Mental Health and Risk

The assessment and management of risk has become a key issue in mental health services in a range of jurisdictions. These concerns have been driven by the perceived danger that people with mental health problems have been assumed to pose to themselves or others. Policy responses have been complex. Mental health professionals have been charged with both identifying and reducing risks which are seen to be problematic. At the same time they are encouraged to promote “positive risk taking” in which service users are encouraged to take calculated risks in order to aid their recovery. In addition, people who use services have been encouraged to manage their own risks, although their views have been under-researched. Whilst risk is often viewed as a matter of common sense there are significant differences in the way different professional groups, people with mental health problems and carers conceptualise risk. This session aims to explore the way in which risk is conceptualised, contested and managed by mental health professionals, people with mental health problems and informal carers. Abstracts on any aspect of mental health and risk from a broad range of sociological and inter-disciplinary perspectives are invited.