Rufus May (born 1968) is a British

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

best known for using his own experiences of being a psychiatric patient to promote alternative recovery approaches for those experiencing psychotic symptoms. After formally qualifying as a clinical psychologist, he then disclosed that he had been previously detained in hospital with a diagnosis of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

Early life and education

May grew up in Islington, north London. May qualified from the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

in 1998.

Experiences of mental health

May was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1986 at age 18. May was compulsorily detained in a psychiatric hospital on three occasions. He understands his psychotic experiences as a reaction to experiences of emotional loss and social isolation. Among other beliefs, he developed ideas he was an apprentice spy for the

British secret service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence ...

. He also experienced messages from the radio and television. This eventually led to three admissions to

Hackney Hospital Homerton University Hospital is a teaching hospital in Homerton in the London Borough of Hackney. It is managed by Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Homerton Fever Hospital, which op ...

within 14 months. After a year of receiving psychiatric drug treatment Rufus May decided to stop being involved with psychiatric services and stop taking the drugs he was being prescribed, he then used exercise, creative activities, social relationships and voluntary work to regain his well-being.

Clinical approach

Rufus May has used his professional knowledge and own experiences of psychosis to focus on developing services that are more patient centered and therapeutic approaches that are more collaborative, without relying on chemical imbalance theories of mental distress. For example, he works with those experiencing

auditory hallucination An auditory hallucination, or paracusia, is a form of hallucination that involves perceiving sounds without auditory stimulus. While experiencing an auditory hallucination, the affected person would hear a sound or sounds which did not come from t ...

s by conversing directly with the voice to help discover the meaning of these dissociative experiences. He draws upon the Nonviolent Communication style developed by

Marshall Rosenberg Marshall Bertram Rosenberg (October 6, 1934February 7, 2015) was an American psychologist, mediator, author and teacher. Starting in the early 1960s, he developed nonviolent communication, a process for supporting partnership and resolving confl ...

and mindfulness. His approach received considerable publicity when it was the subject of ''The Doctor Who Hears Voices'', a 2008 British television documentary broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

about a junior doctor helped by May to overcome her experiences of hearing voices. Directed by Leo Regan, the documentary depicts the therapy which May provided to the junior doctor, played by actress Ruth Wilson. The programme created a significant reaction with both support and criticism of May's approach and was a 2008 finalist in the Mind Mental health media awards.

Religion and culture

May has expressed sympathy for individuals who come from various cultural backgrounds or those who hold specific religious beliefs in regards to proper treatment. He has stated that "...for many people their voices are spiritual entities...we are working alongside traditional spiritual healers to create healing workshops that will help people deal with negative spirits. To insist on medicalizing this experience is now being recognized as culturally oppressive and colonial."

Professional career

May has worked as a clinical psychologist in Tower Hamlets,

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, England. He currently works as a clinical psychologist in an assertive outreach team in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, England. He is actively involved in consumer recovery groups such as the

hearing voices network Hearing Voices Networks, closely related to the Hearing Voices Movement, are peer-focused national organizations for people who hear voices (commonly referred to as auditory hallucinations) and supporting family members, activists and mental healt ...

and a Bradford mental health discussion and campaign group, Evolving Minds. He often provides comments in the British media against the use of compulsory detention and the forcibly use of medications legislation. His story has received a number of awards, including a Mental Health Media Survivor and Factual Radio awards in October 2001 for Fergal Keane's show ''Taking a Stand'' on Radio Four. and a 2008 award for the TV documentary.

Publications

* May, R. (2000) "Routes to recovery from psychosis: The roots of a clinical psychologist", ''Clinical Psychology Forum'' 146: 6–10. * May, R. (2004) "Making sense of psychotic experiences and working towards recovery". In J. Gleeson & P. McGorry, (eds.) ''Psychological interventions in early psychosis''. Chichester: Wiley. * May, R. (2007
"Working outside the diagnostic frame"
''The Psychologist'' Vol 20, No 5, pp. 300–301. * May, R. (2007) "Reclaiming mad experience: Establishing Unusual Belief Groups and Evolving Minds public meetings"'. In Peter Stastny &

Peter Lehmann Peter Lehmann may refer to: *Peter Lehmann (winemaker) (1930–2013), Australian winemaker *Peter Lehmann (author) (born 1950), German author * Peter Lehmann (ice hockey) (born 1946), Swiss ice hockey player See also *Lehmann Lehmann is a German ...

(eds.), ''Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry'' (pp. 117–127). Berlin / Eugene / Shrewsbury: Peter Lehmann Publishing. (UK), (USA). (E-Book 2018) * May, R. (2007) "Zur Wiederaneignung verrückter Erfahrungen. Gruppen für Menschen mit außergewöhnlichen Überzeugungen". In

& Peter Stastny (eds.), ''Statt Psychiatrie 2'' (pp. 119–130). Berlin / Eugene / Shrewsbury: Antipsychiatrieverlag. . (E-Book 2018) * May, R. (2009) personal story of recovery in ''Living with Voices: 50 Stories of Recovery'' by

Marius Romme Marius Anton Joannes Romme (born 17 January 1934, Amsterdam) is a Dutch psychiatrist. He is best known for his work on hearing voices (auditory hallucinations) and regarded as the founder and principal theorist for the Hearing Voices Movement. ...

, Sandra Escher, Jacqui Dillon, Dirk Corstens, Mervyn Morris.

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Rufus British psychologists Living people Alumni of the University of East London People with schizophrenia Anti-psychiatry Year of birth uncertain 1968 births Exorcism