In My Room

Jim Lucey has been working for more than 25 years with patients suffering from mental health problems. When people at their most vulnerable present to his room at St Patrick's University Hospital, Dublin, they reveal their fears, traumas, and very real human predicaments. Most of the assessments described in this book took place in this room. While the patients' stories are diverse, one common theme emerges - that of recovery. The psychiatrist and patients show us that recovery is possible, if we can find a way to engage. Many of us find it difficult to speak of the mind, and care of the mind requires an ability to listen and to reflect. This inspiring book will give you many moments of reflection as you journey with Jim's patients towards recovery, and will restore your faith in the human experience. 'The room is a space for the mind, and a metaphor for the mind at the same time. Most of us will never find ourselves on a psychiatrist's couch and yet our lives would be perilous if we did not make space for our mental health. In this space, we can hold up a mirror and acknowledge our search for meaning. By going to the room, life becomes more resourceful and rewarding. In showing up there, we show up for life itself.'

Professor James V. Lucey MD (Dub), PhD (Lond), FRCPI, FRCPsychis Medical Director, St Patrick s Mental Health Services, Dublin and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin. He has more than 25 years' experience in psychiatry. In addition to medical management he maintains his clinical practice at St Patrick s where he works on the assessment, diagnosis and management of obsessive compulsive (OCD) and other anxiety disorders. He gives public lectures and is a regular broadcaster on mental health matters on RTÉ radio featuring on Today with Sean O Rourke.