ABSTRACT
This reflective chapter illustrates two personal accounts of individuals at the pre-qualification stage who work in mental health services and also identify as having ‘dual’ identities. Identifying with a ‘dual identity’ means that the authors themselves have lived experience of the mental health system and have been or are service users themselves. Participating in different roles as dual-identity practitioners reveal common experiences of potent dilemmas around matters such as self-disclosure, stigma and discrimination, on the value of lived experience and multi-disciplinary perspectives, on the requirements of professional positions, and underlying and core values to practice and clinical psychology.
The challenge of reconciling personal, professional and political selves is suggested to be deeply unique to the individual’s social context and circumstances. Thus, the reconciliation of selves is argued to often be linked to a desire for genuine connection and a drive to be true to oneself; crucially, in a way that enriches the experiences of both service user and practitioner. In the context of wider socio-political forces seemingly orchestrating a reality of increasing competitiveness, isolation, and the dismantlement of a multitude of resources, people can often find themselves at a loss. Here, the authors reflect on how voicing one’s personal experiences of distress and the challenges faced, can play key parts in informing the profession about the ways in which it can enhance inclusion and diversify through providing the adequate support, resources and structures, for aspiring psychologists with personal experience of mental illness.
