Creating a strategy of learning : engaging with mental health : lived experience through the use of media narratives

This commentary examines six of my publications, which collectively create an innovative
strategy of learning. It is concerned with engaging mental health practitioners and learners
more fully with service user lived experience through guided exposure to selected media
narratives. The primary intention of this is to facilitate attitudinal change amongst health care
professionals, promoting a greater sense of understanding and connectedness with those
experiencing mental health difficulties. My learning strategy is concerned with the following
elements:
 The media narrative
 Facilitation / guided learning
 Reflective practice
 Collaborative learning / co-production
The media narrative as a learning resource is critically reviewed and gauged to have huge
learning potential where facilitative input is offered at distinct stages of access: before, during
and after. It is demonstrated that through engaging with this process over a succession of
cycles the development of reflective and reflexive practitioners can be promoted. An essential
part of my learning strategy concerns the ‘testing out’ of learning, undertaken through a
collaborative inquiry process with service users in practice as well as classroom settings. This
fosters empathic understanding, an essential component of professional practice.
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My learning strategy contributes significantly to the existing knowledge and practice base
concerning the educational use of media narratives, service user engagement and lived
experience learning. It has much to offer in terms of promoting empathic understanding and
emotional intelligence, developing reflective practitioners and creating closer working
partnerships with service users. The impact from my work has been verified through
widespread adoption of my teaching resources, complimentary reviews, numerous citations,
and invitations to present at conferences and community workshops. Future directions
involve furthering my collaborative engagement with service users and engaging in coproduction
work, as well as facilitating narrative sharing amongst those with communicative
restrictions, and extending the educative process beyond the healthcare arena, influencing
attitudes through encouraging dialogue and reflection around mental health experience.