New name, same violence: ‘complex emotional needs’ as a euphemism for ‘personality disorder’
When I was first labelled with borderline personality disorder, it wasn’t a proper diagnosis. The term “emerging personality disorder” appeared… more
Author: Amy Wells
Posts by Amy Wells
Always about me without me: being a patient who isn’t part of the equation
This summer marks 10 years since entering mental health services as a child. I am someone who is defined as… more
The challenges faced by those in lived experience roles
This blog post is the text of a thread originally posted on X (formerly Twitter) by @TheTealTigerUK on 30/05/2024, published on the… more
Can single-sex wards prevent sexual violence in mental health hospitals?
Content note: sexual abuse A joint investigation by The Independent and Sky News, published earlier this week, revealed that nearly… more
Surveillance is not ‘safety’
I’ve seen first-hand the steady increase and reliance on new technology, which is now wide-spread across NHS mental health wards…. more
Self-harm: misunderstandings about harm minimisation
This blog post is the text of a thread originally posted on Twitter by @jaunty_aphorism on 06/09/2023, published on the… more
I don’t want a seat at your table: co-production in mental health services
As a consequence of the involvement and co-production agenda – or arguably, as a consequence of the co-option of it – it seems that things are stalling…… more
‘Being with’ not ‘doing to’: violence, harm, and police involvement in mental health services
Read NSUN’s chapter in ‘Holding Our Own: A guide to non-policing solutions to serious youth violence’ … more
Is it time Lived Experience Professionals set up their own union?
Our unifying theme, across all posts, is challenging sanism. We challenge it in whatever area of an organisation we work in just by being visible. … more
Repositioning work, rest, and resistance in the context of the Spring of Discontent
The active solidarity that is ongoing in the UK now represents the crucial coalitional and organising work of prefiguring alternative futures – right here, in the present. … more
Alternatives to mental health crisis support: are we asking the right questions?
We need alternatives which don’t yet exist in this country, because the starting point is always to look at what currently exists, rather than ask ourselves instead what is missing…. more
Self-Harm and the Internet: A user-led critique of the proposed Online Safety Bill
An empty reassurance that the Bill would not intend to criminalise those who self-harm would be of no use to us – the experiences of people who self-harm provides ample evidence that if further criminalisation is made possible then it will occur, regardless of the Bill’s intent…. more