Hi Abdullah,
I've been reading and not responding to this discussion principally cos I wasn't sure what to say as for me in the end the only way to continue to be true to myself was to leave the NHS and walk away. To be honest the only thing that ever kept me in my job as R & D manager was the project I worked on (called the ARISE project) with people who had used services, mental health and learning disability, so once the funding streams changed and we were no longer able to keep working together this sort of made the decision for me.
We set up our own organisation and despite thinking we would have to close on a number of occasions we have managed to keep going. Like Wendy my income has reduced. Despite my kids saying that they wish I had a job that paid better, which I can understand cos the impact on them has been great, I feel that what I do now is so much more valuable
than what I was doing before. We have now had to enter the corporate selling world and are using ebay as a means of raising funding so we can keep meeting on a Friday at our drop in which can be so important for our members in terms of connecting with each other and reducing social isolation.
My point is then that this is also true for all people and it sounds as if this list may be filling a need for you, or you want it to fill a need for you in this way. I may be wrong about this, so feel free to let me know if I am.
I really appreciate reading responses as well as then I know I am not alone in my endeavours and resonated with your post for all the reasons given above and Wendy's as I too consider myself to be working class.
Re the critical aspects of the list I think it can be difficult to communicate only using the written word as so much of the non-verbal cues are not present and things we say can often be
read a number of ways, so this in itself is a challenge but despite this I appreciate the honesty and willingness to engage in critical reflection that sometimes happens and I try, when other commitments allow, to put my tuppence worth in as I think its important to give to get back, even if what returns isn't always what you want, sometimes there is some learning that comes from it.
I must admit that at first I was scared to do so but lets face it, it is only the other person's opinion after all and my skin has toughened up as a result of doing so. Whilst I value the opinion of some, you can't like all the people all the time and vice versa!
cheers
Jacqui l
> Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 19:29:57 +0100
> From:
[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Being uncomfortable in uncomfortable places
> To:
[log in to unmask]>
> Thanks for the responses all, and apologies for the hefty response, I'm not quite so good at being succinct.
>
> Thanks Wendy for sharing some of the attempts you made to ensure you continued to work in ways that were true to your values, ones that I imagine are shared here. I think you are spot on by saying that it is uncomfortable to think about and to talk about too. Other than those that are visible here, I received two other messages, both with similar themes; that it is a situation they also find themselves in and challenged by, but also that they didn’t feel comfortable to post online for a different reasons.
>
> My hope is/was to develop allies online, as trying
to find and crucially connect with allies in the space I work would be challenging for a number of reasons. I think that its important to stress as well, knowing there are people that share your values is helpful, being unable to connect with them makes it somewhat less helpful! This is what I value about this space online, that whilst I am not closely connected physically with allies, this provides a forum in which one hopefully can develop connections and meaningful discussions about working closer to ones values.
>
> I have considered posts where I would work within a system which is more aligned to my values but I admit I like my income and am not keen to give that up! In addition, there is a large part of me that likes the fight....even though it can be tiring. This is obviously the subversive part of me! In this way, I am aware of how I can create, maintain and empower the very disempowering practices that I don’t like. Which
obviously goes on to contribute to the challenges I feel.
>
> I understand Craig’s point about the middle class having time to worry about ethics, I think we on the list spend time talking and thinking about ethics, the point that it is within the middle class only isn’t something connects with me. Furthermore, I’m not entirely sure at what point I entered into middle class-dom; whether it was when I began to question ethics or when I qualified or at birth! I think Danny puts this better than me though!
>
> I wanted to touch on your point about trying to reconstruct ways in which the list can step away from collegial aims. I am aware that it sounds like I’m disgruntled because I feel that my concerns are not heard, this is not the case. There have been some great examples of collective action and thought provoking discussion on the forum, and I value that we don’t all share the same views, that would be boring. Often
though, I am reminded of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo>
> I’m really interested in how many people are active subscribers to this list, and how we can continue to create a space that is inviting of critically evaluative voices and also voices that can enhance the community feel of the list. I’d like the community psych list to have a greater community feel whilst retaining its critical perspective.
>
> ___________________________________
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http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant
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