The Narrative Masterclass was developed for medical students and people living with mental health difficulties is based on Storying Sheffield methodologies http://www.storyingsheffield.com  The class focuses on the concept of narrative inquiry as a tool in “recovery” from/within mental ill-health.  The class is designed and led by people with lived experience of mental distress/illness.

Medical students learn how to take a ‘history’ of a patient, but narrative inquiry goes beyond this – seeing all of us as human beings who give meaning to our lives through stories – both those we tell about ourselves, and those which are told about us by others. When we experience mental ill-health our identity can become overwhelmed by an externally imposed diagnosis, along with negative representations of mental illness in society. We may then find ourselves inhabiting a new story about who we are, with this characterised by deficits and difficulties. In the class, participants look at ‘re­storying’ techniques focussing on using the power of story to understand the contexts in which our distress happens, resisting negative portrayals of the self, and creating a new story which is comfortable for us to live within.

In the class, medical students study alongside long term mental health service users. All participants explore aspects of their own personal narrative using storying methods. Sessions are led by Chrissy and Kay both of who have experience of living with long term mental health conditions. They both work closely with the Storying Sheffield project and regularly deliver recovery workshops. Professor Brendan Stone, Helen Crimlisk, Gaelle Slater and Jane McKeown also contribute to sessions, and expand on research work with Storying and Recovery. Participants work towards creating presentations based upon the narratives they have chosen to share (which do not have to be mental health related). These may take any form, for example: an audio presentation, a short film, a piece of creative writing, a storyboard, a photographic presentation, or a piece of artwork. The final pieces created in the Masterclass are uploaded and published.

We have been looking at ways of extending and scaling this project and believe we have the right team to undertake this.

Specifically, we have 3 aims:

1 Use coaching methodology to develop 5 new peer facilitators

2 Offer 5 additional courses with a wider remit of staff and students from a wide range of health professions

3 Broaden the range of peer/citizen  participants in the courses focussing particularly on more disenfranchised groups (mental health, learning disability, long term conditions) and people from more diverse backgrounds (ethnicity, culture, age, background)

Chrissy Bonham is a Peer Worker within the SHSC, working with the Community Recovery Team.  http://www.storyingsheffield.com/chrissy/She has codesigned and codelivered the last 4 Narrative Masterclases. She has presented her work at a number of conferences and is part of a research team in association with Sheffield University looking at the added value of lived experience in teaching and training healthcare professionals.

Kay Aitch is a professional artist who is on the Autism Spectrum and has lived experience of mental ill health http://www.kayaitch.co.uk. She has codesigned and codelivered the last 4 Narrative Masterclases. She is an experienced teacher and familiar with using engaging participatory methods to engage students actively in their learning.

Shirin Teifouri is Honorary research Fellow at the University of Sheffield. https://theconversation.com/profiles/shirin-teifouri-353509 Her research has explored pedagogical engagement with the function of literature, specifically poetry, linked to cross-cultural narratives of exile, displacement, ‘statelessness’ and mental health. She runs worshops in association with Rotherham Flourish. https://sheffieldflourish.co.uk/stories/shirin-teifouri-rotherham-flourish/  https://theconversation.com/profiles/-teifouri-353509

Richard Fletcher is Chair of the local mental health support network, SUN:RISE https://shsc.nhs.uk/about-us/get-involved/sunrise-service-user-network/  Run with Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust (SHSC). He is also a Peer Quality Improvement Coach embedded within SHSC Quality Team, which encompasses the Quality Improvement Team and the Engagement and Experience Team. He has participated in the Narrative Masterclasses.

Helen Crimlisk is Director of Undergraduate Psychiatry working with Sheffield Medical School, she has developed a number of initiatives to support students interested in developing their understanding of mental ill health.  http://www.storyingsheffield.com/helen-crimlisk/  She tries to encororate experiential learning methodology and champions coproduction as an integral part of coproduction. She is a Generation Q Fellow with the Health Foundation https://www.health.org.uk/our-people/helen-crimlisk

Brendan Stone is Professor of Public Engagement, University of Sheffield, and co–founder of the Storying Sheffield Project.  http://www.storyingsheffield.com/  He has lived experience  of mental ill health. He is also Trustee of Sheffield Flourish, https://sheffieldflourish.co.uk/ . They organise fun and interesting monthly community events based on different themes and help people to realise their enterprising ideas. Many of the participants of the Masterclass have an association with Sheffield Flourish and we would look to work closely with them in developing the Masterclasses.

Gaelle Slater is a community psychiatrist at SHSC working in a Crisis and Home Treatment Team. https://shsc.nhs.uk/service/home-treatment-service-hts/  Helping people in distress is a key part of her role. She developed the Narrative Masterclass as part of an initiative to broaden the offer at Sheffield Medical School for those students interested in furthering their interest in Mental Health. She won a small grant from the Royal College of Psychiatrists to film the project.

Jane McKeown https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/snm/staff/jane-mckeown is a senior nurse and University teacher, with a particular interest in engagement, dementia and coproduction https://www.toldinsouthyorkshire.co.uk/  She has developed innovative teaching and learning experiences for students which are now delivered in a multidisciplinary manner. She is interested in developing the Narrative Masterclass for other health professionals.

Josie Soutar is Managing Director of Sheffield Flourish. https://sheffieldflourish.co.uk/team-members/josie-soutar/ Routed in the community, Flourish’s role is “transforming mental health in our city”  The mental health charity focusses on three main areas: Coproduction, Digital and Supporting Community Enterprises.

Simon Wheatley and Lee Alexander are members of the Quality Team at SHSC https://shsc.nhs.uk/about-us/corporate-information/quality-improvement/. They work as QI Coaches and teach and coach others in the team. Lee has a particular interest in coproduction. He volunteers with Sheffield Flourish. Simon has a background as a Mental Health Nurse and has an interest in health coaching.