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Connecting with nature is essential to good mental health
Photo by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash Connecting to nature’s miracles can bring tremendous benefits, says Mark Peters. Connection to nature is fundamental to good mental health. However, our busy lives keep us distracted from this in lots of different ways: the ever-pinging notifications on our phones demanding our attention to a screen, the concrete, tarmac […]
Prescribe exercise instead of pills for chronic pain, says NICE
[…] Promotion will help to ‘design and operationalise a step change in public health policy’, the government has announced, including tackling issues such as alcohol use, smoking and mental health. The office, which will encompass most of the functions of Public Health England and launch in the autumn, will sit within the Department of Health and […]
On the Margins
[…] around their experiences of healthcare.’ What was it like for marginalised groups’ health and wellbeing before the pandemic? ‘We have an incredible burden of both physical and mental health in these communities. People identify to us as someone who uses drugs or as a refugee, but they could very often be classed as physically disabled. […]
News in brief
[…] www.shu.ac.uk High impact New psychoactive substances could ‘impact disproportionately on young people with difficult lives’ – such as those leaving local authority care or who have pre-existing mental health issues – in the same way as heroin, the Scottish Drugs Federation (SDF) has warned. It was vital not to simply focus on supply, stressed chief […]
BTCprog4
[…] session led by Alistair Sinclair on exploring commonality while celebrating difference. How to engage - Mark Brown from One in Four, on recovery and engagement in the mental health field. - Nigel Brunsdon from HIT and Injecting Advice on tips and tricks for social networking. 12.45pm-2.00pm: Lunch and activ ities - Service user and provider […]
BTCprog3
[…] session led by Alistair Sinclair on exploring commonality while celebrating difference. How to engage - Mark Brown from One in Four, on recovery and engagement in the mental health field. - Nigel Brunsdon from HIT and Injecting Advice on tips and tricks for social networking. 12.45pm-2.00pm: Lunch and activ ities - Service user and provider […]
BTCprog2
[…] session led by Alistair Sinclair on exploring commonality while celebrating difference. How to engage - Mark Brown from One in Four, on recovery and engagement in the mental health field. - Nigel Brunsdon from HIT and Injecting Advice on tips and tricks for social networking. 12.45pm-2.00pm: Lunch and activ ities - Service user and provider […]
Becoming visible: homelessness
[…] twice as likely to die when they were out of OST. Treatment should also involve service integration and assertive outreach, linking drug and alcohol treatment to housing, mental health support, HIV and HCV testing, help with employment, relationships, diet and exercise, and smoking cessation. There were many things that we could do and should be […]
‘Health approach’ for new Scots drugs strategy
Scotland’s new drugs strategy will take a ‘health approach’ and address wider problems such as housing, mental health, family support and employment, the Scottish Government has announced. Rights, respect and recovery also aims to ensure that services ‘treat people as individuals’. The document replaces the 2008 strategy The road to recovery, and follows the new […]
Fighting for a C change
[…] limited success came at a high price. The flu-like side effects were deeply unpleasant and often intolerable, and the treatment could also trigger depression and exacerbate other mental health issues. Worse still, the drug had to be injected, a major deterrent for many recovering drug users. This meant that many people at risk refused even […]
One in 20 global deaths caused by alcohol, says WHO
[…] accidents and violence – while 21 per cent were due to digestive disorders, 19 per cent to cardiovascular diseases and the remainder the result of cancers, infectious diseases, mental health disorders and other health conditions. Globally, an estimated 2.3bn people are current drinkers, with 237m men and 46m women suffering from alcohol use disorders. These are […]
Back to Reality: alcohol-related brain damage
[…] damaged or can be restored. The health needs of Korsakoff’s sufferers have often been compromised by poor diet. In addition we have come to understand that underlying mental health issues often become more pronounced after a period of abstinence. So we work in collaboration with a wide variety of health professionals to promote improvements and […]
Health impacts of gambling ‘as bad as alcohol or drugs’
Severe gambling problems pose ‘similar threats’ to someone’s physical and mental wellbeing as alcohol and drug use or a chronic health condition, claims a new report from GambleAware. Researchers at the University of Plymouth – in partnership with the University of Bristol, the National Centre for Social Research and others – found that gambling […]
Healthy exchange
[…] up to four days with different partners, meant the need for greater knowledge and understanding among drug workers, as well as expertise relating to possible complications including mental health problems. As well as ‘getting kit out there’ it was important to engage and work in partnership with services including sexual health clinics, who were ‘ill-equipped […]
PHE alcohol adviser resigns over industry partnership
[…] industry involvement and in line with the chief medical officer’s guidelines to increase public knowledge of alcohol and its links to a wide range of physical and mental health conditions,’ said chief executive John Jolly. ‘From research around social influence and influence psychology we know that people want to conform to the norm. The campaign […]
Liberty to change
