My colleague Roger Stanbridge, who has died aged 78, was an inspirational family therapist in the field of mental health. He worked for 35 years in the NHS as a psychotherapist, during which time he pioneered the routine involvement of family members in the care of their relatives.
Born in Cambridge, Roger was the son of Olive (nee Rogers), a secretary, and Leslie Stanbridge, a bookmaker. The family lived in Birkenhead, now in Merseyside, and Roger went to Birkenhead school. He gained his degree in fine art at the University of Newcastle on Tyne and subsequently trained as a teacher in Leicester and as an art therapist at St Albans School of Art.
In 1974 he met Mary Selley, also an art therapist, at John Connolly hospital in Birmingham. They moved to Somerset together in 1976 when Roger took up an art therapist post at Mendip hospital, Wells, and were married in 1984. When the hospital closed in 1991 Roger was a founding member of one of the first community mental health teams (CMHTs) in the country.
While continuing to work as an art therapist Roger trained as a systemic psychotherapist and obtained his master’s degree from Bristol University. In 2004 he became a consultant therapist and lead for the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust strategy to enhance working partnerships with carers and families.
From 1994 Roger and I worked closely together for more than 20 years, pioneering a new clinical approach to working with families in which one of their members has psychosis. Our academic papers included Roger’s MSc research, which provided evidence that our approach was highly valued. This work was subsequently extended to all services within the trust and Roger also established family liaison services on the inpatient wards. These initiatives continued after Roger’s retirement, under the then national banner of the “Triangle of Care”.
Following his retirement in 2011, Roger was able to focus on his own family and his allotment, although he continued to contribute to the academic world.
Roger’s impact went far beyond the individuals he directly helped through psychotherapy. His teaching and supervision of other clinicians helped many more. In addition, he authored or co-authored 10 papers and three book chapters.
Roger is survived by Mary, their sons, Dan and Joe, four grandchildren, and his brother, Colin.
