Church leaders come out in force to back BMH UK’s election manifesto.

http://www.blackmentalhealth.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=768&Itemid=117 Church leaders come out in force to back BMH UK’s election manifesto       By Zephaniah Samuels                                                 30/04/10A host of church leaders from across the ecumenical spectrum have come out in support of Black Mental Health UK’s 2010 Election Manifesto. Urgent need for next government to take manifesto on boardLaunched just this week, [...]

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The Sevenacres mental health unit.”EVERYONE seems to think it’s like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or something,” says David Sellers. Mmmm

The Sevenacres mental health unit. “EVERYONE seems to think it’s like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or something,” says David Sellers, the modern matron responsible for managing mental health unit Sevenacres.   And I’m standing here in the electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) suite, looking at the pale calming decor, so incongruous against the shining silver-coloured [...]

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Homeless Link to run conference on mental health and homelessness.

http://www.24dash.com/news/Housing/2010-04-30-Homeless-Link-to-run-conference-on-mental-health-and-homelessness Homeless Link’s conference aims to demystify the mental health care system and inform workers based in the homelessness sector, how they can more easily support clients with poor mental health. It will focus on the clients who have lower level mental health issues, as provision for these individuals is less readily available, despite a recognised, [...]

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Why RETHINK chairity chief, Paul Jenkins, will go the extra mile for mental health.

http://www.justgiving.com/threepeaksyorkshire Why chairity chief, Paul Jenkins,  will climb ‘Three Peaks’ for mental health.   “On 29th May we will be taking on Yorkshire’s premier walking challenge and climbing the  Three Peaks of the Yorkshire Dales: Pen y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough – 27 mile round trip in all.  While we do so we are planning to [...]

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RETHINK news, Martin Freeman, star of The Office supports Rethink peitition.

  Great news! 1,000 signatures to go, and Martin Freeman, star of The Office, is supporting our petition. He says, “Mental health doesn’t have to be a taboo issue. We could all speak out and say that the 1 in 4 people who experience mental health problems deserve respect and decent treatment. That’s why I’ve [...]

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Why it’s no joke when people make fun of disability.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/28/disability-c4-ofcom-complaint Getting a laugh out of disability Nicola Clark I hope Ofcom upholds my complaint against C4. It’s no joke when people make fun of disability – I know, because of my kids Reading the account of a tussle between Sharon Smith, whose five-year-old daughter has Down’s syndrome, and comedian Frankie Boyle, I felt a [...]

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Eastern Airlines, you gotta walk before you can fly – with us!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7656470/Wheelchair-athlete-banned-from-plane-because-he-couldnt-walk.html Wheelchair athlete banned from plane ‘because he couldn’t walk’ One of Britain’s top wheelchair athletes was prevented from travelling to a race after an airline said he would have to walk up steps to board. Published: 9:20AM BST 30 Apr 2010 Mr Powell has not walked since he broke his back in a motorcycle [...]

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Hospital parking adds to stress!

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/04/hospital-parking-adds-to-stress-212419 Hospital car parking making visits more stressful. 29 April 2010 Which? research has found that hospital car parking may not be good for your mental health.  According to our recent survey, 49% of the public who had used an NHS hospital car park in the last two years found that parking arrangements had made [...]

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As Politicians promise to focus on clamping down on fraudsters, how many of YOU could live on £65.45 a week?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/30/general-election-unemployment-poverty The jobless are no shirking scroungers – you try living on £65.45 a week Many unemployed people are struggling just to survive, but David Conn finds the parties keen to focus on claimant fraud instead ‘People get very depressed – that level of poverty has a bad effect on your mental health’ Laurie Penny, [...]

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Anxious and depressed ‘should be able to bypass GP’

http://www.hi-mag.com/healthinsurance/article.do;.065acf6a61c52eed94766d1ba7da5d95d4ecd58a?articleid=20000178263&adname=his_breaking_news Anxious and depressed ‘should be able to bypass GP’ 30 April 2010 Breaking News //   Giving people direct access to mental health services, bypassing their GP, could play a significant role in tackling the huge gap between the prevalence of mental ill-health in the UK and the treatment of those affected, suggests a [...]

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Joe Public: RETHINK – mental health has £50m of cuts hanging over it!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2010/apr/30/mental-health-cash-cuts-election Mental health services need cash, not cuts The general election manifestos may claim otherwise, but mental health has £50m of cuts hanging over it, says Rethink Mental health is often the first to suffer when governmental cuts are made In their election manifestos, Labour has promised more than 8,000 new psychological therapists, the Conservatives [...]

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How to support peer support: evaluating the first steps in a healthcare community. (Ann Ley, Glenn Roberts, Dawn Willis)

Journal Article How to support peer support: evaluating the first steps in a healthcare community Journal Journal of Public Mental Health Publisher Pier Professional ISSN 1746-5729 (Print) 2042-8731 (Online) Issue Volume 9, Number 1 / 2010 Category Evaluation DOI 10.5042/jpmh.2010.0160 Pages 16-25 Online Date Wednesday, April 14, 2010     PDF (183.9 KB) Authors Ann [...]

