I met with a very interesting man this week whose name we have changed of course. "Callum" was struggling with his stress levels and is frightened of this as he considers that not managing them well could lead him back to his old habits of Class A Drug use of nine years earlier. During our … [Read more...]
Struggling to find a window for the euthanasia plan……
I couldn't help but think about Bill O'Hanlon (the founder of Solution Orientated thinking) when I read about the writer and director, Terry Pratchett's plan to sign up for Dignitas, the euthanasia clinic. Terry was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2008. The story Bill O'Hanlon tells about himself is … [Read more...]
“I’m not trying to make him happy – I’m trying to cure his depression”
I watched again my favourite Frasier episode on Channel 4 where the beautifully pompous but vulnerable Pyschiatrist, Frasier, played by the wonderful Kelsey Grammer, offers Kenny, the lonely and depressed Station Manager some therapy sessions. Frasier analyses Kenny's childhood, his relationship … [Read more...]
and the President of Kenya is…….
Watching Comic Relief - the first question always is "what''s the telephone number?" and the second is "exactly who is in charge of Kenya that allows this pitiful life for its citizens"?" Oh its President Kibaki who made the following speech in December 2010: "On the economic front, we have closed … [Read more...]
Asperger Syndrome – follow the exception
Asperger Syndrome (AS) is sometimes called 'mild autism' but there is nothing mild about being a teenager who finds it nigh on impossible to get things right with his peergroup. People with AS are at their most vulnerable at a time when the people they go to school with are at their least sensitive. … [Read more...]
It’s What’s Right With You That Will Fix What’s Wrong With You
I revisited this article that I wrote in 2008 and only had to take a few words out. If there are any Mental Health Unit staff out there who read this and think "what nonsense, she is out of date on this"! - please contact me and I will gladly edit each and every time. Eileen It's what's right … [Read more...]
Depressed? Your GP will tell you apparently
You know how sometimes you are just sitting there reading the paper and you read something that makes you sigh, well i had one of those this morning reading last Sunday's Observer (the only way I can get through the pile of Sunday papers I take is to eke them out through the week).It was just one … [Read more...]
Why no shiny TV “Quit” ads for Drug Recovery?
Revisiting this post from the Archives and I am still none the wiser as to why there is no TV campaign welcoming Cannabis or Class A Drug users to "come over to the healthy side of life" as there is for tobacco addicts. There are hundreds of Addiction Recovery charities in the UK so one imagines … [Read more...]
Using analogies: resonating with the expert
I recently corresponded with a young woman who was presenting with bouts of despair that would apparently "appear like clouds over me" without any prior notice or reasoning. Her life is not similar to the majority of the young women I work with in that hers is financially secure, full of … [Read more...]
Using Solution Focused Approach – Guided Self Help
NICE-approved psychological therapies include "guided self help" which, is for me, exactly what the Solution Focused Approach does. Its use across a range of diverse issues: helping people manage illness or move forward towards alcohol and drug recovery, achieve change in relationships and resolve … [Read more...]