World Mental Health Day in Barnet

World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to talk openly about how you are feeling and there are a events happening all over the country to encourage people to share their tips for improving wellbeing.

Barnet will be celebrating  World Mental Health Day with free activities and food on Friday 10 October 2014.  The activities will include live music, dancing as well as presentations

The event is jointly organised by voluntary organisations, Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust and Barnet Local Authority.

Dr Charlotte Benjamin, a local GP and the mental health lead at NHS Barnet Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said:

“Improving mental health services is one of our key priorities as a CCG. As with any health issue, it’s really important mental health issues are spotted as early as possible before they can become something more serious. It’s up to all of us to help raise awareness of mental illness and to make sure that no one has to struggle on alone.

“Mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with almost 9% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis.

“We know that it can be hard to talk about worries or concerns, usually for fear of what others may think, so asking for help can be difficult. But if you are concerned about your mental health problem, talk to your GP, confide in a friend or visit the NHS choices mental health helplines page. Equally, if you know someone who is suffering, reach out to them and let them know that you are there to support them.”

One-in-four people will experience a mental health problem each year, worries about things like money, health, jobs and benefits can make it harder for people to cope. If you are struggling then there is help available and the first step is to talk to your GP.

Barnet is one of the first places in the country to offer online therapy from PsychologyOnline for people with depression or anxiety.

This is very confidential and all you need is a mobile phone or computer with internet access to receive support from an experienced psychotherapist in your own home.  You don’t need to travel or even to meet the therapist face-to-face.

Date and time of event:

Friday 10th October 2014 13.00 – 17.00
Hendon Lane , St Mary's Church Hall
Finchley N3 1TS

More information
http://www.beh-mht.nhs.uk/

World Mental Health Day in Hull and East Riding

World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to talk openly about how you are feeling and there are a events happening all over the country to encourage people to share their tips for improving wellbeing.

In Hull the City Health Care Partnership CIC is encouraging people to find out more about the support available over a free buffet  and refreshments in the city library.

It is launching a new service  “Let’s Talk Depression and Anxiety Services Hull” and there will be an opportunity to talk to some of the people involved.

One-in-four people will experience a mental health problem each year, worries about things like money, health, jobs and benefits can make it harder for people to cope. If you are struggling then there is help available and the first step is to talk to your GP.

East Riding and Hull now offer online therapy people with depression or anxiety.

This is very confidential and all you need is a mobile phone or computer with internet access to receive support from an experienced psychotherapist in your own home.  You don’t need to travel or even to meet the therapist face-to-face.

Date, time and place:

Friday 10th October 2014 – 16.00- 18.00
Hull Central Library, Albion Street
Hull HU1 3TF

http://letstalk.chcpcic.org.uk/

World Mental Health Day in Norfolk

World Mental Health Day will be celebrated with Molly Dancers, bands, stilt walkers, live animals, face painting and more at a fun event in the centre of Great Yarmouth.

This positive event to raise awareness and help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.

Brandon Lewis MP will launch the event along with Great Yarmouth Mayor Marlene Fairhead, and Lady Dannett MBE.

There will be a wide variety of stallholders, partners and stakeholders taking part. You'll also be able to meet agencies from statutory, voluntary and business sectors, and service user and carers.

One-in-four people will experience a mental health problem each year, worries about things like money, health, jobs and benefits can make it harder for people to cope. If you are struggling then there is help available and the first step is to talk to your GP.

Norfolk is one of the first places in the country to offer online therapy to people with depression or anxiety.  This is very confidential and all you need is a mobile phone or computer with internet access to receive support from an experienced psychotherapist in your own home.  You don’t need to travel or even to meet the therapist face-to-face.

Date, time and place:

Saturday 11 October 2014, 11.00 – 15.00
Great Yarmouth market place, Great Yarmouth NR30 1NU

More information:

www.nsft.nhs.uk

http://www.nsft.nhs.uk/Event/Documents/World%20Mental%20Health%20Day%202014%20Leaflet.pdf

World Mental Health Day time to improve wellbeing

World Mental Health Day on 10th October provides an opportunity for us all to take stock of our own sense of wellbeing and also to focus on what makes us feel good. It is thought that just one minute each day will make a difference.

