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Charlie Jones

@charliepsych.bsky.social

2K followers 1.4K following 1.5K posts

Clinical psychologist in an acute hospital. NHS. Person-centred care. Relationships & dialogue in healthcare. Health creation. Appreciation of simple things. I'm a dad. Identical twins🤍🤍 Living in Bristol #SpacesForListening

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · Nov 29

Here's a 25min video about #SpacesForListening

vimeo.com/1033441520?s...

Thanks to @susanresurgence.bsky.social for a lovely conversation with @brigidrussell51 & me.

And thanks to all you wonderful souls who have come to #SpacesForListening over the last 4 years. The fire's still burning bright.

'Spaces for listening': Conversations with Contributors: Brigid Russell and Charlie Jones

A conservation between Editor of The Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine, Susan Clarke and contributors Brigid Russell and Charlie Jones. Read the article:…

vimeo.com

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1h

Hi Pete thanks for this. Yeah, in a context that could feel overwhelming, I can see how anchoring to something simple & doable is important. Best wishes

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 7h

Hey Sarah, i do appreciate you. You just 'get' what goes on eh.
A lot of our 'psychology' work ends up being liaison, and chasing medical appointments for people, or being 'moles' in the system to try and find stuff out. Feels important, but also unfair, as most people don't have this...

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 7h

Oh Sarah these examples are all so awful, & yet sadly so recognisable. What boils my blood is when, after people have been passed around & made to feel utterly hopeless, it ends up with 'do you want to speak to the psychologist?' Arghh! I mean- i'm glad we're there in the hospital, but not for this!

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 9h

The vulnerability of having a chronic condition is made far worse when people can't rely on care being available when needed. Symptoms get worse, & it adds a layer of anxiety that turns something that could just about be 'lived with' into something far more disabling. It's devastating, & unnecessary

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 11h

Hey Pete, it's good to see this. Can I ask- what do you think about making space for the more difficult times? eg feeling frustrated or isolated, or grieving for previous function? I wonder if it's important to make space for this too eg 'allow space to have a vent'. What do you reckon?

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 14h

Oh I'll certainly join you in cynicism & weariness... It'd be good to sit with some pots of tea & beers in a Sunday afternoon pub somewhere & have a rant about it all😃🍻

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 16h

Actually thinking about it now, it was maybe more Linus that put me off. I used to find him cringe, & he prob reminded me of parts of me😬

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 16h

It was because of Lucy I could never watch it. She put me right off tbh! Generous insight that maybe she was just craving to be loved, but it came our in her passive aggressive pushing away way. Oof.

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 16h

Aw thanks for thinking of me. The bit about carrying on doing something that's doomed to fail reminded me of Wile E Coyote, or Mr Tod in Peter Rabbit. My faves. We see aspects of ourselves in these 'fictional' characters dont we. & love them for their true character, not because they get it 'right'.

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 19h

We're reading the Swallows & Amazons. It sounds so dated- the ways the kids play together, the adventures & freedom they have.

But my sons are listening to it in a way that's very much alive... makes us want to go & row across a lake & set up camp & boil potatoes over a little fire...

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

Hey👋thanks for this, yeah i hear you. It sounds like he did once have an important experience as a patient. By 'staying' I meant 'in an ongoing way', rather than just one off occasional experiences...
Hope all well with you

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

I'd like to see Wes Streeting commit a couple of hours each week to staying connected with the real human side of NHS. He could do this in so many ways. Obvsly it'd need to be genuine, not stage-managed. It'd be good for deeper understanding, & it'd role model the importance of this to NHS leaders.

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Greg, the whole charade of gambling companies going on about the wellbeing of their customers. 'Take a break', 'as soon as the fun stops, stop', all the bullshit slogans.

It's so toxic, it feels like an abusive relationship- i'll look after you, while I fleece you...

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Ian, thanks for this. Yeah I think we prob do that- it's an achievement to get everyone in the room & then we just kinda assume that everything will flow from there. It just doesn't work like that! There needs to be more intentionality & careful facilitation I think. Could make such a difference

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Sarah, yeah- the ticking off of actions as a marker of 'progress', gives us all a sense that we're getting through things... but, what's the quality of the thinking? What's in the room not being said? There's so much potential richness when we come together. Mostly stays unshared...

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

In 20 years in NHS, I'd say it's rare to find meeting spaces that feel reliably useful & engaging.

There are loads of tools & structures, & ways of chairing/facilitating (maybe too many?).

We know this stuff matters, & yet gathering together in ways that feel useful seems frustratingly elusive 2/2

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 1d

An area in NHS we could really improve on is making meetings better- more useful, more engaging, more participation.

We know how with complex problems, we need to bring multiple perspectives together. Great- in principle. But how does this go in practice? It's an area we could improve massively 1/2

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 2d

Most of us in the NHS don't need to understand the ins & outs of ICBs/DoH etc. Most of us know our local contexts.

But think it'd make such a difference to feel that 'the people in charge' CARE & get it- about our everyday experiences (patients & staff). I just don't think this comes across enough.

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 2d

Hey Ian thanks for this. Yeh that's fascinating isnt it to compare the experiences of being the person in the dark place, with trying to be caring to someone in a dark place. Stuckness can feel terrible & then gets overlaid with self-hatred "I'm not even helping myself"(as if that's always possible)

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 2d

A key thing to understand when someone's having a really dark time is that the things we all know could be helpful ('reaching out', going for a walk, talking to someone etc), become pretty impossible & part of the stuckness.

Be there, be available, be alongside, hold someone in mind, try to listen.

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Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 3d

Ahh that view...
And the contrails in the sky. I'd love to stand there looking out over that view.
Sending much respect & thanks to you for all the care you give. And breathing in the views is a very important thing too.
See you again soon take care👋🤍

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 3d

There's a lot of overwhelm out there. False positivity is annoying at the best of times, but atm it's really invalidating & disheartening. Don't do it.

It's OK to name the overwhelm. Listening to each other doesnt mean we have to have solutions, but it's a form of care & it says 'you're not alone'.

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 4d

Far more of our work meetings should be places where we can think together and share ideas in a supportive environment.

We miss so many opportunities to hear each other.

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 4d

Paying attention, being present, noticing... all valuable. There's so much there, every day, if we can slow down & tune into it.
Best wishes👋

Charlie Jones @charliepsych.bsky.social · 4d

Hello, jumping in...

A concern I have is that the need for psychological thinking in the care of people with long term conditions is getting unhelpfully conflated with 'mental health'. Obvsly, this is important too, but these are 2 different things, & there's poor understanding of this.

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