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Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) has been regularly documented as a demanding area of practice within the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of this paper is to share a practice model developed in an under-resourced inner London borough. The HSB forum is formed of a multi-agency group of professionals and runs monthly providing a platform for practitioners to seek consultation for young people they are working with who are displaying HSB's. Initial feedback for the forum from practitioners has been consistently positive and they have valued specifically the opportunity to formulate, have clear directions, and the multi-disciplinary perspective. In addition, most reported feeling empowered to implement the recommendations suggested. Given the shared vulnerability factors between those displaying HSB's and other at-risk young people such as those who are being sexually exploited, this model provides an innovative way that practitioners can be supported by multiple agencies where there is a lack of specialist services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent Government initiatives (National Healthy School Standard; Department for Education and Employment, 1999) and Guidance (Promoting Children's Mental Health within Early Years and School Settings; Department for Education and Employment, 2001) are placing increased expectations on schools to promote the emotional well-being of children. However, teachers are unlikely through initial training to have the skills and knowledge required to undertake these responsibilities unassisted. Moreover, the external support available to schools through public sector agencies is insufficiently resourced to meet a significant and sustained rise in demand. Through its Compact (Home Office, 1998), the previous Government acknowledged the contribution currently made to society by the voluntary sector and its potential to provide further support for those in need. Charities supporting children's social/emotional development and mental health may have much to offer. Projects run by the voluntary sector are already supporting schools across the country, and rapid growth is underway. However, schools need help in procuring, monitoring and evaluating this support to assure quality standards and pupil safety. Both schools and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) have a duty of care. Educational psychologists, trained in child development, research and evaluation, and with access to regulatory processes such as Children's Services Planning and Best Value, should be well-placed to assist and guide their LEA, schools and voluntary sector partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a wave of interest in UK academic libraries in developing services to support student well-being. This paper identifies three fundamental and interrelated issues that need to be addressed to make such initiatives effective and sustainable. Firstly, well-being has to be defined and the impacts of interventions must be measured in appropriate ways. Secondly, there is a need to identify the true nature of the underlying social problem around well-being. Thirdly, relevant approaches to the issue need to be located within the professional knowledge base of librarianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, the neurosciences, behavioral sciences, and the social sciences have all seen a rapid development of innovative research methods. The field of bioethics, however, has trailed behind in methodological innovation. Despite the so-called "empirical turn" in bioethics, research methodology for project development, data collection and analysis, and dissemination has remained largely restricted to surveys, interviews, and research papers. We have previously argued for a "Design Bioethics" approach to empirical bioethics methodology, which develops purpose-built methods for investigation of bioethical concerns. In this paper we compare a research tool created using a design bioethics approach to a "methods-as-usual" approach in empirical bioethics. Our study compared dimensions of engagement with a digital game we created, called "Tracing Tomorrow," to a standard vignette survey. The two tools investigated the same subject matter, digital phenotyping for mental health, in a sample of 301 UK adolescents. Participants who played the game reported a greater sense of presence, emotional engagement, cognitive absorption, and mental health ethics insight, compared to participants who completed the vignette survey. Perceived authenticity and curiosity/motivation to learn more was equivalent for both methods. The results of this study highlights the importance of purpose-built methodology for empirical bioethics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Art therapy in perinatal parent-infant work is a developing area of practice in the UK. One in five mothers experience a mental illness during the perinatal period or during the early years following birth. It is likely that more than half of perinatal illness remains untreated. Parental stress and relational adversity are known to influence infant neurodevelopment. Context: This paper describes the introduction of art therapy in an NHS perinatal parent-infant mental health outpatient facility. The department concerned authorised an art therapy service evaluation during 2017. Views and experiences of nine mothers with mental health issues, who attended the service with their babies, were collected and are included here. Approach: The approach to perinatal parent-infant art therapy described is systemic in that it is underpinned by the concept of ecosystem and psychodynamic because it is informed by transgenerational relational effects that a parent's mind has on an infant's developing personality. Outcomes: The mothers who attended this perinatal parent-infant art therapy service felt their views and worries were considered and they perceived art therapy as helpful. Positive changes perceived by mothers include better self-understanding, comprehension of problems, positive mood changes, and improved interrelations with their babies. Conclusions: The mothers who experienced this innovative approach perceived the sessions as helpful in relation to their perinatal parent-infant mental health. Art therapy was well supported within the interdisciplinary perinatal parent-infant service. Implications for research: Further research is now needed to