Research suggests that it is more effective to write about your feelings than talk about your problems, and that simply making a note of three things that made you feel good each day can make a lasting improvement in your mood.

People are often encouraged to talk over a problem with a friend. The effectiveness of this approach was investigated by researchers Emmanualle Zech and Bernard Rime* from the University of Louvain in Belgium.

They encouraged participants to select the most negative and upsetting incident from their past and think about it.  The participants were then split into two groups and invited to talk with a supportive experimenter.

In one group they discussed the important issue and in another group participants talked about more mundane issues, their emotional wellbeing was measured at intervals.  Although the group with the serious issue felt that the experience had been beneficial, in fact the results showed no improvement in how well they were coping over the group that had been discussing the weather.

So if talking to an untrained individual provides no improvement what can help?

Other researchers** have encouraged participants to write down their deepest thoughts and feelings in a diary and these people were also analysed for improvements in wellbeing. The results from diary keepers showed a remarkable boost in their psychological and physical wellbeing.

This left the researchers with a challenge – why should writing have such significant benefits when talking didn’t?

The answer is that talking to an untrained person is unstructured; writing however encourages the creation of a story line, helping someone to make sense of what has happened and work towards a solution.

This is the basis for the CBT offered by PsychologyOnline.  The act of answering questions from an experienced psychotherapist using text, combines the benefits of a structured CBT approach with those of the improvement in thought processing associated with writing.

However, you don’t need to have depression to feel a lift in mood from keeping a diary.  Researchers have also found that writing each day about three things that have made you feel grateful, however trivial, will within a week make you feel more upbeat.

Why not choose 10th October 2014 to give it a try?



References

*. E. Zech and B.Rime 2005 Is talking about an emotional experience helpful: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy 12, pages 270-87.

**. SJ  Lepore and JM Smyth (eds) The writing cure how expressive writing promotes health and emotional wellbeing: Washington DC, American Psychological Association.

Out-of-hours therapy popular in Norfolk

In parts of rural Norfolk it can be difficult to get to appointments, especially if you have to rely on public transport or don't want to take time off from work or college.  This has made the flexibility offered by PsychologyOnline to have therapy from home very popular.

Results from the successful pilot of PsychologyOnline, which uses text-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), revealed over 50% of appointments were outside of normal 9-5 office hours; with the most popular time being 7-9pm.

Patrick Wymbs, clinical service lead for central Norfolk’s Wellbeing Service, explained that improving access to therapy was one of the reasons why the new treatment has been introduced.

He said: “If you are working or have young children, taking time out during the busy day can  be awkward.

“The internet is an integral part of people’s lives and we believe that offering online therapy is an important part of the future. Including PsychologyOnline in our portfolio of services offers clients greater choice and flexibility in accessing support.”

PsychologyOnline uses instant messaging to support one-on-one therapy with an experienced psychotherapist. The client doesn’t need to meet the therapist so the sessions can be taken at home or other convenient place where there is access to the internet using a mobile phone or computer.

The data shows that people of all ages are happy to access therapy in this way; one in ten of the clients were over 55 years of age. Recovery rates were also above that expected achieving higher clinical recovery rates than the national average for face-to-face therapy.

Kate Tilbury, therapist team leader at PsychologyOnline, explained that once a person chooses the online service they are given consistent care with the same therapist.

“In Norfolk we are treating people with a range of conditions such as anxiety and depression at varying degrees of severity,” she said.

 “Our therapists are trained to the highest level which means that once the client has developed trust and begun to make progress they stay with that therapist.

“CBT works by changing the way we think and feel about problems. The process of answering questions through writing is very effective for retraining the brain. Using text also allows people to be more honest about their feelings. This helps the therapist to work with them on the real issues they are facing and brings about a quicker and more sustained recovery.”