Philadelphia is aiming to live up to its ‘city of brotherly love’ motto by fully integrating its substance and mental health services to provide seamless support for vulnerable people. David Gilliver talks to its director of addiction services, Roland Lamb Roland Lamb, who was one of the speakers at the second national Recovery in the […]
Lib Dems promise legal cannabis market
[…] role of PCCs to include having them sit on local health and wellbeing boards to enable ‘better co-ordination of crime prevention with local drug and alcohol and mental health services’. Perhaps predictably the Conservative document, Forward together, largely approaches the issue of substance misuse from a law and order perspective, stating that the party would […]
Zero tolerance, zero cure
[…] case was based on a number of myths and misinterpreted facts, such as methadone once being called Adolphine after Adolf Hitler, or that OST medications lead to mental dementia, liver failure, or increased risk of overdose in comparison to heroin use. Authorities also try to mobilise drug treatment doctors, patients and their parents against […]
Vital care
[…] an innovative new pathway from A&E into specialist alcohol detoxification facilities within the Chapman Barker Unit at Prestwich Hospital. Developed by a team within Greater Manchester West Mental Health Foundation Trust, the pathway was established in November 2012, and in the first year of operation it was rolled out across 12 A&E departments in Greater […]
Know Your K – Communications Toolkit
[…] use is increasing across the UK, particularly among young adults. Alongside this rise, we are seeing growing reports of bladder and kidney damage, rapid tolerance, dependency and mental health impacts. Ketamine Awareness Week is a national harm reduction campaign focused on early intervention. The goal is to help people understand the risks, recognise early warning […]
At their service
[…] land report from veterans’ charity Forward Assist. The authors spoke to 100 women veterans, with the findings giving ‘real cause for concern’. Fifty-eight per cent reported having mental health issues, with ‘little support’ provided to help prepare them for the transition to civilian life, and adding that the civilian community often had difficulty even recognising […]
Holina Village Cyprus, Addiction and Trauma Recovery for Ages 16-25
Waiting times for specialist addiction and mental health support remain a concern across many services, particularly for younger people whose needs can change quickly. For families seeking alternatives outside statutory provision, residential therapeutic settings can offer a more immediate option. One service doing this very effectively is Holina Village in Cyprus, which provides therapeutic support […]
Tailored treatment
[…] room to take more ketamine.’ The drug was ‘escapism from reality,’ he says. ‘And I feel like that’s a big thing for people, especially people with poor mental health – it takes them away from the world they’re in.’ The physical toll was devastating, however. The ureter tubes from his kidneys to his bladder were […]
Sowing seeds
[…] pain can be reduced by 20–30 per cent with regular treatment. In recent decades, its use has expanded beyond addiction services. Auriculotherapy is now used in NHS mental health services, women’s health programmes, and oncology, helping with menstrual issues, menopause symptoms, and psychological challenges. For cancer survivors, treatment eases anxiety, fatigue, swelling, and hot flushes […]
A long hard look
[…] treatment. The things that came out were fear, shame and guilt. BRIAN MARTIN, advanced nurse practitioner, NHS Ayrshire and Arran: There’s lots of community activity involved in mental health support – a connection with communities. Medication is one aspect, but there’s so much more. Kirsten Horsburgh KIRSTEN HORSBURGH, chief executive, Scottish Drugs Forum: While we’re […]
Battle Scars
[…] understand their experiences. DDN reports. ‘You feel that you’re weak for having it,’ says Paul, in one of the video interviews featured on the website of veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress. ‘You feel you’re a freak for having it. I’d never heard of PTSD before.’ After joining the Royal Navy at 16 he’d served […]
Local authorities ‘not recognising impact’ of alcohol
[…] directors of public health to make sure that JSNAs prioritise alcohol harm and consider its impact on groups including women, victims of abuse, offenders and people with mental health problems. They should also make sure, in partnership with CCG chairs, that strategic processes consider clients’ care pathways through treatment, with ‘clear responsibility for each step’, […]
Stopping cannabis use cuts psychotic disorder risks
[…] from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. There is extensive research that heavy cannabis use is associated with the development of psychosis, alongside poor mental health and sleep issues, with daily users and users of high-potency cannabis facing ‘particularly increased risk’, the researchers state. However, the study – published in the Canadian Journal […]
The state we’re in
[…] overall health was the second most encountered support need. While availability of physical or general health services does not seem problematic, more respondents felt that access to mental health services had worsened than improved over the last 12 months. Several expressed concern about the threshold for mental health support and that raising it meant that […]
Social workers should be promoting tobacco harm reduction
[…] contact with a range of marginalised communities, says a new briefing paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR). Two thirds of people with severe mental health conditions smoke Social workers can have a ‘significant influence’ over people’s wellbeing, says the document, with smoking disproportionately affecting the vulnerable and marginalised populations they’re likely […]
