Please join us for this free, insightful community seminar presented by the HMRI Healthy Minds Research Program.
| When: | Monday 21st November |
| Time: | 6pm - 7pm |
| Where: | Caves Theatre, Level 4, HMRI Building OR Online via stream link |
In September 2010, Alison Bryson experienced a mental health crisis.
She went from being a capable person in full-time employment, managing a team of Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the south-east of England, to someone who couldn’t manage simple everyday tasks and had to be cared for by her husband and family. She didn’t know if she would recover. If she did, she thought she would have to be looked after for the rest of her life.
In this HMRI community seminar, Alison will share her lived experience of recovering from this crisis. She'll tell her story of the people and experiences that helped her to lead an independent life again.
She will offer insights into the specialist integrated care she received from the National Health Service and its wider applicability, what she learned about anxiety and depression along the way, and the strategies she continues to use to keep herself well. Alison has also published a book detailing her experience called Knitting, Tatting and Nervous Breakdowns.
Members of the HMRI Healthy Minds Research Program – Dr Dara Sampson, Professor Brian Kelly and HMRI Institute Director Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin – will join Alison for a panel discussion about reducing the stigma around mental illness by listening to those with lived-experience and educating family, friends and mental health professionals.
In this seminar, you will hear from:
Alison Bryson | Mental health lived-experience presenter and author
In September 2010, Alison Bryson experienced a mental health crisis. She went from being a capable person in full-time employment, to someone who couldn’t manage simple everyday tasks and had to be cared for. She didn’t know if she would recover, and if she did, she thought she would have to be looked after for the rest of her life.
Alison joins us to generously share her own lived-experience of suffering and recovering from this crisis, and what she has learned about anxiety and depression; a journey that she has published in her book Knitting, Tatting and Nervous Breakdown.
Dr Dara Sampson | Deputy Director of HMRI Healthy Minds Research Program
Dara Sampson has worked extensively with people who are marginalised and socially excluded throughout her 30-year career as a social worker in direct practice, teaching and research.
At the University of Newcastle, Dara works within Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin‘s Innovation Technology Translation lab team researching co-occurring mental health and alcohol and/or other drug use with the aim of developing high quality, accessible ehealth interventions.
Dara is passionate about the importance of people’s stories, and how language can extend or challenge social constructions around mental health and stigma.
Professor Brian Kelly | Pro Vice Chancellor Research & Innovation
Professor Brian Kelly is a University of Newcastle research leader and psychiatrist whose goal is to find solutions to the challenges communities face, with the aim of improving the links between health care and mental health.
This is reflected through his work focusing on the mental health needs and experiences of people living rurally and remotely, and of people with serious physical illness. He is also passionate about reducing the stigma around mental health by listening to those with lived-experience of mental health, and the education and training of mental health professionals.
Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin | Institute Director & CEO of HMRI
Professor Kay-Lambkin is a registered psychologist and brings with her 25 years of experience as an HMRI researcher in mental health.
Her research program has been instrumental in demonstrating the transformative impact of digital technologies in bringing integrated treatments to the point of care for people with comorbidity.
Frances is passionate about working towards a future where everybody who has a worry about their health – or that of their family members or friends – has hope. Hope of a cure, hope that there is effective help available, and hope that they will be able to find that help when they need it most.