Prescriptions in the UK for Prozac and other antidepressants have increased by nearly 25% in the last five years.
Last year, doctors wrote 2.1 million more prescriptions for antidepressants in the wake of the credit crunch.
Philip Hodson, from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, is quoted in this piece in The Mirror (22 June 2009): "Depression can be caused by unacceptable change happening at an unacceptable rate. For some, too much change can be paralysing. Pills have a role, but play better with some people than others."
Victoria Walsh, from mental health charity Rethink, adds: "We are seeing people who have been high fliers and now find life without their jobs overwhelming."
The Guardian also covers this story.
www.therapyme.com
Monday, 22 June 2009
Saturday, 13 June 2009
News: Attitudes to mental illness 'changing for the better' - Guardian
This piece in the Guardian (12 June 2009) reports on research from the UK government's Department for Health which found a favourable shift in the way people regarded mental illness. When questioned 73% of people felt that people with mental health problems should have the same employment rights as other people - an increase of 7% compared to last year.
Some ignorance about mental health still persists according to Paul Corry from Rethink who comments: "One in five people still believe that anyone with a history of mental health problems should be excluded from taking public office. This is a shocking statistic on the eve of a general election which will be fought against the background of politicians from all parties being seen as out of touch with voters. If we as voters really want politicians to reflect the constituents they serve, we need to change our attitudes and open up parliament to the one in four people with mental health problems who will think twice before standing and coming out about their experiences."
www.therapyme.com
Some ignorance about mental health still persists according to Paul Corry from Rethink who comments: "One in five people still believe that anyone with a history of mental health problems should be excluded from taking public office. This is a shocking statistic on the eve of a general election which will be fought against the background of politicians from all parties being seen as out of touch with voters. If we as voters really want politicians to reflect the constituents they serve, we need to change our attitudes and open up parliament to the one in four people with mental health problems who will think twice before standing and coming out about their experiences."
www.therapyme.com
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
News: Men with depression 'failing to ask for help' during recession - Telegraph
Men are much less likely than women to be diagnosed with mental illness because they feel embarrassed about asking for help, according to UK mental health charity, Mind.
This Telegraph (11 May 2009) story refers to the YouGov survey of 2,055 adults in the UK. The research reveals that the top concern for men is job security.
Paul Farmer, Mind's CEO, is quoted: "The recession is clearly having a detrimental impact on the nation's mental health but men in particular are struggling with the emotional impact. Being a breadwinner is something that is still crucial to the male psyche so if a man loses his job he loses a large part of his identity putting his mental wellbeing in jeopardy.
"The problem is that too many men wrongly believe that admitting mental distress makes them weak and this kind of self stigma can cost lives. At this time, it's really important that it's as easy as possible for men to find the help they need."
www.therapyme.com
This Telegraph (11 May 2009) story refers to the YouGov survey of 2,055 adults in the UK. The research reveals that the top concern for men is job security.
Paul Farmer, Mind's CEO, is quoted: "The recession is clearly having a detrimental impact on the nation's mental health but men in particular are struggling with the emotional impact. Being a breadwinner is something that is still crucial to the male psyche so if a man loses his job he loses a large part of his identity putting his mental wellbeing in jeopardy.
"The problem is that too many men wrongly believe that admitting mental distress makes them weak and this kind of self stigma can cost lives. At this time, it's really important that it's as easy as possible for men to find the help they need."
www.therapyme.com
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
News: State must stay out of psychotherapy - The Guardian
Opposition to the UK Government's plans to regulate talking therapies is gathering pace. A letter published in The Guardian (9th April 2009) from the Coalition Against Over-Regulation of Psychotherapy has been signed by a host of well known names including Hanif Kureishi, Susie Orbach, Oliver James, Tracey Emin, Will Self and Alain de Botton.
The letter reads:
"Under new government proposals, psychoanalysis and the talking therapies will be regulated by the State under the Health Professions Council. We the undersigned wish to register our protest and disagreement with this initiative. Psychoanalysis is a private conversation between adults, and the proposed regulations threaten to limit the basic human right to freedom of speech. Each individual should have the freedom to choose the therapist they wish to consult, without the State dictating who is legitimate and who is not.
"The new proposals have shown a serious and bizarre misunderstanding of the nature of talking therapy. They see it as a definable technique to be applied with predictable outcomes. Yet the key to talking therapies is the nature of the relationship between the parties rather than the performance of any particular procedure. Analytic work involves an open-ended relationship, where results may emerge that were never predicted or even thought of beforehand. The proposed regulation leaves no room for the unknown, as if the solution to each person's problems were known in advance: therapist and patient will be expected to adhere to a clear predetermined agenda. Government intervention thus threatens the very foundation of analytic work, compromising both its creativity and authenticity.
"The new regulations proposed for the talking therapies - which include 451 rules for the analytic session - would effectively make it impossible to practice psychoanalysis and many other forms of therapy in the way they have been practiced for the last hundred years. The Health Professions Council plans a public campaign to discredit those practitioners whose own practice and ethical code would not allow them to sign up to its market-led vision of therapy and normality."
"The main reason given for the regulatory project is protection of the public. Yet all analytic and therapy organisations already have stringent codes of ethics and practice, as well as complaints procedures. Replacing these with an inherently unsuited model of healthcare will destroy the growth and vitality of the field for both therapists and those who consult them. We urge an alternative model, like that adopted in other countries, where government intervention is limited to the requirement that all therapists join a register which is administered by an independent professional body, giving full details of their training and affiliations. This would enable members of the public to make their own informed choice rather than having politicians make it for them."
www.therapyme.com
The letter reads:
"Under new government proposals, psychoanalysis and the talking therapies will be regulated by the State under the Health Professions Council. We the undersigned wish to register our protest and disagreement with this initiative. Psychoanalysis is a private conversation between adults, and the proposed regulations threaten to limit the basic human right to freedom of speech. Each individual should have the freedom to choose the therapist they wish to consult, without the State dictating who is legitimate and who is not.
