The Importance of
Discovery
Healthy, well or
happy?
Mental health has
overtaken 'psychiatry' as the most popular way of
talking about ....what?
The answer is none too
clear. Some people use 'mental health' to refer to
some abstract notion of 'cognitive' or 'emotional
well being'. Presumably, this means that people are
able to 'think straight' or are experiencing some
'feel good factor'. Some would even argue that
'happiness' is essential for 'mental health' or
'wellbeing'.
Others use the term mental
health to refer to the absence of a 'mental
disorder'. If there is such a thing as a 'mental
disorder' then perhaps people without such a thing
should be called 'mentally ordered'.
For many, perhaps, the use
of the term 'mental health' is an attempt to escape
from the outmoded notion of 'mental illness';
efforts to see people in some more 'holistic' light.
Even distinguished groups
like the World Health Organisation have concluded
that there can be no single "official" definition of
mental health. Cultural differences, subjective
assessments, and competing professional theories
will all affect how "mental health" is understood
and consequently defined.
This seems
sensible. We can talk about physical 'health',
however relatively, with some certainty, since there
is a body which is either in good shape, or
otherwise. However, what does it mean to say that we
are 'mentally' healthy?
People can obviously be in
good physical shape but still have problems in their
life. By the same token, people may be relatively
comfortable in their lives, but riddled with all
manner of physical ailments. Some people even
manage to face death with a degree of equanimity,
which suggests that dying has ceased to be a
problem for them. It would be and irrelevance, and
an impertinence, to suggest that such people were
'mentally healthy'.
The Discovery of Mental
Health
Given such uncertainties it
seems foolhardy to try to define 'mental health' -
however broadly. In our view, if we want to find out
what people understand by the term, we should ask
them! At the level of a general concept there may be
some agreement as to what mental health might be,
but if we want to help people experience such a
state, we need to help them discover - for
themselves - what they are looking for, what they
need, or what is
missing from their lives.
The idea of discovery is
closely linked to the notion of
recovery. If we want to
find out what recovery means for people we need to
help them discover this meaning for
themselves - not give them some general definition,
or pre-set formula.
Tidal Discovery
In the Tidal Model
every emphasis is given to helping the person learn
directly from experience. Tidal rejects the
traditional psychiatric idea that professionals can
know more about the person, and the person's life,
than the person her or himself. The person is always
the expert! We need to help the person use this
expert status to make discoveries in life about
life, and to use these discoveries as part of living
a meaningful and fulfilling life.
One of the key groups in
the Tidal Model is the Discovery Group.
Originally named the 'recovery group', this group
focuses on helping people to become more aware of
themselves - the various preferences, challenges,
successes and a myriad other 'personal' features,
which make up their unique lives. We changed the
name of the group in 2002 from 'recovery' to
'Discovery' after being influenced by the experience
of colleagues in Porirua Hospital in New Zealand. In
the Rangipapa forensic unit, the residents and staff
felt that they discovered much about themselves and
others through the experience of this group. We
agreed with them that Discovery was a much more
appropriate title and tell everyone we visit, that
this idea stemmed from the people at Rangipapa.
This made a strong
connection for us. Across the Tay estuary from where
we live in Fife, is moored Captain Robert Falcon
Scott's research ship, Discovery. It was built in
Dundee at the beginning of the 20th century and
Scott sailed to the Antarctic on Discovery on his
first research mission in 1901. Now it has returned
to Dundee as a floating museum, to commemorate the
discoveries made by Scott and his colleagues.
From our window at home we can see Scott's ship.
This reminds us of the importance of discovery in
our lives; and reminds us too of our the remarkable
people at Rangipapa in New Zealand, who re-named
this Tidal group. It is a small world.
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