Collaborative Learning Initiative (CLI)

These film resources were developed in collaboration with service users, carers, academics and doctors. They can be used in a variety of contexts - by mental health educators, academics, service users, carers, practitioners and students.

Cognitive behavioural perspectives of mental distress
Max Birchwood, Professor of Clinical Psychology, puts forward a cognitive behavioural interpretation of mental distress. Issues around promoting recovery are also discussed.

Critical perspectives on the biomedical model of mental distress
Philip Thomas, Professor of Philosophy, Diversity and Mental Health, provides a critical overview of the biomedical model of mental distress. Issues around promoting recovery are also discussed.

Social perspectives on mental distress
Dr Jerry Tew, senior lecturer in social work, discusses how mental distress can be understood from a social perspective. Issues around promoting recovery are also addressed.

User and carer perspectives on mental distress
Tracey Holley, a mental health survivor educator, and Pat Caplen, a carer with 45 years' experience, give their perspectives on mental distress. Issues around how recovery can be supported are also addressed.

'Conversation with....' series

CEIMH's very popular 'Conversation with' series including conversations with Thomas Szasz, Richard Warner, Dorothy Rowe, Diana Rose and Gail Hornstein.

• A conversation with Thomas Szasz Dr Thomas Szasz, a founder of the 'anti-psychiatry' movement, gives an overview of the ideas he has developed and written about over the past 60 years. 
• A conversation with Gail Hornstein Psychologist Dr Gail Hornstein, speaks about the challenge of using first-person madness narratives in research and questions why the first-hand experiences of service users are not fully acknowledged by most mental health professionals
• A conversation with Diana Rose Dr Diana Rose, senior lecturer in user-led research at King's College, London, talks about her research as a service user/survivor. She describes some of the challenges to undertaking user-focused research, including power relations, hierarchies of knowledge, and having a 'double identity'.
• A conversation with Dorothy Rowe Dorothy Rowe, clinical psychologist and writer, speaks about her perspectives on psychology and why 'comforting lies' are often seen as preferable to 'uncomfortable truths'.
• A conversation with Richard Warner Psychiatrist and researcher, Richard Warner, shares his views about schizophrenia.

Alzheimer's
David, Malcolm and Bob reflect on how their memories have been affected by Alzheimer's, talk about their early memories and share some thoughts on the importance of attending their Memory Club.

Autism: a mother's emotional journey
A mother describes how she struggled to accept her daughter's diagnosis as severely autistic.

Biomedical model of mental distress
Dr Alan Farmer, consultant psychiatrist, discusses how mental distress is understood from a biomedical perspective. 

Carer's Equal Opportunities Act
Members of Dudley Carers in Partnership explore the impact of being a carer. 

Common Grounds event
This event explored the relationship between community development/activism and mental health service user groups. Participants thoughts of the day were captured in these three films on Recovery, Resources and the Refugee experience.

Experiences of inpatient care
Service users recount their personal experiences of becoming and being, inpatients in mental health hospitals.

GP consultations on depression
These five case studies provide examples of consultations between GPs and patients with depression

Impact of medication
Service users share their individual experiences of receiving psychopharmacological treatment.

Mental health practice case studies (Online Assessment Workbook)
Eleven short films presenting a case study of a potentially difficult mental health situation that practitioners may need to deal with as part of their practice.

Mental health practice case studies (SELF project)
Short films presenting case studies of a potentially difficult mental health situation that practitioners may need to deal with as part of their practice. 

Older people's experiences of mental health services
Three older adult service users offer a glimpse of their experiences of depression and their journeys towards recovery.

Post-natal depression
Sirkku Siivonen, a service user from Finland, gives an account of her experiences of post-natal depression, her road to recovery and the struggle she had achieving this.

Relapse prevention
Two men recount their individual stories of manic depression and addiction to chewing khat.

Supervision skills in psychiatry
Some general principles around providing good supervision and line management of junior colleagues.

Tidal Model
Developed from the work of Phil Barker and Poppy Buchanan-Barker, the Tidal Model is a different philosophical approach to the art of helping people with mental health problems.

Tony's story
Tony Glynn shares his story of being a student, a story which raises issues that HE Institutions need to address when aiming to create environments which promote wellbeing and success. 

Tracey's story
Tracey Holley, a Narrative Practitioner and mental health service user, shares her experiences of distress, mental health services and her recovery.