About Oor Mad History
A community history project led by people with experience of mental health issues, to record, preserve and celebrate the history of the mental health service user /survivor movement in the Lothians in Scotland.
Oor Mad History Description
We’re a community history and arts as advocacy project based at CAPS. Set up in 2008, our aim is to reclaim and promote the history of activism and collective advocacy by people with mental health issues. We use community history and the arts as a way to have a stronger voice about mental health and the mental health system, build community, challenge assumptions about people who use mental health services and tackle discrimination.
Reviews
The new Outlook Community Education programme is out - and we're in it! A 2 hour taster session of Mad People's History! We will explore the history of ‘mad’ people and how we have campaigned for change in how services and society treat us. We’ll learn about how our experiences are part of social history and how we can continue to change the world! Outlook is an adult education project, for adults living in Edinburgh who currently, or have recently, accessed NHS mental health services, eg through Community Mental Health teams or Mental Health hospitals. They offer a range of free, short adult education courses, individual guidance and an information service. To find out more, contact Alex or Fiona on 0131 652 3715 Email: cld.op@edinburgh.gov.uk
Oor Mad History is the focus of a chapter called "Reclaiming agency through Oor Mad History" - Anne O'Donnell and Kirsten MacLean in this book "Inside Out, Outside In: transforming mental health practices" It will be published in November! https://www.pccs-books.co.uk/products/ins ide-out-outside-in
Oor Mad History Project Group Meeting: Wednesday 2nd October 2019
Oor Mad History's current focus is on what’s happened in Lothian mental health collective advocacy and activism since 2010, with the plan to produce a second Oor Mad History book. And we’d like you to be involved!
There are a number of different ways you can get involved – interviewing people, archiving material, designing the book, and just generally helping out.
... Come along to the first meeting of our new Project Group on Wednesday 2nd October, between 14:00 – 16:00, at Argyle House in Edinburgh. Anyone with lived experience of mental health issues is welcome to get involved. Get in touch with Jacob jacob@capsadvocacy.org to find out more and RSVP.
See More
Apply now for Mad People's History and Identity course 2019!!! A FREE course by, about and for people who have lived experience of mental health issues. For more information please contact Elaine Ballantyne Telephone: 0131 474 0000 E Mail: EBallantyne@qmu.ac.uk... 31st October to 5th December 2019
Mad People's History and Identity is a six week Mad Studies course delivered at Queen Margaret University and open to anyone who has lived experience of mental health issues. We’ll cover topics including: • Introduction and Introduction to the course • What is Mad Studies? • What is Madness? • Madness and Intersectionality • A History of Confinement and Treatments • Activism This course will give you the chance to: • Learn more about mad people's history and identity in a relaxed and supportive setting • See yourself and others as "experts by experience" • Connect with advocacy and activist organisations, locally, nationally and internationally • Develop confidence and skills to prepare you for further or higher education • Complete an optional piece of writing to achieve 20 nationally recognised university credits (20 credits at SCQF level 7) Discuss entry into college and university • See their own experience in a wider context and think critically about mental health and the mental health system
See More
Oor Mad History Project Group
We're inviting people with lived experience of mental health issues to join our Oor Mad History Project Group!
Would you like to work with others to shape and support Oor Mad History's current activities? Come and join us. 🙂
... If you would like to take part in the Oor Mad History Project Group, please direct message us on this page or email Jacob, the Oor Mad History worker, about this (including your name). His email address is jacob@capsadvocacy.org
We plan to have our first Project Group meeting either in the last week of September or the first week of October.
We're running an online poll to determine which time / date suits the majority of those who want to be involved. We've sent the link by email to everyone on the Oor Mad History mailing list.
If you've not received an email with a link to this poll from Jacob, please email him (address above) so we can add you to the Oor Mad History mailing list and send you the poll link directly.
See More
New Oor Mad History Events!
We’ve got two Oor Mad History drop-in sessions coming up towards the end of August.
These two sessions are for anyone who wants to come in and have a chat about Oor Mad History, what the project has done up to now, what we might do next and how you could be involved.
... The Oor Mad History drop-in sessions will be on Wednesday 21st August and Monday 26th August.
Both will be in at LEARN in Argyle House between 2pm - 4.30pm.
The address for LEARN is Floor K, Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DR.
The plan for September is to get an Oor Mad History Project Group together from people who want to be involved, and have a Project Group meeting in mid to late September.
I’ll post again after the drop-in sessions to ask who would like to be part of the Project Group. So even if you can’t make either of the drop-ins you can still be involved.
When we know who wants to take part we will work out with them when the best date for a September meeting is.
If you have any questions about the drop-in sessions or anything else about Oor Mad History please get in touch through this page, by email at jacob@capsadvocacy.org or give me a call on 07910 983030.
Hope to see you soon,
Jacob
[image description: JPEG of flyer for this event, with the event information as above, plus Oor Mad History logo and CAPS Independent Advocacy logo]
See More
Hello! This is Jacob, the new Collective Advocacy Worker for Oor Mad History.
I’m excited to be involved with the project, and am looking forward to arranging events and getting to meet some more of you soon, and working together on the next stage of Oor Mad History.
I’m posting to share some interesting-looking talks I found online around the history of mental health.
... The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has a ‘Mental Health’ YouTube playlist. It has recorded videos of their public lectures on various history of mental health topics. Here’s a link to their playlist of talks: https://www.youtube.com/playlist…
See More
8 Oor Mad History people went to the Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA) at George Square in Edinburgh on Tuesday. Louise Williams, the archivist, showed us a wide range of material to do with psychiatric services from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It was very interesting and thought provoking, especially thinking about how all we know of most patients is what doctors wrote about them. We hope to visit again in a few months. http://www.lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk/
Books!
Oor Mad History visit to Lothian Health Services Archive Tuesday 16th July 2019 Email Anne anne@capsadvocacy.org to find out more
We're looking for a new worker for OMH! Please see the website for more information http://capsadvocacy.org/work-with-us/paid -posts/
We're getting ready for the next Oor Mad History workshop on Tuesday 30th April, 2pm at Argyle House - we'll be working on a timeline of collective advocacy, activism and change in mental health services since 2008. What has happened since Oor Mad History started way back in 2008? What changes have you seen? What has collective advocacy achieved in Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian and further afield... Email Anne anne@capsadvocacy.org if you want to come along or find out more.
Looking forward to seeing you all at CAPS AGM on Friday 16 November. Looking to our past and to our future - very relevant to Oor Mad History!
The Royal College of Nursing Scotland invited us to speak about what we do - it was a lovely afternoon, very good discussion... Then a dash across to Summerhall for the launch of Out of Sight Out of Mind! Busy evening.
Hope to see some of you at the Oor Mad History launch at Summerhall in 3 weeks time!
We are delighted to announce that the 2018 Mad People’s History and Identity course is now open for applications! Mad People’s History and Identity is a FREE course by, about and for people who have lived experience of mental health issues. It is a partnership between Queen Margaret University and CAPS Independent Advocacy and NHS Lothian Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme and takes place at Queen Margaret University. To find out more and apply, contact Elaine Ballantyne at QMU. Her email is eballantyne@qmu.ac.uk or you can leave a message on 0131 474 0000