We are delighted to share with you a digital copy of the ‘Look Beyond‘ catalogue, in the hope that it will spark many more conversations about mental health online and beyond.
See Change’s aim is to challenge people to ‘Look Beyond’ the often negative labels associated with mental health difficulty so that every person in Ireland can be open and positive about their own and others mental health.
Our vision for ‘Look Beyond’ is to challenge people’s perceptions of mental health difficulties and to encourage positive conversation around this issue. Giving voice to people with lived experience is the guiding principle of all our work, and creative tools such as photovoice help to bring to life people’s stories in an engaging and immersive way. We hope ‘Look Beyond’ gives the viewer the opportunity to connect with people’s experiences of mental health and stigma in a much richer way than traditional reports.
In ‘Look Beyond’, people with mental health difficulties were invited to speak for themselves, giving us deep insight into the often unseen reality of what it means to live with a mental health difficulty and revealing many different paths to recovery. See Change would like to thank the 16 participants who took part in this photovoice research project because without their dedication and input ‘Look Beyond’ would not have been possible. We would also like to thank Dr Maria Quinlan and Dr Etáin Quigley for their expertise, dedication and commitment in bringing ‘Look Beyond’ to fruition. See Change would also like to thank you, the reader, for playing your part in ending mental health stigma by engaging with ‘Look Beyond’, whether through an exhibition or this associated catalogue.
Picture: Maura Hickey/Sharpix
Research shows 4 in 10 people in Ireland would not want their family, friends or colleagues to know they had a mental health difficulty*. Stigma is one of the main barriers preventing people from seeking the vital help they need. For this reason, it is essential See Change continues its work to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues.
* Based on a national omnibus survey conducted by Kantar Millward Brown and funded
by the National Office of Suicide Prevention, May 2017.