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Mental Health Campaigns? Do we need ‘paid professionals’ or is it time for a peer lead approach to combating stigma?

Peer Support and Peer Lead Service Provision - it works in New Zealand, it works in Arizona, so why do we rely on charities to ‘help’ us to become equal? What do YOU think?   Where it works: http://www.mentalhealthpeers.com/ Peer Support: An Alternative Approach Peer support has traditionally meant informal, non-professionalized help from people who have had [...]

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At long last the first dedicated helpline for stalking victims in the UK will be launched later today.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/29/helpline-stalking-victims-launch Helpline for stalking victims set to launch Anti-stalking charities and police develop first dedicated helpline for UK victims <!–Topsy–> guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 April 2010 10.21 Clare Bernal, who was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend, who had been stalking her. The first dedicated helpline for stalking victims in the UK will be launched later today. [...]

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The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic

http://www.inlandempire.us/rss/article.php?client=redfusion&id=20100428092813 4/28/2010 – The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic (Redlands, CA) - A traveling exhibit from Exhibition Alliance partnering with The Community Consortium will be on display at the San Bernardino County Museum from May 1 through 12 before moving to the County Government Center. Sponsored by the San Bernardino County [...]

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TODAY’S Northerner is now almost on a par with humans, the Conservatives will announce today.

  http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/northerners-almost-the-same-as-people,-say-tories-201004142640/ NORTHERNERS ALMOST THE SAME AS PEOPLE, SAY TORIES!! 14-04-10 TODAY’S Northerner is now almost on a par with humans, the Conservatives will announce today. In a pitch to swing voters north of Birmingham the party will set out plans to overhaul Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland with the introduction of schools, toilet paper [...]

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Do women have twice the rate of depression as men? or do they just disquise it better?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/apr/29/women-depression-allison-pearson Why do so many women have depression? Novelist Allison Pearson is the latest in a long line of high-profile women to talk publicly about their depression. All these women had pretty terrific lives – or that’s how it looked from the outside. So what went wrong?<!–Topsy–> The Guardian, Thursday 29 April 2010 Allison Pearson, [...]

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Latest ESA figures – long delays and high failure rates.

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/latest-news/1213-latest-esa-figures–long-delays-and-high-failure-rates Latest ESA figures – long delays and high failure rates 29 April 2010 The DWP has published its most recent statistic on how many people are getting awards of employment and support allowance.  An average of over 50,000 people a month are applying for ESA.  Of these, around 20,000 close their claim before being [...]

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Paul Davidson on why the next government must ensure mental health is a priority!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7233065.stm ‘I was walking the streets screaming’ Community work has helped Paul Davidson to overcome his problems Figures from the Liberal Democrats show massively long waiting times for community mental health services in some areas of the country.The statistics come as no surprise to Paul Davidson, 50, from Gateshead who was told he would have [...]

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How DSM-IV attitudes could harm DSM 5

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mood-swings/201004/the-secret-dsm-iv The secret of DSM-IV

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Alexander McQueen: fashion designer ‘depressed by stress at work’.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/fashionnews/7646058/Alexander-McQueen-fashion-designer-depressed-by-stress-at-work.html Alexander McQueen: fashion designer ‘depressed by stress at work’ Alexander McQueen was left feeling increasingly pressured by his work as a hugely successful international fashion designer, which led him to suffer depression, an inquest heard.   By Andrew Hough Published: 6:00PM BST 28 Apr 2010 McQueen felt immense pressure from his job as an [...]

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In 2003 Frank Bruno was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, now he pledges to help stamp out stigma!

Frank’s story Join Frank and Time to Change in Pledging to Help End Mental Health Prejudice     In 2003, Frank Bruno was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He believes events in his personal life contributed to the breakdown. “Build-up of pressure – marriage breaking up, someone you love dying – it’s like having three radios on [...]

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Bigots, Nutters and the Loony Bin! David Marsh: Should politicians speak their mind, or mind how they speak?

Bigots and nutters David Marsh: Should politicians speak their mind, or mind how they speak?   Wednesday, 28 April 2010   Whether or not this exciting and unpredictable election breaks the mould of British politics, it may be remembered as the campaign in which some leading politicians actually said what they thought: Tory Europhobes are [...]

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Rethink charity chief executive Paul Jenkins concerned mentally ill set to suffer from NHS cuts.

Mentally ill ‘set to pay’ for NHS cuts Tuesday 27 April 2010 by Will Stone Planned cuts to the NHS are likely to have a crippling impact on services such as psychiatric care, charities have warned. All three major political parties have hinted in their manifestos that cuts will be made to the NHS – [...]

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RETHINK study mental illness does not deter people from voting for a politician, new research shows.

http://www.craegmoor.co.uk/industry-news/article/19745402/voters-not-worried-if-candidate-has-history-of-mental-illness/ A history of drug taking, sexual affairs or mental illness does not deter people from voting for a politician, new research shows. The study, which was commissioned by mental health charity Rethink, found that a candidate’s policies (79 per cent) have the most influence on voters. People are also concerned about whether the candidate [...]

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