Firm foundations
[…] the membership body for frontline homelessness organisations, shows that Housing First works holistically, reducing people’s substance use and offending behaviour and bringing substantial improvements to physical and mental health. At the same time, it increases engagement with drug, alcohol and preventative healthcare services while reducing the use of expensive and overstretched emergency services. The research […]
The Big Ask
[…] as individuals instead of defined by their drug or alcohol use, their treatment and recovery journey becomes less challenging. As with campaigns to tackle the stigma around mental health, we want to work with the incoming government to run national awareness campaigns and local training to help professionals and the public understand the needs and […]
DDN Conference 2023 session one: Rising to the challenge
[…] some who used alcohol, said chief executive of Phoenix Futures and co-chair of the Anti-Stigma Network, Karen Biggs. ‘It’s no longer socially acceptable to stigmatise people with mental health conditions or people who’ve experienced domestic violence, even though we know that still happens.’ Attitudes to people who used drugs, however, hadn’t changed. Karen Biggs, CEO […]
UK Gambling white paper aims to redress power imbalance and prevent addiction
[…] been welcomed by the gambling industry and addiction charities. Speaking today, Forward Trust chief executive Mike Trace commented on the white paper: “Gambling addiction is a serious mental health condition. It has lagged behind wider health and mental health priorities for far too long. We welcome new focus on market restrictions and long overdue movement […]
Right for the people
[…] also a big agenda of work to equip and support generic and older people’s services to deal confidently with drug and alcohol issues – for example, GPs, mental health services and residential care programmes. The wider significance of this point was brought home at the Regional Summit in Leeds where one of our speakers observed […]
Mental health first aider provision at Turning Point
[…] at the organisation. Why did Turning Point decide to create the MHFA programme? Why now? Turning Point is a Health and Wellbeing Provider as well as a Mental Health Provider so we are very aware of the needs of people including our colleagues. The last two years has been very challenging for all and we thought […]
NHS announces two new gambling clinics to help meet spiralling demand
[…] alone at more than £1.2bn, almost £620m of which was ‘an estimate of the economic cost of gambling-related suicide’ (https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/cost-of-gambling-harms-at-least-1-27bn-a-year/). Claire Murdoch: ‘Gambling addiction is a cruel mental health condition.’ The announcement of the new clinics comes as the NHS has written to GambleAware stating that it will be ‘fully funding its own gambling services’ […]
A supportive environment
[…] symptoms can begin some years before. Some women experience the impact of oestrogen diminishment during their menopause as a ‘cliff edge’ that significantly affects their physical and mental health. About eight in ten women will experience noticeable menopause symptoms, of which 45 per cent will find their symptoms hard to deal with, both in and […]
False Economies
[…] with some items including costs of alternative health interventions and volume of police involvements being potentially much higher. Savings increase in parallel with the client’s physical and mental recovery – living independently, working, paying taxes, and contributing to society. So clearly, the cost of residential treatment is not high – indeed it saves huge […]
Why I’m backing the Right to Recovery Bill
Addiction is not a choice or a lifestyle any more than a mental health condition is, says Karen Biggs, chief executive of Phoenix Futures. If anyone were to disregard the underlying causes of a mental health condition they would be rightly challenged in the strongest terms. But when it comes to addiction, it seems acceptable […]
Unlocking the Past
[…] qualified counsellors not wannabe do-gooders Ð cheap watered-down care is useless. Childhood trauma and experiences are for life, they should be used as learning structures not crutches. Mental health problems are for life, but addictions can stop. People need to realise addictions are prisons and the pursuit of drugs is slavery. Childhood trauma cannot be […]
Positive signals
[…] Wulf Livingstone, reader in social science at Wrexham Glyndwr University, talked about multiple vulnerabilities which often overlapped – child protection relating to substance misuse, domestic abuse and mental health. Issues such as school exclusion, food poverty and the responsibility of being a young carer – with maybe a parent that is entering end of care […]
Safeguarding Sanctuary
[…] homeless and soon got involved with another abusive male who forced her into sex work to fund substances for them both. Using heroin and crack daily, Sarah’s mental health and physical health dramatically deteriorated and she was also regularly shoplifting to fund substances. Things became too much for Sarah and she attempted to take her […]
Family matters
[…] affected by the substance use of someone they know. That’s a staggering figure, especially when we consider the huge range of harms we know can result – mental health problems, violence/abuse, relationship difficulties, financial strain, isolation and stigma. That’s why Adfam is launching our new manifesto, setting out five key points we’d like to see […]
NHS to open young persons’ gambling clinic
[…] about making sure the NHS does everything it can to help people of all ages, who are seriously addicted to gambling,’ said NHS England’s national director for mental health, Claire Murdoch. ‘There is already a big push to transform mental health services across the board for children and young people and the specific focus on […]