test clinical effectiveness and the potential for intergenerational repair. Plain-language summary This paper describes the introduction of art therapy in an NHS perinatal parent-infant mental health outpatient service. This facility is one of only a few in the UK which provides both a perinatal and a parent-infant service for parents with mental health and bonding issues. The perinatal period lasts from around twenty-weeks before to twenty-weeks after birth. One in five mothers suffer a mental illness during this time or during the early years of their infant's development. It is likely that more than half of perinatal illnesses remains untreated. Here we outline the underlying theoretical framework of this approach to perinatal parent-infant art therapy before describing the experiences and views of nine mothers who attended the service with their babies and agreed to take part in a service review authorised by the department. We asked one mother to talk about how difficult memories sometimes got in the way of the relationship she had with her new baby. She told us how art therapy and art making helped her express her thoughts and feelings outwardly. This gave her more 'head space' to think about what her baby needed to develop healthily. All mothers who attended this service felt their views and worries were considered and they perceived art therapy as helpful. Positive changes perceived by mothers include better self-understanding, comprehension of problems, positive mood changes and improved interrelations with their babies. In conclusion, the paper describes the ways in which art therapy within perinatal parent-infant work, using the approach described in this paper, may have provided a small window of opportunity for influencing change and intergenerational repair for the nine parent-infants who participated in the review. Future research is however needed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of change and to test clinical effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that there is a small but significant cumulative private school advantage in terms of educational attainment in Britain. However, research on how school type influences non-educational outcomes is more scarcer. This paper aims to identify the extent to which school type influences satisfaction with life and mental health from adolescence to early adulthood. Using Next Steps, a longitudinal study of young people in England born in 1989/90, the authors use multiple variable regression analyses to address the research questions. They find that for this cohort there is no evidence of a difference for mental health and life satisfaction by school type for either men or women in adolescence or early adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of structural barriers, inadequate student welfare provision and the absence of psycho-social and academic support make higher education access for forcibly displaced students challenging. Many of these students will have experienced many stressful and potentially traumatic events that may have or may continue to impact their mental health and wellbeing. This article draws on reflections by educators and findings from eight interviews with students who participated in a twelve-week preparatory course for access to higher education for refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom. The paper firstly problematizes trauma as an organizing concept and challenges the dominant deficit approaches in forced migration studies when working with displaced students. Then, based on qualitative data collected from students and educators, it explores how creative skills were integrated and the importance of the student's voice as a culturally sustaining pedagogical approach to strengthening trauma-informed teaching approaches. The programme was designed to strengthen individual agency and promote well-being and mental health. Finally, this paper argues that working collaboratively with forcibly displaced students from an asset-based stance appeared critical in creating and sustaining a welcoming higher education environment which could contribute to promoting mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of lifestyle on mental health in the ambulance worker population is unclear. The aim of this paper is to explore the role and impact of lifestyle on the mental health of ambulance workers within the United Kingdom (UK). Participants (N = 160) were recruited from 4 NHS ambulance trusts in England. Data were collected on lifestyle factors (sleep, physical activity and alcohol use) and mental health outcomes (trauma, anxiety, depression and stress); these were assessed by use of various questionnaires including validated measures. Sleep was shown to be the single biggest unique and significant predictor to all mental health outcomes. Suggestions for future research and intervention are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trans people experience high levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation and attempts, as well as poor experiences seeking mental health support. There is limited research into the experience and effectiveness of using Art Therapy with trans clients. This paper describes an Art Therapy group with trans clients. The group took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants consented to have their images and experiences used in this practice paper. Building on the work of Beaumont (2012. Art therapy for gender variant individuals: A compassion oriented approach. Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, 25(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/08322473.2012.11415565), and using a neurobiological understanding of Art Therapy, this paper theorises that Art Therapy strategies known to be effective with trauma survivors may also support clients experiencing gender dysphoria. Considering Beaumont's model, a six-week online Art Therapy intervention using weekly focused themes was developed. A strong focus was given to creating group cohesion through co-creating a working alliance. Clients reflected together on artwork created through arts journaling between sessions. Participant engagement was high. The intervention received consistently positive solicited and unsolicited feedback from clients. Limitations of this feedback are noted. Trans clients reported that the use of an online arts journaling group approach facilitated a powerful sense of belonging created in the group and reflected through the