Patients in the Norfolk pilot needed on average six sessions to achieve a recovery, 40% fewer sessions than would be expected from traditional face-to-face talking therapy.

Patrick added: “The Wellbeing Service aims to support people in making changes in their lives, to manage levels of stress as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. With PsychologyOnline, no one else needs to know that the client is having therapy so it overcomes the embarrassment that some people still experience with mental health.”

The Wellbeing Service is free and open to anyone aged 16 years and over in Norfolk and Waveney. People can be referred by their GP or can self-refer online by visiting www.readytochange.org.uk or telephoning 0300 123 1503.

PsychologyOnline named Top Innovation

PsychologyOnline has been recognised for its innovation in healthcare which is making therapy for depression and anxiety more effective, more accessible and more widely available.

PsychologyOnline was named as one of the top five innovations in Cambridge at a ceremony hosted by the Cambridge News.

The judges panel, composed of leading local and worldwide figures, described the service as one of the best products developed within the city in the last 12 months.

CEO Barnaby Perks was delighted to receive such an endorsement.  He said:

“Cambridge is known of its technology and for its excellence in healthcare, we are honoured that against this track record our innovation has been recognised.

“We are involved in some exciting research collaborations so the innovation will continue, supported by a strong evidence-base gained from our NHS contracts. “

“We have reached market at the right time, as strategically the NHS is moving towards the promotion of wellbeing on a parity with treatment of physical conditions. As a result we are seeing increasing demand for our service as it helps commissioning groups to exceed their objectives.”

“For those struggling with depression or anxiety, online access to an experienced therapist provides an effective and highly confidential service and that is what we have strived to achieve.”

PsychologyOnline provides one-on-one therapy with an experienced psychotherapist via instant messaging.  The therapy is within a secure online environment and the user only requires a mobile phone, tablet or computer with internet connection to gain access so does not need to leave the home to gain support.  This also allows appointments to be made 24/7.

Chief medical officer: Make mental health bigger priority

Mental health needs to be more of a priority, with targets for waiting times and more protection for funding, says England's chief medical officer.

Dame Sally Davies said there were signs funding was being cut at a time when the cost to the economy was rising.

Her annual report said mental illness led to the loss of 70 million working days last year - up 24% since 2009.

As well as calling for greater emphasis on mental illness in the NHS, she also said employers could play a role too.

She recommended they allowed people with mental health problems the option of flexible working to keep them in employment and maintaining regular contact during sickness leave.

Overall, mental illness costs the economy between £70bn and £100bn in lost productivity, benefit payments and absence from work.

In terms of NHS spending, it accounts for 13% of the budget despite causing 28% of illness.

Dame Sally said there were signs spending in real terms had been cut since 2011 - and called for this disinvestment to stop.

On top of that, she said, access to services needed to improve as three-quarters of people with a mental illness did not receive treatment.

She suggested targets for waiting times - as have been introduced in other areas of the health service such as A&E units and for routine surgery - could make a difference.

Young people in particular needed better access to support, she said, as half of adults with mental health problems develop them before the age of 15 and three-quarters by 18.

Dame Sally said the costs were "astounding" and NHS bosses needed to treat mental health "more like physical health".

"Anyone with mental illness deserves good quality support at the right time," she said.

"Underinvestment in mental health services, particularly for young people, simply does not make sense economically."

She told the BBC she was particularly concerned about those whose mental health affected their ability to work.

"One in four adults suffers some form of mental ill-health all of the time," she said.

"But what I'm concerned about is how do we support people with mental ill-health who fall out of work.

"How do we prevent them falling out of work and how do we get them back into the workforce because this is costing us a lot in upset for those people and their families as well as our economy,"

She went on to say that employers can make a significant difference to the health of their staff.

"They can make it by actually talking about it, knowing how their people are, whether they have ill health, supporting them by giving them flexible working if they need it, by reducing stigma."

