Experiential expertise

GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN THE DOCTOR WAS REGARDED AS A
SORT OF GOD WHO KNEW EVERYTHING WHILE THE PATIENT WAS REGARDED AS KNOWING NOTHING.

In mental health circles it is coming to be realised that patients’ experience, when reflected upon, can be of help not only to themselves but also to other patients. This may take the form simply of lending a sympathetic listening ear. To know properly how to listen and how to react it is desirable to have had a training involving understanding one’s own experience to the full as well as learning about psychosocial problems that differ from one’s own. Training can be a matter of twelve weeks for half a day a week. Or it can be full time training for a couple of years. Successful completion of a course will open up the possibility of getting a paid job in a mental health team. Clinics and hospitals increasingly recognise the value of having in the team people who know what they are talking about from personal experience.

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