In this ‘in conversation with’, I talk to Dr Kevin Ariyo about the research that he led (as part of the as part of the Mental Health & Justice Project) into interpersonal influence and decision-making capacity, focusing on the way in which this issue has played out in the courts, and asking what the research might tell us about how we can think better about this area.

For the original video, see here.

In this – the 50th! – ‘in conversation’ with, I talk to Abiy Babatunde, research assistant on the Advance Statements for Black African and Caribbean (AdStaC project), which seeks to improve Black service users’[1] experiences in mental health services in South London by co-producing and testing an advance choice implementation resource with Black service users, mental health professionals and carers/supporters of Black service users. Abiy explains how the research came out, how it has been developed, and progress so far. We also discuss how to manage fears on the parts of service users and staff about making and using such advance choice documents, and the benefits of co-producing advance choice documents.

For the original video, see here.

If you want to read more about the project, a good starting point is this article led on by Abiy.

[1] I am conscious that there are a range of terms which could be used here; as the project settled on ‘service user.’ I use that here.

In this 'in conversation with', I talk to Donna Phillips, Head of Safeguarding at Spectrum Community Health CIC, about the challenges that arise where prisoners refuse food, and about her research leading to a new toolkit to help work through the dilemmas that arise.

For the original video, see here.

In this 'in conversation with,' I talk to Siddiq Diwan, Imam and Lead Muslim Chaplain at the Manchester University Hospital Foundation Trust  (and Vice Director of the Ethics Council at The British Islamic Medical Association).  I learn something of the Islamic perspective on the concepts of capacity and best interests, and think with him about navigating some of the complexities of these issues in the medical treatment context.

For the original video, see here.

In this ‘in conversation with,’ I talk to Professor Shih-Ning Then about supported decision-making, exploring the meaning of the term, how it is understood and what it might mean in different contexts, in the context of a hugely important report on the subject she has contributed to for the Living Disability Research Centre at La Trobe University, commissioned by the Australian Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

The website and e-learning materials for the La Trobe Supported Decision-Making Framework we talk about during our conversation can be found here.

For the original video, see here.

In this ‘in conversation with,’ I talk to Bonnie Venter about her work investigating the complexities of living organ donation in England & Wales, and think about the issues caused where either the proposed donor or the potential recipient has impaired decision-making capacity.

The paper Bonnie and I discuss, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, and prompted by the case of William Verden, can be found here (it is behind a paywall but if you ask nicely I am sure we can help).

The paper that we talk about led on by Rebecca Thom looking at inequitable access to transplants for adults with impaired decision-making capacity, which appeared in Transplant International in March 2022, can be found here.

For the original video, see here.

In this ‘in conversation with’ across time zones, I talk to Dr Piers Gooding about his work in relation to supported decision-making and the work that he has been involved in drawing together concrete evidence of steps that can be take to reduce (or prevent) coercion in mental health care. Drawing on his experiences, we think about incremental vs ‘big bang’ approaches to reform.

For the original video, see here.

In this ‘in conversation’ with, I learn from (retired) Professor Ken Wilson and Dr Julia Lewis about Alcohol Related Brain Damage and its often subtle impacts upon mental capacity.  We also discuss when and why thinking about capacity to manage alcohol is actually useful in the abstract.

For the original video, see here.

In this 'in conversation' with, I learn about the background to the new book co-edited by Daisy Cheung and Michael Dunn, Advance Directives Across Asia: A Comparative Socio-legal Analysis (available as a free ebook here).   We discuss the challenges of undertaking comparative research in relation to such a diverse group of jurisdictions (see here for a slide setting out the countries covered, and the types of approach that they have), and I cruelly put both of them on the spot to highlight jurisdictions that they found particularly striking in their approaches.

For the original video, see here.

In the most recent (slightly snuffly) in conversation, I talk to Dr Janet Weston about her fascinating book Looking after Miss Alexander: Care, Mental Capacity, and the Court of Protection in Mid-Twentieth-Century England (available for free here).   I learn what led her to tell Miss Alexander's story, what that story tells us about approaches to capacity in the middle of the 20th century, and what it might have to tells us to thinking about contemporary dilemmas.

For the original video, see here.