Dame Sally also said that if an employee went sick, an employer could call them up "sensitively and talk to them, you can help them get back to work earlier".

It comes after a number of reports have highlighted how mental health services are being squeezed.

In January Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described mental health as the "poor cousin" in the health service.

Laura May, who has a borderline personality disorder, told the BBC that having an understanding employer is the most important factor for her."My NHS care, while it is very good, is not the reason I work well. The reason I work well is because of my employer who supports me.

"If I am particularly unwell, crisis care is very important for me because it will get me back to work very, very quickly. I think crisis care in England is not particularly good, so that is definitely an area that could be improved."

Andy Bell, deputy chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said: "Better, faster and earlier help for mental health is vital to improve people's lives and represents excellent value for money.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said the CMO's recommendations would be "considered carefully", adding attempts were being made to make mental health more of a priority, including the possibility of introducing targets.

"I want to build a fairer society where mental health is treated with the same importance as physical health," he said.

Article originally published here. Written by Nick Triggle, Health correspondent, BBC News

East Riding selects PsychologyOnline to improve access to 'talking therapies'

The East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has just announced that it has begun offering PsychologyOnline within its new portfolio of ‘talking therapies'. The move is to provide patients with better access to therapy and more choice of treatment.

Dr Gina Palumbo, chair of the East Riding CCG said: “We recognise how important it is for people in distress to gain swift access to specialist support and we have been working hard for some time to increase local availability and improve access.

“We are confident that these new services and wide range of providers will help to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the East Riding.

“They will also help us meet our commitment to supporting vulnerable people with mental health issues to remain healthy and independent.”

Talking therapy services are aimed at supporting people who have moderate depression, stress or anxiety. Patients are referred by their GP and after an assessment will be offered a choice of treatment, which includes text-based cognitive behavioural therapy with PsychologyOnline.

With PsychologyOnline it is possible to have therapy with an experienced psychotherapist using instant messaging, so there is no requirement to make an appointment to meet the therapist face-to-face. Therapy sessions can be arranged at a time to suit the patient, including evenings and weekends, and all that is required is a mobile phone, tablet or computer and an internet connection.

PsychologyOnline is particularly beneficial for patients who find leaving the home difficult, for those who are working and don’t want to take time off work, or for those who don’t wish for others to know they are having therapy.

The treatment is also very effective. Barnaby Perks, chief executive of PsychologyOnline, comments that in clinical trials, the benefits of text-based CBT were found to be sustained:

“CBT works by changing the way we think and feel about problems. The process of answering questions through writing is very effective for retraining the brain.

“Research has shown that patients using text-based CBT are more honest about their feelings, which helps a quicker and more sustained recovery. As a result we have had recovery rates of more than 60% within 40% fewer sessions than would be expected from traditional face-to-face talking therapy.”

Patients in the East Riding who are already on the waiting list are being prioritised for treatment.
For those in other parts of the country who are unable to access text-based therapy on the NHS, PsychologyOnline offers its Thinkwell service which does not require a GP referral.

How to improve children's mental health services - Sarah Brennan of YoungMinds

Children and young people's mental health services are too few, too poor and too stressed, causing untold suffering to children and their families. There are government inquiries, reviews and a new taskforce under way to address the issues, but what would services look like if they were working well?

Young people's mental health services would be embedded in the heart of communities. This doesn't mean ivory towers with big signs on the front of the building saying "mental health services" (we know how mental health stigma builds walls for young people who need help), but places that are young people-friendly, informal and welcoming.

They should be one-stop shops that offer other services like sexual health and youth services. Places where they can just walk in and not have to be referred by a doctor, where they don't feel intimidated and they wouldn't have to wait months for help. Places like the Well Centre in Streatham, a great example of a youth health centre that has drop-in counselling services for young people.

Services would be wide-ranging – some delivered as structured therapy, some peer-to-peer support or group work. There would also be a range of digital services, along with face-to-face support, helping young people to take care of themselves and reaching out to those who don't have the confidence to ask for it themselves.

