Barnes H ' Does mental illness have a place in social and recovery models in mental health in service users' experience? In Living and Learning: Learning and Teaching: Mental Health in Higher Education. Proceedings of the Conference held on 30-31st March 2010 at Lancaster University.

Influential social and recovery models form key mandates for mental health education today. These models advocate a shift from traditional notions and approaches linked to mental illness, to service users’ active empowerment and control over their lives and symptoms. The presentation sought to question, however, how far the emphasis of these models on autonomy takes account of service user experiences. First a review of service users’ experiences was found to point to the significance of mental illness within these, especially amongst people facing social inequalities. Then concepts of mental illness were explored, initially suggesting that mental health stigma could be traced not to these but to historical social beliefs, and subsequently showing how mental illness understandings have contributed to social justice for service users. Finally, implications were drawn for mental health education which could enable practitioners to integrate understandings and work with illness experiences and social inequalities into emancipatory practice.