Researchers at Oxford and Stirling Universities recently compiled a study in which they asked school children with a history of self harm how they first heard about it. The majority reported learning about it after seeing or reading something online or hearing about it from friends.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has expressed concern about the number of websites which seem to glamourise the issue with images of cuts and scars and is now calling for website moderators to remove images which could act as a trigger to self harm. They have also suggested that these sites link directly to other pages where professional support is available.

YouTube has recently experienced a surge of videos on the topic of self harm. Some are genuinely trying to offer support and advice, but others simply glamorise the problem with gory images which are accompanied by often solemn music and personal comments.

YouTube, which is owned by Google has said they will remove any images, videos, comments etc which deliberately encourage self harm.

“Our policies try to strike the right balance between enabling people to talk honestly about the issues they have faced, but prohibiting videos that actively encourage dangerous acts,” said a spokesman.

If you would like to find out more about self harm then please visit Mind. If you would like to talk to a counsellor about your experiences then please visit the homepage of this site where you can contact a qualified professional in your local area.

Lady Stern, a prisons reform officer, authored the review and was commissioned by ministers to assess how police, prosecutors and other bodies involved, dealt with rape cases.

The study was undertaken over a five month period, throughout which Lady Stern spoke to more than 200 people, including rape victims and police officers.

She reported police and prosecutors losing interest in victims whose complaint was unlikely to lead to a conviction and recommended that new approach be adopted when dealing with victims, regardless of how the investigation might end.

She has said that support for victims and convictions should be on par as priority’s. Lisa Longstaff from campaign group Women Against Rape seems to disagree, saying police must focus on obtaining justice and are not there to care.

A recommendation from the report stated that a network of advisors should be available to support the victim when he or she comes forward and they would be there to explain procedures and provide a link between the victim and the police.

If you have been the victim of sexual violence or abuse and would like to talk to someone then please visit www.rapecrisis.org.uk, where you can find information on local helplines and crisis centres. If you would like to talk to a counsellor about your experience then you can do so using the homepage of this site.

Professor Chris Brewin of the The University College London says that mental health outreach programmes such as the one they set up for the London bombings with funding from the Department of Health should feature among plans for the aftermath of disasters and terrorist attacks.

He also said that if it weren’t for the programme there would be hundreds of people still suffering from post traumatic stress or other psychological problems as a result of the 2005 terrorist attack.

He said there were extreme situations when relying on GPs and primary care services did not work.

Only a staggeringly low 4% of survivors were contacted by the psychologists in the outreach programme had been referred for treatment by their GP.

Read the full story here.

The actress was treated at the Priory Clinic and is now well on the road to recovery but still remains an outpatient.
She has now teamed up with mental health charity Mind to raise awareness and to help loosen the stigma surrounding the issue.

She has said a big thank you to her friends, family and colleagues for supporting her through this difficult time. Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind stressed the fact that the support Beverly received had played a huge step in her recovery.

She also thanked the media for respecting her privacy “Being able to recover out of the media spotlight has hugely helped me and meant that I could return to work last year whilst still receiving treatment as an outpatient”.
Mental Health charity Mind, hope that Beverly’s choice to come forward will encourage others suffering in silence to reach out for help and they urge those that they turn to, to be there for them without judgment.

If you believe you are suffering from a mental health issue then please contact your GP immediately and they will help to diagnose your problem. You may also find that talk therapy could help you on the road to recovery and you can contact a counsellor using the homepage of this website.

The scheme has been trialled in Cardiff and two other areas and proved to be such a success that it is now being extended to cover the whole of Wales.

Government funding of £485,000 a year is to start in April and will be going towards providing servicemen and women with access to clinicians who specialise in veterans mental health.

There is also another scheme which is to be based at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff and funded by Welsh Assembly Government and Ministry of Defence. They are contributing £135,000 for a two year pilot which will inform veterans and carers of other services and support they are entitled to.

Health Minister Edwina Hart explained how we have a duty to care for war veterans and this is one of the first steps.
“I understand that people who have been supported by this pilot project… have found it extremely beneficial.
“That is why I am acting quickly to fund the expansion of this service to maximise the benefits for individuals and their families across Wales.

The medical world seems to be split in two over whether internet addiction really exists. Certainly we have heard stories of people becoming so wrapped up in online gaming they prefer virtual worlds to their own reality. It was only last week that a couple in South Korea were arrested for starving their daughter to death. The couple neglected their child for up to 12 hours a day while they were playing an online fantasy game in internet cafes.

Back in 2007 the publication Advances in Psychiatric Treatment published a study on the matter and concluded that 5-10 percent of the 46.6 million internet users may be addicts. In a similar study it was estimated that 14 percent of the Americans with internet access found it difficult to stop using the web for more than a couple of days.

Online Gamers Anonymous is an organisation which offers help to those who can’t seem to ween themselves off virtual gaming worlds. The charity uses a twelve step programme which works in a similar way to recovery programmes used for drugs and alcohol.

David Smallwood is the addiction treatment programme manager at The Priory London and believes that the better someone gets at playing a game the more they can progress and ultimately become more important, increasing the appeal even further. To continue experiencing this feeling of a new and elevated status they have to continue playing in order to get better at the game.

Smallwood believes that an addiction is classified as being “any substance or process that is continued despite increasingly negative consequences” . However he doesn’t blame the online games but the people that are addicted. Explaining that if you are an addict you would become addicted to something at some point no matter what it was.
Many people hold the software companies that develop these games partly responsible. They have been accused of making the games deliberately addictive. In the same way that fruit machines are programmed to pay out at certain intervals, these games give rewards at particular points to keep the gamer engaged.