At 18, if a young person needed to move on to adult services, this would be simple – there would be no more falling off the edge of the "transition cliff" as is now a common occurrence. Children and teenagers need very different services, so support would be age-appropriate – neither patronising to teenagers or overly complex for children.

If children and young people are suffering from serious mental health problems, community outreach teams would be by their side to support them. Sussex children and young people's mental health services run an urgent help team – experienced mental health workers who support young people in crisis and their families, whether in the community or on an inpatient basis near their homes. This kind of model is very successful: there is evidence that early intervention when a mental health crisis first occurs reduces the severity of the illness and the improves the ability of young people and their families to manage it.

Schools should adopt whole-school approaches to building emotional resilience – everyone from the dinner ladies to the headteacher needs to understand how to help young people to cope with what the modern world throws at them. Preventing mental health problems arising in young people is just as vital as acting swiftly when they arise. Schools should also pay for mental health services to be available to all pupils if they need them. Working closely together with other schools and healthcare services would mean streamlined support and reduce silo working.

When children and young people are in distress, it is also a difficult time for parents and carers, who can feel guilty, powerless and overwhelmed. They need places where they find out what they can do to support their children and get support themselves. The YoungMinds parents helpline takes thousands of calls each year from worried parents and careers – another example of a service that works.

Lastly, all of the above needs resources. Children and young people's mental health gets a paltry 6% of the NHS mental health budget. This derisory amount is simply not enough.

Sarah Brennan is chief executive of the charity YoungMinds. This article was originally published on The Guardian website.

Can online CBT overcome diabetes distress?

Diabetes distress is a term used to describe the sense of frustration, anger and disillusionment that can lead to a reduction in a person’s ability to manage the condition over time and this neglect can have serious implications for the person’s health.

Although diabetes distress is very common, it is often not recognised by Diabetes Nurse Specialists (DNSs) or GPs for a number of reasons.  Firstly, there is not enough time in an appointment to ask a patient how they are feeling or if they are coping; secondly, many DNSs have said that they feel ill-equipped to cope with the response.

Coming to terms with the implications of life with diabetes takes a considerable adjustment; symbolically it can be equated to being given care of a baby that is never going to grow up.  However, there is little psychological support available for adults newly diagnosed with this condition.

If low mood and depression are detected some are referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapy programme, but as the therapists are not medically trained they cannot integrate the psychological care with the diabetes care.  So there are few places for DNS to signpost patients for psychological support.

To address this PsychologyOnline has secured Small Business Research Initiative for Healthcare (SBRI Healthcare) funding to see how its approach to cognitive behaviourial therapy (CBT) can be used to treat diabetes distress.

The collaborative project aims to improve glycaemic control and psychological wellbeing through integrated care.  It is led by Ann Hayes, chairman of PsychologyOnline, alongside Professor Khalida Ismail, who leads the Diabetes and Mental Health clinical service at King's College Hospital and Bruce Hellman, founder of uMotif, a health and wellbeing app.

Previous research at KCH has shown that specially trained DNSs delivering face-to-face CBT can help patients improve their blood glucose management.  So Prof Ismail, a specialist in liaison psychiatry, is very interested in the potential for online CBT.

She says that around a third of patients have psychological issues interfering with their confidence to manage their diabetes: “Living with diabetes requires lifelong skills in calculating insulin doses and carbohydrate portions, taking into account physical activity. It is therefore understandable that some people may need psychological support from time to time to help them build their confidence towards effective blood glucose control.

“On the other hand, people with diabetes also have busy lives so trying to find the time and money to travel and attend face-to-face therapy sessions on top of the diabetes appointments is not always possible.

“I am very interested to investigate how online CBT integrated into usual diabetes care delivered by a specialist nurse can be used to provide an effective intervention.”

Online CBT is very effective at treating anxiety conditions such as those developed during diabetes distress and PsychologyOnline’s Thinkwell service is available without a GP referral.