A fulfilling life, what matters to me

In 2024, Healthwatch Lambeth undertook a research project talking to 30 Black men with a Severe Mental Illness about their experiences of using mental health services. The aim was to understand any barriers to seeking help and the support they needed to stay well and lead a fulfilling life. Highlighting their personal narratives will help guide local services in designing and implementing more inclusive care and community support services.  They spoke to 30 men.

Stigma, distrust, and cultural expectations around displaying strength and resilience contributed to delays in accessing support. When men did engage, they often felt unsupported or dismissed.

Many men reported difficulties with navigating the mental health system, facing long wait times, a lack of ongoing support and challenges with accessing crisis support services. 

Men had positive experiences when they felt listened to and included in decisions about their care. However, many described a lack of personalised support, with men feeling processed and having experiences that pointed to prejudice, racial bias, and unfair treatment. Many men felt that mental health services were difficult to access, unwelcoming, and mainly focused on medication rather than talking therapies or personalised support. 

Hospital care was often described by men as impersonal, coercive, and lacking cultural sensitivity. Men were concerned about staffing and described a poorly managed discharge process. 

Men saw the journey to recovery as more than symptom management —it involved regaining control, improving access to healthcare including the need for more information about diagnosis, out of hours support, receiving personalised and respectful care (being treated as ‘experts by experience’), accessing ongoing support in the community through peer groups and safe spaces, and obtaining stable housing, employment, and financial security.