To keep the issue under control it has been suggested that gaming companies hire phycologists to help them design the right intermittent reinforcement schedule, but currently there is a lack of effort from these companies to put out warnings.

Read the full story here.

Actress Rita Hayworth was diagnosed with Alzhemier’s in 1981 at the age of 63. Her behaviour was said to have been extremely demanding and difficult. She suffered from anxiety, aggression and agitation all common to Alzheimer’s but as the disease progressed she found solace in painting.

Her experience could be the key to understanding how to give support to those suffering from Alzheimer’s and John Zeisel is the founder of a new programme which incorporates the art’s into caring for people with Alzheimer’s in the United States.

“What the scientific research tells us is that Alzheimer’s attacks the part of the brain that handles what we call logic — the executive function that copes with handling complex situations. Taking a photograph, for instance: you have to find the camera, slot in the memory chip, work out where the shutter button is and so on . . .

“But what’s not damaged is your appreciation of a beautiful picture. The part of the brain that deals with emotions is shaken up by Alzheimer’s but it’s not damaged in the same way. In fact, emotional response seems to be heightened, not lessened.”

The scheme pioneered by Ziesel is called Hearthstone and looks after a group of seven homes and 220 people. He believes that they can be reached through the art’s and sets up regular outings to galleries alongside reading circles and film clubs and encouragement to take up painting and other artistic hobbies.

Zeisel says that people with Alzheimer’s need to stay useful so one of the first steps that Hearthstone takes us to look for an activity which seems to get a response from a resident. Try to revive old hobbies such as gardening and if this doesn’t work attempt something new.

After this you need to help build up a routine around the activity. George, a former teacher, arrived at Hearthstone anxious and aggressive and, on the assumption that he would like books, was taken to the library. He now runs a residents’ book circle at 10 o’clock each morning. Zeisel says this is a way to encourage residents to get up in the morning. If George knows the book club needs him then he has a meaningful role.

Last week, a co-founder of Mumsnet Justine Roberts met with representatives from the government the NHS and voluntary organisations to discuss proposals. Many of the points raised are already meant to be implemented by the NHS but are not carried out as they should be.

Many women who miscarry are still being put in antenatal wards, labour wards or wards with women awaiting abortion. If that is not insensitive enough one women told The Guardian that after having an operation known as an Evacuation of Retained Products of Conception she woke up to the sound of wailing babies and felt distressed, the nurse simply said “Stop crying, there’s no need for that”.

Most women miscarry within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and those occurring after 24 weeks are classed as still births. Considering the fact that most miscarriages happen at this early stage, it seems ludicrous that majority of Early Pregnancy Units are closed at weekends, leaving women who are worried their pregnancy has ending with an agonising weekend wait.

With one in four pregnancies resulting in miscarriage, one would think that the NHS would be able to cope with the issue in a seamless, sensitive, clear and calm manner, but this unfortunately is not the case. Many women reported that the staff were cold and dismissive with a very matter of fact attitude towards miscarriage.understandably they see it all the time but the woman who has just lost her baby has not and the level of insensitivity is staggering.

Sarah told The Guardian “The doctor who performed my operation didn’t read my notes properly,” says Sarah. “I was on the operating table and he glanced at my file and said, ‘Oh, your baby’s still alive?’ Well, it had been alive – a week previously.”

Another issue is the lack of a centralised information system, meaning that women recently devastated from losing their baby then continue to receive automated reminders of antenatal appointments and scans. The new code of practice calls for information on pregnancy and miscarriage to be held centrally, so the antenatal appointments are automatically cancelled after miscarriage.

Mumsnet and other campaigners have also called for more training to be given to healthcare workers on the psychological impact of losing a baby.

• The Miscarriage Association: miscarriageassociation.org.uk

The head of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Health Problems (NCISH) has said that approximately 50 people a year who had been in contact with specialist mental health care in the 12 months before the incident were convicted of homicide.

The statistics are not accurate. If one person was responsible for a homicide where there was more than one victim then it would still only count as one incident and then you have to take into account that sometimes the person who committed the homicide then commits suicide, resulting in no conviction so no statistic.

After investigating the figures it was found that since 1993 there has been more than 100 incidents per year, compared with the 50 stated officially.

The statistics have caused many people to call for prompt and effective treatment for the small minority of mentally ill people who are violent and for all figures to be included in the statistics which will allow a more in depth understanding of the situation.

If you believe that you or anyone you know are suffering from a Mental Illness then the first step is to contact your GP so they can diagnose the issue. Talk therapies are known to have a positive effect on many mental health issues and should you wish to contact a counsellor regarding this matter or any other then you can find one in your local area using the homepage of this site.

A UK trial has shown that after six sessions of group therapy, participants back pain was significantly reduced. As part of the trial the 600 hundred participants were also offered standard GP treatment which included pain medication.

There are many rumours and old wives tales relating to back pain and what we should and should’t be doing. The aim of these sessions was partly to tackle a number of these unclear and unhelpful beliefs around back pain and physical activity and in turn help the patients better understand and manage their condition.

Pain in the lower back is one of the most common complaints that GPs deal with. Usually patients are given standard medication and are encouraged to have an active lifestyle. In the study the 600 participants were offered six group therapy sessions in addition to the standard treatment and were then monitored for a year.

The sessions used cognitive behavioural therapy and were set up to discuss certain beliefs and misconceptions around doing physical activity and counter negative thoughts about back pain and its restrictions as well as relaxation techniques.

The sessions lasted around an hour and a half and were designed to help people get over the prospect of hurting themselves further and also advised them on how to get active again whilst avoiding flare ups.

In terms of cost it was found that the therapy was a relatively cheap way of improving quality of life and was also better value for money than other treatments such as acupuncture.