Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Articles published by guardian.co.uk Society about: Mental health

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Most dementia patients in care homes 'do not have good quality of life'

26th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Alzheimer's Society says record numbers of people in residential care homes have dementia or severe memory problemsFewer than half of people with dementia living in care homes enjoy a good quality of life, a charity has warned, as it revealed that record numbers of people in care homes have the condition.An Alzheimer's Society report states that 80% of people in residential care homes have either dementia or severe memory problems – a rise from previous estimates of 62%.But the charity said that while excellent care exists, less than 50% of the 322,000 sufferers in care homes across the UK have ...

Philosophy: a case of Sunday afternoon fever | James Garvey

23rd February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

It's not therapy or self-help. But people, many with mental health issues, pack out the Stuart Low Trust philosophy forumsThe Stuart Low Trust provides support and companionship to isolated people in north London – many have experience of mental illness. They put on a startling range of activities: live music and comedy, classes on drama and cookery, talks on history, astrophysics, chemistry and classical music. On Sunday afternoons the trust's remarkable philosophy forum convenes. For the individuals taking part, philosophy is certainly not mere navel-gazing. The ancient questions – how should I live? what matters most? who should I be? ...

Dad's gun was symbolic

23rd February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Dad's weapon was tied up in his idea of masculinity and he would often talk about it to my husbandLike all good countrymen, my dad had a shotgun. Mum found it recently, hidden in a corner of the garage that she hadn't got around to clearing out yet. It was wrapped in a greasy piece of fabric, shells lying loose alongside it. She didn't know what to do with it until my sister suggested ringing the local gunsmith, who is more than happy to take it off her hands.I knew that Dad claimed to have a shotgun, but always thought ...

Man who beheaded Briton in Tenerife found guilty of murder

22nd February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Jennifer Mills-Westley's family say following conviction that authorities in UK and Spain failed drug user with schizophreniaA drug addict suffering from schizophrenia has been found guilty of murder, after decapitating a British woman in an attack in a shop on the Spanish island of Tenerife.Deyan Deyanov, 29, a Bulgarian, who was homeless, had twice been sectioned and was also the subject of a police warrant, repeatedly stabbed and then beheaded Jennifer Mills-Westley, 60, a retired road safety officer originally from Norwich, who was shopping in the popular resort of Los Cristianos, on 13 May 2011. Her family said her murder ...

Dealing with aid worker burnout

22nd February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

What can aid organisations do to prevent compassion fatigue and minimise the risk of workers suffering burnout? Humanitarian assistance is popular work, with the number of field staff on the rise. But the chances of aid workers suffering from stress-related burnout or compassion fatigue are also high due to the potential dangers they face.Violence, kidnapping, car-jacking, assault, and even death – the risks facing humanitarian aid workers are plentiful. Kristalina Georgieva, the European commissioner for internaitonal co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, described humanitarian aid as "one of the world's most dangerous professions".So what can aid organisations do to minimise ...

University mental health: developing welfare support services – live chat

20th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

How are universities coping with increased demand for student welfare services? Join our #HElivechat 22 February 12-2pm to discuss access, communication and collaboration"Students don't come to university for the support staff but to be taught by leading academics." So said Nick Petford, vice-chancellor of the University of Northampton back in 2011 after his university announced staff redundancy plans. He argued there was an "imbalance" in the amount of money spent on support staff compared to that on teaching and learning at the university, and called for it to be "corrected".Whether you agree or disagree with Petford on the right balance ...

University mental health support should start well ahead of time

20th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

University should be a realistic option for all, says Lou Silver – students with mental health difficulties need support for the best possible chance of starting (and staying) the courseMany universities work very hard to put in place effective mental health support for their students and remove barriers to academic progression. However, on-course support in itself does not remove barriers to accessing higher education in the first place. Nor does it provide the comprehensive pre-entry guidance which is sometimes needed to give a person the best possible chance of starting (and staying) the course.In short, it's not enough to create ...

How a ferret took me on a journey to a saner world | Libby Brooks

20th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Working on a city farm offers a profound insight into the dislocation that so blights the lives of children – and adultsIt is harder than you'd think to spray a chicken's arse, especially when it's running away. I refer not, as you may suppose, to a Glaswegian proverb passed down from my grandmother, but to one of the zanier moments of my time as a volunteer at Stepney City Farm – my local one, in east London – where I spent a recent month's sabbatical. It had just welcomed a batch of retired battery hens, and the birds were still ...

IPCC investigating police call handlers following death of man

19th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Police watchdog serves notice to five staff with Devon and Cornwall force over death of man with mental health problemsAn investigation has been launched into the behaviour of five police call handlers following the death of a man with mental health problems.The Independent Police Complaints Commission said notices of investigation have been served on five staff with Devon and Cornwall police involved in call handling on 24 and 25 July.The watchdog is focusing on how police dealt with Cheng Somers in the weeks leading up to his death.They are also looking in to how those staff responded to a phone ...

Ten reasons why Georgia should not execute Warren Hill

19th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Since the Guardian first listed in July the reasons why Hill – who has been classified as mentally disabled – should not be executed, the case for sparing him has grown even strongerWarren Hill, 53, a death-row prisoner in Georgia, has just hours to live pending a last-minute stay of execution. Last July he came within 90 minutes of being put to death for killing a fellow prisoner, Joseph Handspike, in 1990. He is scheduled to be given a lethal dose of pentobarbital at 7pm Tuesday evening.Since the Guardian first listed 10 reasons why Hill should not be executed, last ...

