Creating space for compassion, empathy and learning

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Black Patients Experience Less Anxiety, Pain with Black MD

 A new study suggests that when doctors are the same race as their patients, it can forge a sense of comfort that helps reduce anxiety and pain, particularly for Black patients.

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Who could benefit from exercise and behavioral treatment?

 Aerobic exercise clearly benefits young adults with major depression, and a study suggests it may be possible to predict those who would benefit from behavioral therapy with exercise.

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None of the most common blood pressure medications increased the risk of depression, some lowered the risk

Among the 41 most common blood pressure medications, none of them raised the risk of depression, according to an analysis from Denmark. The study also found that some high blood pressure medications lowered the risk of depression.

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West Midlands inquiry into Covid-19 fatalities in the BAME community

A task force has found that the disproportionate number of Covid deaths in Black and ethnic minority communities in the West Midlands were avoidable. 

 Read report here

Reading about women’s mental health throughout history, I began to understand myself

While it hurts to read about these women’s pain, worse still is knowing what isn’t written. The mistreatment, the lack of understanding.

Read newspaper piece here 

The Library & Knowledge Services will be purchasing the book in due course

Rehabilitation for adults with complex psychosis - NICE guideline [NG181]

 This guideline aims to ensure people can have rehabilitation when they need it and promotes a positive approach to long-term recovery. It includes recommendations on organising services, care planning, and meeting people’s physical healthcare needs.

Click here for NICE guidance

Targeted treatment for depression could benefit patients with psychosis

 Patients with early onset psychosis may benefit from treatment for depression, including with anti-depressants alongside other medication, new research shows.

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Future mental health care may include diagnosis via brain scan and computer algorithm

 Most of modern medicine has physical tests or objective techniques to define much of what ails us. Yet, there is currently no blood or genetic test, or impartial procedure that can definitively diagnose a mental illness, and certainly none to distinguish between different psychiatric disorders with similar symptoms. Experts are combining machine learning with brain imaging tools to redefine the standard for diagnosing mental illnesses.

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Social connection is the strongest protective factor for depression

 Social connection is the strongest protective factor for depression.

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Wider impacts of COVID-19 on health monitoring tool

 National monitoring tool that brings together metrics to assess the wider impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on health.

Click here for Government research and analysis

Decision making and mental capacity

 Click here for NICE guidance

Stress and anger may exacerbate heart failure

Mental stress and anger may have clinical implications for patients with heart failure, according to a new report.

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NHS Reset: Mental health services and COVID-19: preparing for the rising tide

 While ostensibly a physical health issue, COVID-19 has and will continue to have huge implications for mental health providers and the individuals they support.

Click here to read NHS Confederation report

One in eight men suffer from at least one mental health disorder, says Worcestershire Healthy Minds

 ONE in eight men in the UK suffer from at least one common mental health disorder say the team at Worcestershire Healthy Minds.Yet they can easily get free and confidential support without having to visit a GP first.

Read local newspaper report here

The calm before the storm? How primary care networks and mental health providers can prepare for rising demand for mental health services

In June 2020, the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network and PCN Network convened senior leaders to discuss how both sectors can work together to prepare for the expected increase in demand for mental health support following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read NHS Confederation news piece here

COVID-19: guidance for the public on mental health and wellbeing

Read Government guidance here

Strong relationships in adulthood won't 'fix' effects of early childhood adversity

Harsh conditions in early life are a fundamental cause of adult stress, and according to new research on wild baboons, this effect is not explained by a lack of social support in adulthood.
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COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable

Information for shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable from COVID-19.
See Government guidance here

Forecasting needs and risks in the UK

Second forecast of the mental health impacts of the pandemic warns that the combination of a possible rise in Covid-19 cases combined with seasonal flu, the absence of financial safety nets such as the furlough scheme, and a no-deal Brexit may affect the whole UK economy and have a major knock-on effect on mental health.
Read Centre for Mental Health report here

To improve students' mental health, study finds, teach them to breathe

When college students learn specific techniques for managing stress and anxiety, their well-being improves across a range of measures and leads to better mental health, a new study finds.
Read SciencDaily article here
See Full text article here