Our Sponsors are an important foundation of our online community. Please visit their websites.
Our Associate Sponsors provide valuable support to our community and help build 'The Wall'.
Our partners help move the Wired In agenda forward.
Join our community, create your own profile page, and communicate about what matters to you.
Now I’ve described these events as mutual appreciation societies with much back slapping to be witnessed. Yet I’m always willing to be challenged and to challenge my own beliefs.
So I attended this conference yesterday (Wednesday) with my usual cynicism, and sat down to witness the ensuing appreciation that I thought was about to unfold.
I cannot tell you how pleasantly surprised I was by the whole event. There was an energy in the room with an enthusiastic commitment. To listen and learn, to find the best way forward, empathy, understanding, humility and respect flowed in abundance.
The professionals, with honesty and no pretence, requested for input from service/ex-service users. For the professionals of Manchester’s substance misuse teams their mutual concern is to get things right, to make services work for the best possible outcomes for everyone.
Now Mark Gilman opened the conference with a message of authenticity. I’ve never seen Mark in action before and now I see why he’s held in such high regard. My respect he does not require but he has my respect.
Anyway, now Mark is on my friends list on Wired In, but the cynic in me saw this as no evidence of friendship. Yet in the dinner break he spoke to me about issues around recovery and about Wired In, and this man held in such high regard by many spoke to me with dignity, respect and as a friend.
The morning proceeded as I awaited with anticipation for my friend’s life story to be presented. For I was, and am, guilty of pride in this life story as I am its main author. My friend requested my support in writing his story, a request I humbly accepted, for his journey has been one of the most painful I’ve ever heard.
I thank him for his trust in me and his faith in my ability to portray an accurate, if somewhat brutally honest, account of his life. We both worked hard on his story and it was an emotional process for him to go through. His story was well received and it proved to be an experience of both enjoyment and value to him.
With dinner done we attended workshops, then we ended the day with a questions to the panel time. The answers were clear, direct and educational, delivered with an energy befitting to the day.
There’s a lot to be learned from Manchester’s approach to services I feel. And to the residents of Manchester who currently have issues with substance misuse, believe me your luckier than most, for the services available to you are of a good quality and they’re ready and waiting for you to access.
Tony – are you sure you are alright? Need a lie down mate? Can this really be you?
Typical ! I have been to many conferences over the past three years,and most of them have been as you described,with the tokenistic 15 mins for questions. Unfortunatly I was at a traning day,and missed it, but I’m glad to hear that change is taking place. I am lucky enough to live in Greater Manchester and am very proud to be invoved with the work being done,and was so glad to attend the recovery march in Liverpool I am Captain Recovery’s nana, don’t understand ask to see photos!
hello Tony
What a positive experience and it seems like some really good work is being undertaken in Manchester.
What I found most uplifting was the way you described Mark Gilman and his obvious sincerity not only in the work that he is undertaking but also the way he works and relates to people – often the two do not tally.
Thank you for sharing this Tony
Sue x
Thanks Tony,
AS a card holding member of the NHS management machine its great to hear some recogniton that we can and do have a massive contribution to make. In the days of “the war” Mark referred to in his speach there was a feeling that the NHS was being pushed into a stereotyped pidgeon hole of one dimensional methadone machines. Id be the first to acknowledge that the field has got massive challenges ahead but lets value what we (ALL OF US IN THIS RELATIVELY SMALL CORNER OF PUBLIC SERVICES) have achieved , celebrate diversity and embrace the future.
We heard a lot on the day about the way that NHS services are trying to move forward with our service users and former service users- to develop recovery oriented integrated systems – and most of us are doing this not to jump on the bandwagon nor to preserve our relatively well paid positions but because we believe in it and know that promoting choice and enabling people to flower and develop is what we came into this work to do. OUr service users including those who supported the running of the conference provide testimony and ispiration that we are , at least sometimes, getting it right.
The war is over … long live the recovery revolution … (Not necessarily the views of GMW!)
Regards
Steve S
Great post as per usual Tony and in reply to Michaela…Tony does step out of the realms of CBT sometimes and make positive comments about services…heh he!
Good to see Steve S on here and his post is inspiring indeed, thanks Steve.
I missed yesterday as I’m currently out of the loop at the mo regrads all things GMW etc…but, I’m coming back and will give 110% to moving people forward with tailored support options and of course, choices.