Takin' Over the Asylum – review

19th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Citizens, GlasgowWe're in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest territory – but instead of Jack Nicholson finding method in the madness, here we have Eddie, a hospital radio DJ, discovering the insanity of the psychiatric system.Like Ken Kesey's book, Donna Franceschild's bittersweet comedy, based on her own 1994 TV series, stands as a metaphor for authoritarian oppression. When the self-styled Ready Eddie: the Soul Survivor starts playing his treasured collection of Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke originals at St Jude's psychiatric hospital, he realises the main obstacle in his path is not anyone's bipolar disorder, OCD or schizophrenia, but ...

Stop what you're doing. Tell us how you procrastinate | Open thread

19th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Apparently 75% of the UK put off tasks. Will you comment now or wait three days and have an idea after the thread has closed?A new survey has shown that 75% of the UK population are procrastinators, delaying tasks and leaving jobs unfinished. This can often lead to a sense of frustration and stress, causing arguments at home and impacting on self-esteem.Are you guilty of procrastination? Do you put things off until the last possible minute? Or are you one of the lucky few who deal with issues the moment they arise, and can't understand why people dilly-dally? Tell us ...

Georgia lawyers rush to save 'mentally retarded' death row inmate

17th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Forensic psychiatrists amend testimony that Warren Hill did not meet legal criteria to be spared under US supreme court rulingLawyers are racing against the clock to save the life of a "mentally retarded" man in Georgia who is scheduled to be put to death on Tuesday despite a US supreme court ban on executing prisoners with learning disabilities.The execution of Warren Hill at 7pm local time on 19 February would be the first completed death sentence in Georgia since that of Troy Davis. The 2011 judicial killing of Davis, in the wake of substantial evidence of his probable innocence, prompted ...

The stalking cure: how to rehabilitate a stalker

17th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

A forensic psychiatrist has opened a clinic where stalkers confront their dangerous delusions. Elizabeth Day meets Frank Farnham, and speaks to some of the many victimsWhen forensic psychiatrist Frank Farnham first meets a stalker, he doesn't judge. Some of his clients have done awful things. They have intimidated, pursued and terrified their victims. They have sent harassing emails to ex-partners or followed work colleagues home from the office. They have developed harmful fixations on people who have no intention of returning their attentions. All of them will have run the risk of being sent to jail.But Dr Farnham sees them, ...

Should workplaces have on-site psychiatrists?

16th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

This week, following a rise in the number of MPs approaching doctors about anxiety and depression, officials approved £25,000-a-year funding for a mental health clinic in parliamentAlastair Campell, journalist and former director of communications and strategy for Tony BlairI was really pleased to see the headline proclaiming "MPs to get mental health clinic in parliament amid rise in depression and anxiety". I know the general view of MPs is negative but the vast bulk work hard and under real pressure, so it would be surprising if there was not a considerable number of parliamentarians and staff who would benefit from ...

The grandad I never knew

16th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

It's sad that my baby will never know Dad, just as I never knew my grandfatherOne of the only pieces of furniture in Dad's bedroom at the care home is a large wooden chair. It's imposing, with the proportions of an armchair but made of shiny, dark wood with a large headrest and furling arms.As the walls are bare and the bed institutional, it's possibly the last personal item Dad still has in his orbit. It was in his little cottage before he moved to the home – and in the seaside house he lived in before that. Indeed, it's ...

Mary Applebey obituary

15th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Mary Applebey, who has died aged 96, was appointed in 1951 the general secretary of the National Association of Mental Health, the forerunner organisation to Mind. Mary had experienced the reality of mental health issues within her immediate family and her crusade over the next 25 years was to find new ways of transforming the lives of those suffering with mental illness.From relatively insignificant beginnings Mary developed NAMH to become hugely influential, employing 200 people and regularly consulted by government, the judiciary, the NHS and social work organisations. In the early 70s she had a fierce battle with the Church ...

Letters: Naughty children, criminal responsibility and mental illness

13th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

You report that the government has no intention of raising the age of criminal responsibility (Were James Bulger's killers too young to stand trial?, Society, 6 February). However, there is another way to achieve the same outcome.The Howard League has been working with police forces across the country to encourage them to use professional discretion when responding to children misbehaving. In the past police have been too quick to use formal sanctions, including life-blighting arrest, when faced with naughtiness. Last year police successfully reduced unnecessary arrests of children by 33,000. This in turn is leading to fewer children, particularly younger ...

The Chetham music school trial shows therapy is crucial for sex abuse victims | Susie Orbach

12th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Frances Andrade faced her trauma without support. Therapeutic help is the minimum we should offer witnessesThe notion that therapy could weaken the testimony of a witness and undermine the conviction of a sexual predator, as was claimed in the Chetham trial last week, sits alongside some strange notions of just what kind of activity therapy is.Over the years I've heard that what we therapists do in our consulting rooms is everything from implant false memories to turning people with ordinary difficulties into victims thus creating a culture of woe, and this latest version – ridding a witness of the strong ...

What health professionals should know about eating disorders

12th February 2013

Society: Mental health | guardian.co.uk

Key points health professionals should know when dealing with a young person living with and recovering from an eating disorderOver the course of two years, I have met with 40 young women and men who have shared on film honest details about their experiences of eating disorders. Their hope is that sharing their stories will help other people who are similarly affected to feel less alone and encourage them to seek help.The research shows that common myths about the illness have prevented many young people from getting the treatment and support they needed, from family, friends and even the health ...