February 2011 - Mad World

Mad World

Home

Report this Blog for Abuse

Syndication

Archives

Sort by: Most Recent | Most Viewed | Most Commented

Tackling insomnia and improving your work-life balance

If you're suffering from a bout of insomnia don't be tempted to change your sleep routine - this slightly counterintuitive message is part of a useful guide to getting a better night's sleep on Psychology Today. On a related note, pressures...

Published 28 Feb 2011 4:43 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, sleep, insomnia, workforce, work-life balance
Bonuses for bankers or social care for 30,000 people?

Bankers at the Royal Bank of Scotland were paid £950million in bonuses last year , despite the company making a £1.1bn loss . The bank is 83% owned by taxpayers . The comparisons with social care spending, which faces heavy cuts along with much of the...

Published 25 Feb 2011 11:03 AM by Mad World

Filed under: social care, Politics, local government, cuts, bankers
Mental health: here come the cuts

It seems like the coalition's public service cuts are really starting to hit home now. My colleague's at Community Care reported this week that some mental health trusts are planning to cut 15% of staff . The cuts come despite government pledges...

Published 24 Feb 2011 2:26 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, Politics, adults, cuts, mental health trusts
What social workers think: the CareSpace weekly roundup

Far be it from me to blow my own trumpet, but I feel compelled to point out that I have written my first weekly round-up of the best bits from CareSpace - the forum for UK social workers. Do feel free to read and comment. Read More...

Published 21 Feb 2011 11:22 AM by Mad World

Filed under: carespace, social care, social work
The public perception of social work: long socks, plastic bags and a Renault 4?

Do you drive around in one of these? It's a Renault 4, by the way. According to appropriately named spoof news site The Spoof , social workers will be freed from a number of onerous regulations in April, including requirements to: drive a Renault...

Published 21 Feb 2011 11:06 AM by Mad World

Filed under: media, social workers, social work
Peer support, group living and using non-specialists to deliver therapy

World of Psychology has an account of how living in a shared house helped improve one person's mental health. Shared living, the author says, helps tackle isolation and excessive rumination. Got to get the right flat mates of course - the Young Ones...

Published 16 Feb 2011 3:51 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, depression, behavioural activation therapy, flatsharing, peer support, shared living
Attachment, meditation and brain chemistry

I don't meditate but I'm really starting to think I ought to start. The latest prompt comes in the form of a story in the Washington Post , which reports on the latest small-scale study to suggest some real benefits. The research suggests meditation...

Published 15 Feb 2011 4:02 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, meditation, talking therapy, attachment
Useful mental health links

CareSpace blogger Ladybird has collected some useful mental health links . Read More...

Published 14 Feb 2011 11:53 AM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health
Love, the Joy of Teen Sex and The Archers

First up, various academics, therapists and doctors have written to Channel 4 complaining about some of the messages communicated in its Joy of Teen Sex programme. We reported a couple of weeks ago that Channel 4 stopped referring to Ruth Corden as a...

Published 9 Feb 2011 4:18 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, media, sex, social work, young people, families, sexual health
Leeds rugby team back anti-stigma campaign

It's good to see sports stars backing mental health campaigns. Young men are a particularly hard to reach group when it comes to anti-stigma messages and sportsmen tend to be the kind of people they listen to. So it's good to see Leeds Carnegie...

Published 9 Feb 2011 3:36 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, stigma, time to change, sport
Cannabis linked to earlier onset of psychosis

Cannabis use appears to be linked with the earlier onset of psychosis, a new study suggests. The meta analysis of previous studies found people who used cannabis developed psychosis on average over two years younger. Although the nature of the link is...

Published 8 Feb 2011 2:29 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, psychosis, children, drugs, Drug use, cannabis, family breakdown
Mental health strategy, sacked adviser and falsely raised hopes

My Community Care colleague Mithran Samuel has interviewed the adviser sacked by the government for pointing out that its mental health strategy was backed up by no new funds. Professor David Richards told Community Care that ministers risked raising...

Published 7 Feb 2011 2:37 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, exercise, no health without mental health, david richards
Social worker victim in new crime thriller

If you're a fan of the crime thriller genre you might be interested to know that a new offering from Ann Cleeves revolves around the murder of a social worker. Apparently the investigation by DI Vera Stanhope in Silent Voices revolves around a case...

Published 7 Feb 2011 2:11 PM by Mad World

Filed under: media, social work, literature
Campaign for a UK dementia awareness day

CareSpace blogger, Normms , who suffers from early onset dementia is campaigning to set up a UK Dementia Awareness Day on September 17th. You can pledge your support to the campaign here. Read More...

Published 7 Feb 2011 12:21 PM by Mad World

Filed under: dementia, adults
Will DSM-5 'take psychiatry off a cliff'?

There is a very comprehensive account of the concerns some people have with the compilation of the latest version of the diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders in Wired. There has been particular concern that the widening of the definition...

Published 3 Feb 2011 4:25 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, psychiatry, dsm-v
Alan Patridge actress gets anti-stigma campaign #whatstigma trending on twitter

Comedian and actress Rebecca Front has kicked off a remarkable trend on Twitter in which people admit to their mental health problems as part of a bid to tackle stigma. The star of The Day Today, Knowing Me Knowing You and The Thick of It posted this...

Published 2 Feb 2011 4:44 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, stigma, twitter
No Health Without Mental Health strategy launched

I've not had time to look into the government's new mental health strategy today but luckily my colleagues at Community Care have been all over it . Much of it seems positive, such as patients' ability to request a referral to talking therapy...

Published 2 Feb 2011 4:40 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, talking therapies, no health without mental health
Social workers' £80,000 houseboat washed up on Essex coast

Rather sad story in the Mail about a 100ft houseboat rennovated by two social workers and featured on the TV show Grand Designs in 2007, which was left uninhabited on the Thames Estuary, broke free of its moorings and washed up on a beech in Westcliff...

Published 2 Feb 2011 3:50 PM by Mad World

Filed under: social work, london, barge, essex
Mental health strategy: new money and a miracle cure?

The coalition government's mental health strategy is expected this week, trumpets the Telegraph , and it will promise to "end the stigma" associated with mental health and promote alternatives to drug therapy. Really? Isn't that what...

Published 1 Feb 2011 2:06 PM by Mad World

Filed under: Mental Health, group therapy, drugs, therapy, mental health strategy

February 2011 - Mad World

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

Tackling insomnia and improving your work-life balance

Bonuses for bankers or social care for 30,000 people?

Mental health: here come the cuts

What social workers think: the CareSpace weekly roundup

The public perception of social work: long socks, plastic bags and a Renault 4?

Peer support, group living and using non-specialists to deliver therapy

Attachment, meditation and brain chemistry

Useful mental health links

Love, the Joy of Teen Sex and The Archers

Leeds rugby team back anti-stigma campaign

Cannabis linked to earlier onset of psychosis

Mental health strategy, sacked adviser and falsely raised hopes

Social worker victim in new crime thriller

Campaign for a UK dementia awareness day

Will DSM-5 'take psychiatry off a cliff'?

Alan Patridge actress gets anti-stigma campaign #whatstigma trending on twitter

No Health Without Mental Health strategy launched

Social workers' £80,000 houseboat washed up on Essex coast

Mental health strategy: new money and a miracle cure?