artwork. Research is needed to consider Art Therapy's effectiveness in improving wellbeing for trans clients through creating a sense of belonging. Research could also consider whether clients experiencing gender dysphoria could be supported by Art Therapy approaches known to work well with traumatised clients. Trans clients are likely to need support with their mental health due to experiencing high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal feelings. They are also likely to describe poor experiences of seeking out mental health support. This highlights the importance of developing appropriate, supportive Art Therapy interventions with this client group. This paper describes a six-week online Art Therapy group with trans clients. The group took place in the context of a charity programme to support improved mental health and wellbeing in the trans community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group took place online. The group used an arts journaling approach. Clients made artwork between sessions, and shared and reflected on what they had created as a group over Zoom. I describe the theoretical approach which led to the creation of the group, noting the lack of research into working with this client base. I also outline the perspectives considered when recreating the intervention online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I describe the group's online sessions. I show how the group worked together to create a strong working agreement and shared values. I explore participants' reflections on their artworks. I consider the emergence of a strong sense of belonging within the group. I also reflect on participants' feedback, giving space for clients' own words about their experience. Client feedback shows that participants value sharing their experiences with people they feel understand them and experiencing a sense of belonging in a supportive community. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of Art Therapy in improving mental health and wellbeing with this client group. Clients hoped that sharing their experiences could help enable an Art Therapy approach to be considered with trans clients in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use a UK case study to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health (emotional, psychological, social wellbeing) of farmers. We outline the drivers of poor farming mental health, the manifold impacts of the pandemic at a time of policy and environmental change, and identify lessons that can be learned to develop resilience in farming communities against future shocks. We undertook a survey answered by 207 farmers across the UK, focusing on drivers of poor mental health and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also conducted 22 in-depth interviews with individuals in England, Scotland and Wales who provide mental health support to farmers. These explored how and why the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of farmers. These interviews were supplemented by 93 survey responses from a similar group of support providers (UK-wide). We found that the pandemic exacerbated underlying drivers of poor mental health and wellbeing in farming communities. 67% of farmers surveyed reported feeling more stressed, 63% felt more anxious, 38% felt more depressed, and 12% felt more suicidal. The primary drivers of poor mental health identified by farmers during the pandemic included decreased social contact and loneliness, issues with the general public on private land, and moving online for social events. Support providers also highlighted relationship and financial issues, illness, and government inspections as drivers of poor mental health. Some farmers, conversely, outlined positive impacts of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many potential stressors associated with poor farming mental health and its impacts are likely to be long-lasting and delayed. Multiple stressors affecting farmers at the same time can create a tipping point. Therefore, there is a need for long-term support and ongoing evaluation of the drivers of poor mental health in farming families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a mental health-awareness audio tour of the National Gallery, London, and evaluates the development and implementation of the tour. This smartphone-based audio tour was co-produced by Gallery staff, young people with lived experience of mental health issues, academics, and technologists. Interviews (N = 22) were conducted with developers and data-collectors (who had gathered feedback from Gallery visitors who undertook the tour) with responses analysed thematically. Participants highlighted the value of the arts to raise awareness about mental health, and the importance of teamwork, lived experience, and co-production, but also raised the challenges of integrating low-budget projects into large-scale venues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trans, gender diverse and gender questioning adults are highly likely to experience mental health difficulties, for multiple reasons including transphobia or minority stress. However, gender diverse adults often describe having negative experiences accessing mental healthcare in the UK. Concurrently, health professionals have described feeling inadequately skilled, and lacking confidence in their ability to support gender diverse people. There has been limited research exploring the experiences of mental health professionals who provide care for gender diverse people in mainstream mental health services, and even less in the UK. In this study, the accounts of seven mental health professionals from a range of disciplines were analysed with a constructionist narrative analysis, to better understand the nature of stories and positioning of individuals, within the local, social and historical contexts of the narratives' construction. This paper focuses on participants' narratives of feeling inadequately skilled when working with gender diverse individuals, which were drawn on and resisted in their stories. Implications for clinical practice and training are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UK Armed Forces personnel experiencing mental health difficulties are not, at present, offered art therapy as a treatment option. This paper considers the prevalence of mental health problems for personnel currently serving in the Armed Forces compared with the UK general population. The current treatment pathway for UK Armed Forces