SWEAT – a new project for steroid users
[…] one-to-one sessions with specialist workers and formal in-house counselling allows them to explore their motivators for using and the impact this lifestyle could be having on their mental health and relationships. SWEAT is a three-year project and will be formally evaluated in collaboration with the University of Essex, with the intention of informing IPED-specific service […]
Sarah Newton MP comments on the new drug strategy
[…] treatment, putting offenders on a path to recovery so that they can integrate in society when they are released. Drug misuse is also common among people with mental health problems: research indicates that up to 70 per cent of people in community substance misuse treatment also experience mental illness and there is a high prevalence of […]
A moment to reflect
[…] her son’s addiction. Her vision for a support group planted the roots for Addaction. In recent years, there’s been an increasing appreciation of complex needs, expressed through mental health issues, wider physical health concerns, and higher levels of medication. We’ve also seen the emergence of new psychoactive substances, an explosion in alcohol problems, and rising […]
News in brief
[…] ‘Our approach does not finish as treatment ends but instead focuses on helping people build bridges to participating in society.’ Ill-judged Only a quarter of people with mental health problems are receiving treatment, according to a new report from the Centre for Economic Performance’s mental health policy group. ‘It is a real scandal that we […]
Local news from the substance misuse field
[…] members David Reade and Adele Birbeck for their work in supporting public health. Birbeck was also recognised for her efforts in working with and supporting families. Mental health charity organises election hustings London Cyrenians will be organising a series of mental health hustings in London in the run-up to the general election. Working with […]
European Alcohol Conference
[…] – 13.15 Alcohol is always in the mix Alcohol use appears to be a factor in non-communicable disease, lifestyle risk, diet, crime and disorder, young people and mental health – why is this not reflected in wider policy and services? How can we factor this in? Chair and introduction –Betsy Thom, Professor of Health Policy, Head […]
Health and Care Futures Webinar Series
[…] shift the dial on health inequalities? With Director of the Institute of Health Equity, Professor Sir Michael Marmot. Tuesday 22nd October 2024, 9-10am Link to register: https://t-p.news/healthinequalities Mental health services – imagining a better future With co-production specialist and campaigner Isaac Samuels. Thursday 24th October 2024, 3-4pm Link to register: https://t-p.news/mentalhealthfuture Unblocking the system – […]
Government announces major workforce expansion for the field
[…] kind for the drug and alcohol sector – includes one-year, three-year and ten-year milestones, and builds on the drug strategy’s workforce expansion of 800 more medical and mental health professionals, 950 drug and alcohol and criminal justice workers, and more commissioners in every local authority area by the end of 2024-25. Almost 4,000 additional staff […]
New community hub for prison-leavers launches in Durham
[…] other local prisons. The RECONNECT Hub also offers a safe space in the centre to local agencies, welcoming everyone from housing providers to employment agencies, volunteering organisations, mental health charities, social care and drug and alcohol treatment providers. The hub is part of a wider RECONNECT service in the North East, one of several care […]
WDP to provide specialist smoking cessation support in Redbridge
[…] focus on accessibility and supporting priority populations including those who use non-traditional and smokeless forms of tobacco, pregnant women, young people, and people who are engaged with mental health services. This will be supported by regular consultation with service users and community and faith groups. With a main hub in Ilford, the service will be […]
‘It’s up to us!’
[…] thwarted his chance to go to the Royal School of Music at the form-filling stage. He came back from WWII with shell shock and went to a mental health hospital where they gave him electric shock therapy. Later, struggling to make a living in post-war austerity Britain, he couldn’t get a job in the grocery […]
Making Inroads
[…] a hugely positive impact on their health and wellbeing. It can be challenging to help our clients maintain their OST prescriptions, because of the complexities of addiction, mental health and homelessness, but engaging individuals into treatment as soon as possible is vital to minimise the risk of overdose. Identifying people that may be struggling and […]
Getting real
[…] and requiring them to take more for the same effect. Although very few of them overcame the needle barrier, they were all too often faced with K-bladder, mental health problems, poor attention span and impaired memory, which are all closely related to heavy use of the drug. In addition, ketamine’s potential for dependence has taken […]
The Training Exchange
[…] list of our clients. We deliver training on a range of themes including: Management and leadership Training and presentation People and communication skills Children & young people Mental health & wellbeing, Drugs & alcohol and Complex needs Our training attracts professionals from a wide range of backgrounds including: health & social care, mental health, housing […]
Letters
[…] Older people with alcohol problems remain caught between services. Luckily for me, I managed to gain additional skills in substance misuse and integrate these into a mainstream mental health of older adults service. I would be interested to know whether practitioners see this as a growing clinical and public health problem and what is being […]