An account of a workshop on community care with a range of mental health professions.

What is it about?

This was a ten-week workshop with the task of providing a safe, constructive setting where the anxieties generated by community care of the adult mentally ill could be identified, addressed and thought about. It consisted of small groups in which members bought issues they had encountered followed by an informal experiential 'community space ' and ending with a large group for analysis of the experience.

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Why is it important?

This workshop demonstrated how workers could be helped to think about and manage anxieties generated in the context of community care. Tisis important because anxieties that are put out of mind (not contained) have damaging and dangerous consequences for carers, users and members of the public. Members of the workshop gradually found the ability to combine therapeutic and business management skills so that they could regain their authority in relation to the work while retaining an openness to mental disturbance in others and in themselves.

Perspectives