Link: Mental Illness Can Be An Advantage, in a sense, with caveats

I've just come across this article from about 3 and a half years ago:

• "For some academic researchers, mental illness can be an advantage", The Guardian, August 25, 2009.

It has the very encouraging subhead "Users of mental-health services are increasingly being recruited as academic researchers".

The context is that people who have experience of being the users of mental health services can be employed as researchers to research the user experience.  This seems to be a wholly positive thing. 

I do think there are some caveats though.  First, it applies only to this rather specialised field of academia, but to be fair that is right in the article title ("some academic researchers.")  Maybe more seriously, I noticed this paragraph:

"Huge cultural shifts need to happen within departments in order for academics employed because of their diagnosis to be made entirely welcome, observes Kati Turner, who has a long history of borderline personality disorder and depression, but is now well and working as a service-user researcher at St George's, University of London."

It seems dispiriting that this has to be said in what you would think would be the most welcoming environment for people with mental health issues in academia.

Related links:

• Kati Turner, now Executive Director of ... 
• Emergence, not mentioned  in the article but says about itself: 




"Our vision at Emergence is to make a life changing difference for everyone affected by personality disorders (PD) through support, advice and education. This site is just one way we plan to achieve that. We hope you will find our website not only inspiring but informative and supportive whatever your involvement with personality disorder."

• Debbie Mayes, researcher at Lancaster, including a list of articles she has written about the topic.
• The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research
• SURE: Service User Research Enterprise, King's College London