Out of Your Head June – 2007

The Out of Your Head Guides are a series of four booklets aimed at people who use drugs and have experienced mental illness.  They are designed to be adaptable enough for workers to use with clients, or to stand alone.  Each story in the lavishly illustrated Guides features a different character. The characters are based on conversations with people receiving psychiatric treatment.  

View the video clips:

Clip 1 Story of the Guides

Clip 2 Dual Diagnosis

Clip 3 Michael Linnell

The guides look at the role that a range of drugs, and alcohol, play in the characters lives.  The stories are interwoven with information and advice about the effects of drugs on mental illness and provide some practical tips on the safer use of drugs.

View some sample ‘Out of Your head’ pages:

David:

God:

Jason:

Martha:

Drink and Drugs News excerpt:

Mark Holland – Consultant Nurse Dual Diagnosis – Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust.
Michael Linnell – Director of Communications – Lifeline

Mark – 10 years ago or so, as a community psychiatric nurse I found myself searching for information and education materials to give clients (and their carers) who experienced concurrent serious mental illness and who also used street drugs or alcohol (often called a dual diagnosis). I found very little and what existed was pretty weak. The reason my clients used drink or drugs was not very clear, the effect drink or drugs had on them was varied and almost always detrimental, and the response from substance misuse and mental health services was often counterproductive; they tended to pass the client on to other services claiming either the mental illness was the cause of drug use or drug use was the cause of mental illness. Clients got passed from pillar to post, to quote MIND.

View the full article here >>

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