Human Library

Rita

My name is Rita Dawson and I have been a member of Everybody’s Voice for five years. I have been a Service User with Leeds and York Partnership Trust and underwent long term Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy. I have also had Counselling at various times in the past. I was the main Carer for my Father who had early onset dementia.
I am a member of the following groups:
- SUN. Service User Network. Service User group with LYPFT
- PIA. Personalities in Action. Service User group with LYPFT
- HEER. Help from Experts by Experience. Service User Group within the Research and Development Department of LYPFT.
- PET. Patient Experience Team. Works on co production to promote service user involvement within LYPFT, contributes to new projects and initiatives, and also sit on interview panels.
- TWC. Together We Can - Group for people who have/are experienced mental health problems within Leeds Involving People.
- AGE Uk LEEDS - Volunteer and Chair of the Older People’s Engagement Group.
- P.P.G. Member of the local Patient Participation Group.
I was a member of VISIBLE, a focus group for a city wide project which includes Leeds City Council, LYPFT and the Police, working with people who have suffered childhood sexual abuse to develop a strategy to help organisations deal with disclosure for five years following its inception. I have worked for the CQC doing inspections in Mental Health Trusts and Care Homes as an Expert by Experience. I have a particular interest in Older People’s mental health. I enjoy every aspect of Everybody’s Voice especially selection and teaching sessions.

Jahnyah

My name is Jahnyah (Jay) Rose and I have been a member of Everybody’s Voice since 2013. I have caring experience supporting individuals including family members with mental health issues. I currently work for the NHS as a Healthcare Assistant with adult male inpatient ex offenders with mental health issues. I also work for two NHS trusts on the Bank working in various Health and Social Care services. I have worked in Health and Social Care roles for the majority of my working life with a wide range of service user groups. I have also worked as an Assistant Psychologist. I volunteered as a ‘Community Health Champion’ with a group that promoted nightlife safety in nightclub venues. I have a BSc Hons degree in Psychology and Criminology, and a MSc degree in Psychology. I have had workplace counselling in the past. I have been interested in Psychology for as long as I can remember, and am particularly interested in Clinical Psychology. I enjoy being a member of Everybody’s Voice, particularly when getting to meet course applicants and work with trainees and the staff team.

Nat

My name is Nat Jones. I am a final year DClin trainee and I have been a member of Everybody’s voice since 2019. I love animals and am easily distracted by pets. I also love to exercise; yoga, spin classes and big dog walks out in the countryside which help me clear my head and keep myself grounded when I am stressed. Everybody’s voice and SUC involvement was a big part of what attracted me to the Leeds course. I hoped by joining EV that I could contribute in some way to having more SUC involvement in aspects of our training (e.g. teaching) but also hear about the great ways we could make a difference working into different services. I don’t have direct lived experience of mental health difficulties myself, but have friends and family who are close to me who do. I’m really interested in working with children and young people, trauma-informed care, perinatal mental health and have a keen interest in developmental trauma, working with forensic CAMHS and looked after children populations. I’d be happy to be contacted through the group to help other trainees think about how to increase SUC involvement in their placements or research.

David

My name is David and I joined the staff team as and Academic Tutor on the DClinPsy Programme in 2021. In my clinical work as a clinical psychologist I have specialised in working with children and families, plus working in people affected by trauma. I am a relatively new parent, with two young boys at home who keep me on my toes. If I ever get a spare moment from those two, I enjoy playing tennis and swimming. I also try to keep fit by cycling to work, but only when it’s not raining! I became interested in psychology due to the impact of trauma on the mental health of my late grandfather. I am a firm believer that free, safe and effective mental health support should be available to everyone, and in giving people a voice in how services are run. I am looking forward to contributing as much as possible to service user involvement in the DClinPsy programme.

Janet

Hi, I'm Janet Clarke. I live on the border of North and West Yorkshire in a small town called Silsden which is near Skipton and Ilkley. My interests include gardening, exercise classes, meeting friends for coffee and Buddhist meditation. My professional background is in nursing and I trained at Leeds General Infirmary. I have worked in hospitals and in general practice. I currently work part time caring for a young child with health challenges related to premature birth. I have been involved with Everybody's Voice since it started and join some of the teaching sessions, I do enjoy PBL as it is very interesting listening the presentations and having chance to discuss them. I have been involved with the DClin interviewing process since EBE panels were introduced by the faculty. I am the EBE representative on DClin Research Subcommittee. I volunteered for the Leeds Primary Foundation Trust, Service User Reference Group for approximately five years and highlights within this role included contributing to "Pathways To Therapy (2007) - Service user views of accessing psychological therapies in Leeds." I have taken part in organising, and speaking at a couple of conferences whilst attending some purely as an attendee. I volunteered for Leeds Mind, teaching mindfulness and meditation courses to service user groups for approximately three years. My mental health challenges mean I have accessed a variety of services and therapies over a significant number of years and mixed with a wide range of mental health service user's. I have a wide range of interests and am open to most topics for discussion.

Sarah B

My name is Sarah Bradley and I joined Everybody’s Voice when I started working at Leeds University in January 2022. I am from the North East of England and moved to Wakefield in 2018. I live with my partner and our 3 year old daughter. We currently have 3 fun chickens and aspire to get a dog in the near future. My interests include yoga, mountain biking, running and all things nature related. I work as a Clinical Tutor on the DClinPsychol Programme and also as a Clinical Psychologist in Barnsley with families. I have a passion for Community Psychology approaches as I believe we need to live in a more equal world (in all aspects, for all living things) and I strive for social justice at every juncture. I am hopeful that being involved with Everybody’s voice can increase my understanding of service user and carers experiences and provide lots of opportunities for me to work collectively with other people.

Marshall

My name is Marshall and I’ve been a member of Everybody’s Voice for about 7 years. I was seeing Psychologist and the Psychologist showed me a poster –
that’s how I got involved with Everybody’s Voice. I like meeting new people at the meetings. I like teaching, Human Library and Selection and the interview process which I got involved with through being a member of Everybody’s Voice. I also work for Inspire North doing interviews and selection. I’m also a volunteer at Leeds Wood recycling at Holbeck.

Alison

My name is Alison and I’ve been a member of Everybody’s Voice for about 6 years. I got given a leaflet at a rehab group at St Mary’s Hospital by a trainee in the first place. I already knew another member of the group. The nice part is that I have experience of both – being a service user and a carer. I originally hoped to gain insight into how we learn about different aspects of mental health and changes and developments – and I still get that now! I’m most interested in all aspects of the course. I’m a member of quite a few organisations eg Leeds Involving People, HealthWatch, LYPFT and Carers Leeds.  Challenging inequalities around disability and accessibility continues to be important to me.

Tania

Hi! I'm Tania and a Trainee on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Leeds. Service user involvement is hugely important to me. From a therapist perspective, I believe the contribution from our service users has shaped how I think about mental health and psychological diagnosis. This has allowed me to understand how best to support our clients through person-centred care. I have always benefitted from having a member of the group involved in our teaching. It gives the context a whole new meaning and has furthered my learning. I was also a carer for my parents' so this group is extra special to me. I love that Leeds are giving a voice to service users. This allows clients to shape our services, research and training programme which has been and continues to be highly valuable. Every member is very friendly and I am proud to be a representative of a wonderful group