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Living with serious mental illness

What is life like for people with serious mental health problems?

As part of The Living Project, a researcher immersed himself in the everyday lives of people with severe mental illness who live in a deprived part of London. This offered important insight into the real meaning of social exclusion for this vulnerable group.

 

 

The living project

 

 “By standing alongside people with mental health problems, I can tell the story as it is. I have seen the real barriers and issues that people have to deal with”

Chris Fitch, Research Fellow

 

Detailed information

Title: The Living Project

Funded from 2003 to 2007 by the Big Lottery Fund. Publications ongoing.

 

Read the reports

 

 

 

 

Background

 

  • Many people who once would have lived in a psychiatric hospital now live in the community
  • Little is known about the nature of the social environment which has, for many people, replaced the fixed structures of a ‘closed’ psychiatric hospital
  • Previous research shows that many such people experience difficulties, e.g. poverty and social exclusion

 

Aim

 

  • To provide a better understanding of the everyday lives of people with serious mental illness (SMI) who live in the community

 

 

 

This Study is funded by:

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Health Services Research, Royal College of Psychiatrists, 4th Floor Standon House, 21 Mansell Street, London E1 8AA    

 

 

 

 
© 2011 Royal College of Psychiatrists