Duncan Marshall

Personal experience of mental distress inspired me to work in mental health some time ago.
 
Since then I have held different roles ranging from Support Worker to Social Services Manager in Hampshire, to my current post as Engagement Officer for England's historic campaign challenging mental health discrimination - Time to Change.
 
As Involvement Worker for Portsmouth, I was introduced to, and soon began to understand the importance and passion of local service users for, Thinking Ahead. This stretches back to when things were not working that well with a steering group which was struggling with ownership/identity agendas: was the website user/carer or Social Services controlled?
 
Around this time I was part of the developments of the site becoming independently managed. This included the original constitution, the setting up of a new management committee structure and subsequent success in gaining independent funding.
 
I am really pleased with our achievements to date and am ever determined to strengthen the site's position as a mental health resource and information provider for local people.
 
I would like to see the website take on new developments as we fully realise our commitment to inform and update those with an interest in Portsmouth's mental health.
 
We're always very keen to hear your views about all things mental health and local, so please get in touch with me through: duncan.marshall@thinkingahead.org.uk
 

Suki Jones

I became interested in contributing to this website, when I first moved to Southsea around six months ago, and was working as Service User Involvement Worker. After 23 year working in Mental health, many of those as a manager, I felt that it was time for me to change direction. So I am now semi-retired and working once more at my Art. I have not lost my interest in people who experience mental health difficulties and feel I still have something to contribute.
 

Stephen Corrigan

I have been involved in adult mental health services in Portsmouth for just over eight years. My interest in mental health stems from a period of about a year when I supported a close friend through a psychotic episode.
 
I worked as a support worker on the acute and intensive care units at St James (King Villa), in registered care in the community and spent almost four years as General Manager of Portsmouth Mind.
 
I am currently employed by Portsmouth City Council (Health, Housing and Social Care). I have spent 3 years as Joint Contracts & Projects Manager for the integrated Adult Mental Health Service. My job involved monitoring community contracts i.e. contracts awarded to organisations to provide community services such as Advocacy, Drop Ins, Befriending etc., and managing projects such as reviews, performance systems, consultations, National Service Framework assessments etc.
 
I am now Service Development Manager for adult social care and work across all of the care groups. My work focuses on service review, development and commissioning.
 
I have been involved with the website, in one way or another, from its conception and have fond memories of the day we named it. I can remember the discussion around how we wanted it to be based around recovery and hope for the future - hence the name thinkingahead.
 
I hope that the site will help to give people with mental health issues information, and through the forum, support and an opportunity to share experiences and have their say.
 

James Gagliardini

I have just come into post as the new Service User Involvement Worker for Adult Mental Health and thoroughly enjoying it! Previously I was working for Hampshire Primary Care Trust within the Commissioning Team, where I supported the Associate Director of Strategy & Planning.
 
It was through personal experience of supporting someone to access adult mental health services in the city that inspired me to work within mental health. Service User Involvement was an area that greatly interested me as I have always felt it important that service user's voices are heard. Who better to bring about change than those actually using the services?
 
As a new member of the team I can honestly say without bias that the website is fantastic and I have used it myself in the past. The other members have worked extremely hard over the last few years to get it up and running and I hope to contribute to its continual success.
 
If you would like information about how to get involved with service user involvement, please contact me on 07834750981 or email me at involvepompey@googlemail.com. Alternatively, I am based at Fratton Community Centre, so feel free to drop in.
 

Kev Goldring

I have been a user of the mental health system for many years, and continue to be one. Some aspects of treatment have been good, for which I have been truly grateful. Others leave a lot to be desired, which may be changed for the better by service user involvement. and Thinking Ahead. I feel that by my involvement with Thinking Ahead, I am putting something back in, in exchange for what I have taken out.

Gill Harmer

From the age of 19 years I served many years in the management of hotel, catering, hair and beauty businesses including a period running my own enterprise. I followed this by taking up training as a youth worker and separately as a special needs teacher for adults, later teaching dyslexic children and practised voluntarily for 5 years. I was employed in Youth training for twelve and a half years, eventually achieving the post of Director of Training.
 
In 1994, after a period of illness and voluntary work I started working as a care assistant at King Villa ward, St. James Hospital with Acute and Intensive care patients. After a few months I became Activity Co-ordinator for the same wards and this continued until 1997, when once again illness prevented me from working full time. I joined Mind in Havant and became a supporter to people in their own homes.
 
I also joined PALS at Queen Alexandra Hospital and was in a small way involved in planning at committee meetings though regrettably not for long as it was hard to fit in with my own health requirement and restrictions. I applied for and was accepted as a Governor for Cliffdale School, North End, which is for children with special needs, and stayed for the full four year term.
 
During the last years I have had to support both my son with bi-polar and Borderline Emotional Personality disorder and my daughter who suffered a complete breakdown which caused her to be hospitalized with psychosis. In addition, my father suffers from vascular dementia and alzheimers and now resides in a home. Throughout my training years, I also studied counselling for youth, drug and substance abuse, sex education, HIV and AIDS, and two years at University studying counselling. I was fully qualified in Youth training assessor's awards to monitor staff and youngsters alike. I feel I can offer a reasonably good (across the board) experience to assist with problems carers and give unbiased help to all who need it.
 

Sue Hull

My experience in mental health services prior to my recent retirement; has been varied. Initially qualifying as a psychiatric nurse I began work in psychiatric rehabilitation in Chichester. Relocating to London found me working in a multi cultural community mental health team working in the Northwood, Ruislip and Hayes area, a further move took me to Salisbury and a job on an older persons assessment unit.
 
Following a break from the NHS I re-trained as an occupational therapist qualifying in 1990. My first job was in Oxford before I moved into the Portsmouth area to work in 93 and into Portsmouth City in 96.
 
My personal interests in the field are service user involvement, recovery and vocational rehabilitation. I was chair of the national occupational therapy specialist interest group in vocational rehabilitation for two years and served a further year as their publicity officer.
 
In Portsmouth I was the service manager for occupational therapists in mental health developing and expanding the service before my retirement in 2009.
 
The Thinking Ahead website has achieved a great deal since it began; I was a back seat supporter for a long time and have just recently joined the committee. I hope that by becoming more actively involved I can help and support the ongoing development of the site.