medication works for some people and sometimes it can be helpful. In the film this was also stated.
• There are no psychiatrists or community psychiatric nurses in the room today. Where are they? We want them to hear our story.
• Are the professionals the community leaders of our time in terms of spiritual growth and connection? Or can it just be about grassroots social connections?

The hope now is that we can acquire the licence to show CRAZYWISE to many more audiences throughout Powys, so that further discussion can be stimulated and ideas gathered about changing the response to mental distress in the county.

What do you think? Would you be interested to see the film? If so, get in touch, or leave a comment below. You may also like to find out more about Open Dialogue, the Spiritual Crisis Network, and the Hearing Voices Network.

Whilst the film was running I was transfixed. It’s compelling stuff. I lifted my pen only once to write down a quote from mental health advocate and counsellor Will Hall who said: “The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is basically a sophisticated way of not listening to people...” 

But as the film reinforced over and over again – people just want to be listened to no matter what they're going through.

Spirituality and Recovery in Mental Health

Last Monday Tim Teeling, the Pembrokeshire Mental Health Development Officer at West Wales Action for Mental Health, travelled up to Mid Wales to join us for our regular monthly team meeting. We had invited him to talk to us about an innovative project he set up for WWAMH on Spirituality and Recovery in Mental Health. 

Our team had made a trip down to Carmarthen and WWAMH HQ earlier this year to find out more about the organisation’s work generally. 

We discovered TONIC for surfing, watched the Recovery Wall Project and heard a veteran’s story, but the day just raced by – they have so much exciting stuff going on down there! And we ran right out of time to pick up more than a passing hint at Tim’s work. 

It was enough to whet our appetite to find out more, however, and so here is a taste of what we enjoyed on Monday.

Beginnings

Tim was originally inspired to set up the Spirituality project for WWAMH about four years ago when he became aware that whilst much had been written on the topic, very little was available about how to work with spirituality as part of an individual’s recovery. Tim did not want to set up a project that looked at faiths in particular, but rather at “how my feelings and thoughts can help me recover from mental health problems. Instead of seeing our beliefs as signs of illness, we explore them as strengths in recovery.”

Whilst the statutory mental health sector concentrates on reducing symptoms such as hallucinations, the spiritual approach focuses on hope and optimism. There is a shift away from problems to look at a person’s strengths.

What the project does

Three monthly groups, which are open to individuals and their carers, run in Aberaeron, Haverfordwest and Llanelli. After initially experimenting with standalone groups, Tim now works closely with pre-existing organisations such as Mind which has proved more successful.

At the start of each meeting Tim introduces a theme, such as joy, courage, or forgiveness, and following a brief introduction participants then discuss. Revealing our attitudes to our own spirituality could potentially be awkward in a group setting, but ground rules such as “respect for each other” and “no preaching allowed” ensure confidence and enthusiasm to talk. The project is non-denominational and a belief in God is not necessary.

Knowing our own Minds – the starting point

In 1997 the Mental Health Foundation carried out a survey which revealed that 50% of people in contact with mental health services relied on spiritual and religious feelings to help their recovery. This is not that surprising as 60 – 70% of people believed in “something”, even though church attendance was down to 5%. Tim has worked in mental health for 27 years now and is always aware of the importance of spirituality or the non-material aspects of life for many people, particularly in relation to recovery. “It gives a meaning and purpose to life, an optimism, and a much-needed connection to others and the outside world.”

Tim Teeling meets our mental health team
L:R Jackie Newey (Info Service), Jane Cooke (Senior Officer), Anne Woods (Participation Officer)

Spirituality and themes in spiritual therapy

One of the criticisms that people in contact with mental health services sometimes make is that those delivering these services don’t understand them or what makes them tick. “The big question is – what is the most important thing for you in your life? What brings hope and purpose into your life?” The values of peace, compassion and happiness – the sense of the inner self, and the search for a meaning and purpose in life, these themes are rarely explored in any depth. Even more radical, perhaps, is the possibility that problems could be viewed as opportunities for growth.

Spiritual practices and assets

Engaging with our spiritual side does not necessarily mean (although it might – it so much depends on the individual) praying, reading scripture or taking part in a particular faith’s rituals. It could be as simple as enjoying nature, cooking, or helping others. “One guy just loves fishing down by the river. That is his spiritual practice – standing in the river and listening to the birds – not how many fish he catches”.

Once they engage with their spiritual side people start to realise that life is “not just about me – I am part of a greater whole. It gives the courage and grounding that people need, and hope in the face of distress”.

Spirituality and religion

The difference between spirituality and religion is a subject often discussed. Tim said that spirituality is usually something we do on our own and covers beliefs and practices found outside organised religion. Religion, meanwhile, whilst intrinsically spiritual, tends to be organised and communal.

Research

There is a wealth of research in the area, and evidence shows a statistically significant relationship between those who engage in spiritual practices and greater life satisfaction, including: an increase in hope and optimism, a sense of purpose and well meaning, increased self esteem, less depression, fewer suicides, less substance abuse, and less psychosis and psychotic tendencies.

Of course, negative experiences are also possible – people may feel persecuted by spirits or punished by an intolerant deity, and it would be unwise to suggest someone cut out all their medication in favour of prayer, for example.

Mental health assessments and spirituality

A particularly interesting part of Tim’s talk related to the way in which mental health nurses struggle to explore an individual’s spiritual life with them, in care and treatment planning for example. The Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010 acknowledges the importance of spirituality in its Code of Practice:

“Spirituality can play an important role in helping people live with, or recover from, mental health problems. Spirituality is often seen as a broader concept than simply religion”.

But for the nurses it is often an awkward area to discuss. Where do they start? What questions can they ask? They may be fearful about stepping on sensibilities, but actually exploring spiritual issues with someone can be therapeutic in itself. In Tim’s workshops he looks at ways this can be done, using practical exercises and prompting questions such as:

• Are you spiritual and religious in any way?
• What do you really value in your life?
• What keeps you going when things get tough?
• Has being ill affected your thoughts about the future?

Once a conversation has been started, and if an individual is keen to pursue the subject, further questions can be asked about specific scenarios. Nurses could find out more about someone’s experience of talking to GPs, psychiatrists and nurses about their spirituality. And ask if they are worried about any conflicts between their beliefs and their care. At his sessions Tim talks through the specific skills which aid such conversations. These include attentive listening, suspending your own judgment, and accepting that spiritual pain may not be solved as a problem, but as a question to be lived.

So far Tim has met with two groups of nurses in Pembrokeshire – a Community Mental Health Team and staff on an inpatient ward. He has a third session coming up soon. It sounded to the rest of us as if his session on spirituality would be invaluable for all those working in the field of mental health!

Tim ended his talk by reminding us that “our health services are very much involved in symptom relief. Recovery is about living with hope, even with our problems.”

Thanks so much to Tim for telling us about the Spirituality and Recovery Project run by WWAMH in West Wales. What are your thoughts on spirituality and mental health? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know in the comments box below.

You can watch a video in which Tim talks about the project at the 2014 Annual International Think Tank Conference.

If you are interested in finding out more about the project please contact Tim Teeling by emailing tim@wwamh.org.uk

Read about other research on spirituality and mental health:

Taken seriously: Somerset spirituality Project 2002

The impact of spirituality on mental health 2006