"The new proposals have shown a serious and bizarre misunderstanding of the nature of talking therapy. They see it as a definable technique to be applied with predictable outcomes. Yet the key to talking therapies is the nature of the relationship between the parties rather than the performance of any particular procedure. Analytic work involves an open-ended relationship, where results may emerge that were never predicted or even thought of beforehand. The proposed regulation leaves no room for the unknown, as if the solution to each person's problems were known in advance: therapist and patient will be expected to adhere to a clear predetermined agenda. Government intervention thus threatens the very foundation of analytic work, compromising both its creativity and authenticity.
"The new regulations proposed for the talking therapies - which include 451 rules for the analytic session - would effectively make it impossible to practice psychoanalysis and many other forms of therapy in the way they have been practiced for the last hundred years. The Health Professions Council plans a public campaign to discredit those practitioners whose own practice and ethical code would not allow them to sign up to its market-led vision of therapy and normality."
"The main reason given for the regulatory project is protection of the public. Yet all analytic and therapy organisations already have stringent codes of ethics and practice, as well as complaints procedures. Replacing these with an inherently unsuited model of healthcare will destroy the growth and vitality of the field for both therapists and those who consult them. We urge an alternative model, like that adopted in other countries, where government intervention is limited to the requirement that all therapists join a register which is administered by an independent professional body, giving full details of their training and affiliations. This would enable members of the public to make their own informed choice rather than having politicians make it for them."
www.therapyme.com
Saturday, 28 March 2009
News: One in six therapists 'has tried to cure homosexuals' - Telegraph
The Telegraph (25 March 2009), like many other media outlets, jumped on this story about a "significant minority" of mental health professionals who said they had tried to help their clients change their sexual orientation.
The research conducted by Annie Bartlett, Glenn Smith and Michael King is published in the open access journal, BMC Psychiatry (26 March 2009). Surveying 1400 healthcare professionals, 17% reported treating clients to help them reduce or change their homosexual or lesbian feelings.
Quoted in the Telegraph, Professor Michael King, of University College London, said: "There is very little evidence to show that attempting to treat a person's homosexual feelings is effective and in fact it can actually be harmful. So it is surprising that a significant minority of practitioners still offer this help to their clients. The best approach is to help people adjust to their situation, to value them as people and show them that there is nothing whatever pathological about their sexual orientation.
"Both mental health practitioners and society at large must help them to confront prejudice in themselves and in others."
The research conducted by Annie Bartlett, Glenn Smith and Michael King is published in the open access journal, BMC Psychiatry (26 March 2009). Surveying 1400 healthcare professionals, 17% reported treating clients to help them reduce or change their homosexual or lesbian feelings.
Quoted in the Telegraph, Professor Michael King, of University College London, said: "There is very little evidence to show that attempting to treat a person's homosexual feelings is effective and in fact it can actually be harmful. So it is surprising that a significant minority of practitioners still offer this help to their clients. The best approach is to help people adjust to their situation, to value them as people and show them that there is nothing whatever pathological about their sexual orientation.
"Both mental health practitioners and society at large must help them to confront prejudice in themselves and in others."
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
News: Cash for 'recession depression' - BBC News
The UK Government has announced an extra £13million to help people who experience mental health problems during the recession.
The BBC News story (8 March 2009) quotes Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind: "Redundancy and money worries put strain on family relationships, cause sleepless nights, trigger stress and increase the risk of developing depression. When it comes to the scale of the current recession we are in uncharted territory about how many people could be affected.
"We must learn from the mistakes of past recessions where people lost their job, their confidence and their self esteem leaving them unable to return to the workforce."
The BBC News story (8 March 2009) quotes Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind: "Redundancy and money worries put strain on family relationships, cause sleepless nights, trigger stress and increase the risk of developing depression. When it comes to the scale of the current recession we are in uncharted territory about how many people could be affected.
"We must learn from the mistakes of past recessions where people lost their job, their confidence and their self esteem leaving them unable to return to the workforce."
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
News: Stroke post-traumatic stress risk - BBC News
UK researchers say stroke victims are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The team of researchers from Durham University, James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough, and Newcastle General Hospital assessed patients 13 months after suffering a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
More than a third of those who took part in the research reported flashbacks and painful memories of when their brain haemorrhage occurred.
Professor Allan House of the Stroke Association said: "Doctors do realise this type of stroke is stressful for the patient, but they do not always ask the patient about anxiety and depression. Someone needs to. Some patients undoubtedly have PTSD, while others might have depression or anxiety after a subarachnoid haemorrhage and it is understandable why."
Researchers say PTSD is under reported because clinicians focus more on physical recovery.
More than a third of those who took part in the research reported flashbacks and painful memories of when their brain haemorrhage occurred.
Professor Allan House of the Stroke Association said: "Doctors do realise this type of stroke is stressful for the patient, but they do not always ask the patient about anxiety and depression. Someone needs to. Some patients undoubtedly have PTSD, while others might have depression or anxiety after a subarachnoid haemorrhage and it is understandable why."
Researchers say PTSD is under reported because clinicians focus more on physical recovery.
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