Rupal Patel - Nick Clegg’s speech on mental health care: is it really as simple as bringing mental health out of the shadows?
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
On Monday, 20th January 2014 our deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg addressed a conference where he advocated that change is necessary to improve mental health care. Initially, I was delighted to finally witness a vital area of health being brought to public attention. It has been well documented that at least one in four people will experience a men
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Robert Nisbet - At a Drop of Another NHS Hat: The Health Clinician (and Patient) Cometh!
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
We are pleased to welcome a post by our newest editor, Robert Nisbet.The Beryl Institute defines the patient experience 'as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organisations culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care'. Through a number of benchmarking reports and research projects the Institute demonstrates that
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Fiona Birkbeck ~ A response to ‘I spit on life’ by William Kurelek , exhibited in ‘Art in the Asylum: creativity and the evolution of psychiatry’ at the Djanogly Gallery
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
'Art in the Asylum: creativity and the evolution of psychiatry’, is curated by Dr Victoria Tischler and Dr Esra Plumer, and presented in the Djanogly Art Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre, University Park until the 7th November. This exhibition is a richly rewarding experience on two levels. Firstly, the viewer is offered each work in its own particula
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Christopher Sampson ~ Cost-effectiveness of St John’s wort for treatment of depression
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
Originally posted on The Mental Health Elf on 7 November 2013.  Herbal medicines often represent a cheaper alternative, or a low-cost complement, to standard pharmacotherapy. As a result, improved cost-effectiveness is often touted as a likely benefit of the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).Many, myself included, have been openly
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Josephine Go Jefferies - Good mental health and other long-term conditions
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
Aiming for good mental health over the long-term is an ambition we all aspire to. The title will seem odd, however, if you are aware that since 2005 chronic disease and chronic illness have been rebranded as long-term conditions (LTC) in UK health policy.With ageing populations and contemporary lifestyles linked to increased risk of developing chro
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Angela Gilchrist ~ Wounded healer? A qualification without ceremony
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
The post below was originally posted on the Discursive of Tunbridge Wells, The Salomons blog: Views and commentary on psychology, mental health and other stuff on 29 November 2013 and reposted with permission from the author.[caption id="attachment_1242" align="alignleft" width="199"] Do professionals always have to wear a mask?Image: kurogami.comI
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Andrew Grundy ~ Mental Health Research Network event
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
The Mental Health Research Network is hosting a special event for World Mental Health Day as part of Nottingham Mental Health Awareness Weeks (www.mhaw.org.uk/) to enthuse and inform people with lived experience of mental-health problems, carers and supporters about opportunities for meaningful involvement in mental-health research. The event will
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Launch of a new IMH Centre!
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
So far so good for SoFu! The official launch of the new IMH Centre for Social Futures (SoFu) will take place on Friday 6 December 2013 with opening speeches from Professor Paul Crawford, SoFu Director, and Professor Mike Cooke CBE, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, as well as other eminent guest speakers. The launch takes pla
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New Book edited by MLN and IHHN Co-Founder Charley Baker
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
The IMH Blog is pleased to announce that Charley Baker, together with Clare Shaw and Fran Biley have edited a new book on self-harm entitled, Our Encounters with Self-Harm:This collection brings together a range of voices on the theme of self-harm – from those who have experienced self-harm directly, alongside the friends, family and staff who live
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Short Film ~ Art in the Asylum: an introduction with Dr Victoria Tischler and Dr Esra Plumer
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
The following short film outlines the themes of the exhibition and images from the opening on 6th September 2013 at Djanogly gallery, Nottingham. Featuring curators Victoria Tischler and Esra Plumer.  Throughout the video, Victoria and Esra discuss not only the therapeutic and diagnostic use of art as represented in British asylums, but also how ex
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Dr Rowan Harwood - A specialist medical and mental health unit
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
This was originally blogged here by Dr Rowan Harwood on the British Geriatric Society's blog.  The original blog also contains an excellent video on the BMJ website, which can be accessed here.   There is a lot of criticism of how we manage cognitively impaired patients in acute hospitals. And advice on how to do it better. The hope has been that m
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Dr Simon Clarke ~ The Visible and the Invisible Nature of Mental Health Prejudice
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
“What a sad era when it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.”― Albert Einstein I was recently sent a ‘humorous’ email called the ‘Alberta Mental Health Release Examination’, forwarded as a group email to everyone on a University mailing list for, presumably, light relief. Please have a go at completing it yourself: Test Results  Now, i
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Fear and Loathing: Combating the Stigma Against 'Scary' Disorders
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
By something as a way of a general disclaimer, I will say that this is something of a stream of consciousness, based simply on my own impressions as a member of the public.  By all means feel free to criticise roundly what I've said in the comments below. A decade ago, the Richardson Committee presented their report to the Government recommending a
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Professor Justine Schneider ~ Longest stays in Europe make scarce hospital beds harder to get
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
(originally posted on the UoN Blog on 17 October 2013) Why is a leading psychiatrist concerned about not having the resources needed to provide psychiatric care?  Martin Baggaley, South London and Maudsley’s clinical director hit the headlines this week when he stated that too many psychiatric beds had been closed.  It is possible to specify fairly
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Jenelle Clarke ~ People Who Heal Us: the role of peer support in mental healthcare treatment
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
As part of the Art in the Asylum exhibition currently underway at Lakeside, I recently attended the Ancient and Modern Mental Healthcare lecture held on 2 October 2013.  Speaking at the lecture were Jules Evans with Dr Arun Chopra and Dr Ben Di Mambro.  All three speakers focused on different aspects of mental healthcare treatment as depicted from
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Kathryn Smale - A matter of identity: the costs and comforts of belonging to stigmatised groups
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
While nursing my disappointment that I’d missed the talk that inspired last week’s blog, “People Who Heal Us: the role of peer support in mental healthcare treatment”, I found myself dwelling on the question posed by Jenelle Clarke. Was it “the principles of CBT or the peer support that had been the most helpful in overcoming social anxiety”?  I wa
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Dr Chris Beeley ~ Free and open source software. Come for the free, stay for the awesome
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
Open source software refers to software whose code is available for anybody to view, revise and reuse. This should be contrasted with closed or proprietary code which is known only to the manufacturer, and who will often charge a fee for individuals to use the software (for example, Microsoft Word, or Adobe Photoshop). There are many types of open
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Professor Tom Dening - Visiting China
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
The University of Nottingham is justly proud of its links with China. One of its two overseas campuses is at Ningbo, just outside Shanghai. Playing its part in this, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), where I am based has been building links with China, specifically with contacts in Shanghai, for several years. So when the possibility of a visit
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Paperback Book by Professor Paul Crawford Now Available: Nothing Purple, Nothing Black
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
The IMH Blog is pleased to announce that Professor Paul Crawford's fictional novel Nothing Purple, Nothing Black, is now available in paperback:An intriguing debut novel that deserves a closer look. The lives of two seemingly disparate characters are fascinatingly juxtaposed in this confident debut novel: one is a Roman Catholic bishop on the run f
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Fiona Birkbeck ~ Hubcaps, Heliotropes and Healing: Responses to The First Cut exhibition at the Djanogly Gallery
The Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health
Each year, for selected exhibitions, Neil Walker, the Curator of the Djanogly Art Gallery throws out the following challenge to the PhD students of the University of Nottingham:‘Can you create a short paper which links your own research area to a work of art currently being exhibited in the gallery?’A few weeks ago Kezia Scales, whose PhD topic is
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