Dependence on opiates (a group of drugs including heroin, morphine, and methadone) can be highly destructive for both the individual and for the people around them. Heroin addiction in particular is associated with major health risks, co-morbid mental health problems, and a wide-range of social issues. Attempting to stop opiate use leads to severe withdrawal [read the full story...]
The period after giving birth to a child can be difficult for women and in the first twelve weeks after childbirth 13-19% of women will experience post-partum depression (O’Hara 1996, Gaynes 2005). Post-partum depression is bad news – not only does it increase the chance of the mother going onto develop a severe clinical depression [read the full story...]
NICE Guidelines state that around three quarters of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia experience a chronic illness: with recurrent episodes of remission and relapse. One way that chronic physical health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, are managed is by using early warning signs (EWS) training and this prevention strategy is now often [read the full story...]
It is commonplace in the UK and elsewhere for mental health service users to start working alongside mental health professionals in what is known as a ‘consumer-provider’ role. This can include a number of different skills and responsibilities such as peer support, advocacy, outreach and crisis support. A new systematic review from the Cochrane Consumers [read the full story...]
People with schizophrenia are 2-3 times more likely to smoke tobacco than the rest of the population, so helping them quit is a significant public health issue. The evidence for smoking cessation interventions in the general population is fairly well defined. We know quite a bit about what works and we have a range of [read the full story...]
Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. It’s caused by damage to the network of blood vessels supplying the brain. Some symptoms are similar to those associated with Alzheimer’s and stroke, but in particular people with vascular dementia often experience difficulty thinking quickly, concentrating and communicating, as well as [read the full story...]
Work-related stress is everywhere these days. Obviously us elves are pretty much immune, but looking at the Bristol Stress and Health at Work Study (Smith 2000) I can see that more than 50% of human respondents reported being extremely, very or moderately stressed at work. You lovely people do suffer from lots of emotional and [read the full story...]
Nearly a year ago I blogged about a promising but small RCT, which showed that Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy may help young children with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The blog generated a fair bit of feedback from readers and so I’ve been on the look out ever since for a systematic review that brings [read the full story...]
The hallucinations and delusions associated with psychosis can be frightening and may sometimes result in aggressive or violent behaviour. Of course, this can be incredibly challenging for the patient, but it can also be a real test for mental health staff who have to try and minimise the harm that patients do to themselves and others. Haloperidol [read the full story...]
Pathological gambling is defined by DSM-IV as a disorder of impulse control which includes a preoccupation with gambling, failed attempts to reduce gambling, and restlessness or irritability when prevented from gambling. It is likely to be reclassified as an addictive disorder in DSM-V. Gambling is something that most adults dabble in from time to time. [read the full story...]
