Clare Shaw

Much of my knowledge around mental health is based in my experiences as a user/survivor of the psychiatric system. These experiences motivated me to become involved in the survivor movement, where I’m still very active.

This also informs my work in awareness raising around mental health. I went back into education in order to develop my understanding of women’s mental health, and graduated from an Applied Women’s Studies MA.

I began PhD research around the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, but I’m currently taking a break to focus on my poetry writing. I attend Survivor’s Poetry in Manchester, perform regularly and I’m working towards my first collection.

I have recently launched a new serivce together with my sister Terri Shaw - Harm-Ed.   Self-harm presents a growing area of concern for many service providers. Yet staff can often feel ill-equipped to deal with this difficult and demanding issue.    Harm-ed provides training and consultancy around self-harm and related issues.