personnel is explained and compared with a review of literature regarding art therapy for the similar client groups; veterans in the UK and, military personnel in the United States, Russia and Israel. Much of the UK media discussion about military mental health focuses on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The veterans charity Combat Stress (along-side other charities) carries out vital work with PSTD sufferers. However, it is highlighted that PTSD is not the most prevalent mental health presentation for UK Armed Forces personnel. It is hypothesised that art therapy could be a suitable treatment option for UK Armed Forces personnel with mental health issues and it is proposed that formal research should be undertaken, to determine the efficacy of art therapy with this client group at one of the Ministry of Defence Departments of Community Mental Health. Plain-language summary Definitions: • UK Armed Forces: Personnel currently serving in the UK military in either; the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines or the Royal Air Force. • Veteran: A person who has left the Armed Forces having previously served for at least one full day. • Combat Stress: A UK based charity providing mental health support for veterans. UK Armed Forces personnel experiencing mental health difficulties are not, at present, offered art therapy as a treatment option at any of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH). This paper provides a brief overview of art therapy before considering the prevalence of mental health problems for personnel currently serving in the UK Armed Forces compared with the UK general population. The current treatment pathway for serving personnel is explained and compared to a review of literature regarding art therapy for veterans in the UK predominantly looking at the art therapy workshops conducted by the charity Combat Stress with lead art therapist Janice Lobban. The author also considered papers submitted concerning art therapy for military personnel in the United States, Russia and Israel. In addition she looked at the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts in Health and Wellbeing. In conclusion, it is hypothesised that art therapy could be a suitable treatment option for the UK Armed Forces. The author proposes that formal research could be undertaken, to determine the efficacy of art therapy with an Armed Forces client group at one of the Ministry of Defence Departments of Community Mental Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health services in prisons in the United Kingdom and Ireland have long received criticism for falling behind that of services available in the community. In recent years, the mental health of people in prison has received increasing attention and developments have been seen in commissioning, provision and quality. This paper summarises the key findings from the first three annual reports of a quality improvement initiative, the Quality Network for Prison Mental Health Services (QNPMHS), organised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Centre for Quality Improvement. Between 2015 and 2018, participating services were subject to review against a set of evidence-based specialist standards via an annual process of self and peer-review. The paper explores whether any changes have been observed in the average compliance of the quality standards during this period. Slight improvements were observed in five of the nine standard domains; however, a longer period of review is required to fully assess the impact of such programmes within prison mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racism and racial discrimination heavily impact on health and mental health of ethnic minorities. In this conceptual paper and narrative review, we aim to report on relevant evidence from the international literature describing the prevalence and the qualitative aspects of mental illness due to racism and ethnic- discrimination in different settings and populations. Some variables related to racism, such as cultural, institutional, interpersonal factors, as well as the concepts of perceived and internalised racism will be described and discussed. These are relevant characteristics in the explanatory model of the relationship between racism and mental health. Epidemiological data on the prevalence of depressive and psychotic symptoms as well as substance abuse/misuse among ethnic minorities in large catchment areas, such as United States and United Kingdom, will be represented. We conclude that anti-racism policies are essential in order to address racism and racial discrimination around the world. Pluralistic societies should be promoted in order to understand mental illnesses among ethnic and cultural minorities. Also, anti-racism programs should be delivered in the educational and health-care settings and their impact evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness is a 'silent epidemic', challenging people's emotional and ontological sense of being in the world. Whilst loneliness has been the focus of medical and psychological research, often being synonymous with discourses of mental ill health, trauma and relationship breakdowns, it has remained under-theorised from a geographical perspective. In offering a critical engagement of how and where loneliness exists geographically, this paper identifies three key spatial dimensions that Geographers can proceed from. First, that loneliness is experienced relationally 'in place' through everyday practice and behaviour. Second, that loneliness has the capacity to infiltrate felt socio-emotional relationships and interactions. Third, that loneliness is multi-scalar, affecting bodies, families, friendships, workplaces, neighbourhoods and communities in diverse and intersecting ways. Focusing on farming and farm workers (a group recently referred to in the popular press as potentially facing isolation and loneliness) we draw on interviews with young UK farmers to examine how loneliness can be expressed through labour and routine, how farming loneliness becomes entrenched in the spaces of farming practice and habitus and the relational (and contested) responsibilities of farming communities in identifying, supporting and mediating problem loneliness in increasingly solitary contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the number of students in the UK with diagnoses of mental health or psychiatric conditions is rising, as are the number of students categorised as having a special educational need or disability (SEND). To support these students' objective evidence of deficit or difficulty is required, this usually takes the form of a legitimising diagnosis. However, in the case of mental health conditions, social, emotional and behavioural problems or even in some neurodevelopmental disorders, diagnosis is less useful as there are fundamental problems with the classification and understanding of mental health conditions. Despite this, the prevalence and importance of diagnosis remains in supporting students in education and those who are categorised as SEND. Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss the place that diagnosis has in education and the alternative models that exist in an effort to understand potential other avenues of supporting students and the benefits and limitations of these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery is experienced in both positive and negative ways and this paper attempts to integrate the 'pains of desistance' approach into a recovery capital framework. Pains experienced as a result of negative recovery capital are often thought to stimulate motivations for positive behavioral change, usually through a 'rock bottom' type moment. Whilst recovery capital and barriers to recovery have been explored in the literature, conceptualizing these as push and pull factors, and exploring their dynamic interaction, especially at distinct phases of recovery has not. Toward filling these gaps, we use the life-narratives of 30 people in recovery to explore how the pains of recovery (push factors) alongside different forms of recovery capital (pull factors) impact upon and are managed differentially at distinct phases of the recovery journey. Findings indicate the pains of recovery rarely led to positive changes. Rather, a range of pull factors created and promoted positive changes. However, the life narratives reveal that recovery capital cannot be accrued or sustained without managing (eliminating or reducing) the pains of recovery. Overall, this work highlights the need for policy and practice to help reduce the pains of recovery, especially during early recovery to accelerate transition to more stable phases of recovery. As recovery is neither a linear pathway nor a journey without residual challenges for many people, there is much to be learned about effective ongoing management strategies in preventing a return to problematic use that utilize a push and pull framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution and role of psychologists, psychiatrists or mental health practitioners in working alongside forced migrants may take many forms. The guidance on which this paper is based, came about when several members of the British Psychological Society (including those with lived experience and insight and those who had set up services); became aware of the need for good practice guidance for clinicians working with refugees, asylum seekers including forced migrants across Britain. These guidelines cover a range of areas where clinicians work with individuals in clinical contexts, schools, nurseries, colleges and within community organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resettlement schemes can offer refugees an opportunity to rebuild their lives and to heal from loss and trauma. Mental health services in host countries may have an important role to play in aiding refugees in this journey to recovery. However, facilitating the process of healing for refugees raises challenges for mental health services working within Western medicalised settings. Recovery and wellbeing for resettled refugees also depends upon an interaction of variables at a wider systemic level, that go beyond the direct remit of mental health services. Based on the experience of delivering a mental health screening and treatment programme for resettled Syrian refugees in the UK over a 5-year period, this paper reflects on these challenges and suggests that future resettlement schemes in the UK be designed in accordance with the principles of trauma-informed care. This means putting safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and respect for inclusion and diversity at the core of the services provided for resettled refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of the importance of mental health services for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the United Kingdom. It reviews what mental health support appears to be available in the United Kingdom following an on-line search which took place in Spring 2021 and using information gathered through 22 interviews and focus groups with stakeholders. The latter group are defined as people working with asylum-seeking children. The primary stakeholders were local authority staff, although interviews were also conducted with local government associations (London Councils, the Local Government Association), NHS bodies and the voluntary sector. Often, further relevant stakeholders were identified during interviews. The report details the aims, methodology and context, before the findings are presented which is followed by recommendations for improving mental and social care provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

England is currently facing a crisis in the recruitment and retention of teachers, with one-in-three newly qualified staff leaving the profession within five years of completing their training. This paper investigates several different aspects of the lives of recently qualified teachers in England, including their life satisfaction, mental health, working hours and their social lives. Recently qualified teachers are found to have higher-levels of life-satisfaction than their peers working in other professional/graduate jobs, despite working longer hours for little extra pay. They are also less likely to believe that Britain is a place where hard work gets rewarded. Yet there is no evidence that recently qualified teachers have worse mental health outcomes, or have a less active social life, than young people working in other jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for support for good mental health is enormous. General support for good mental health is needed for 100% of the population, and at all stages of life, from early childhood to end of life. Focused support is needed for the 17.6% of adults who have a mental disorder at any time, including those who also have a mental health problem amongst the 30% who report having a long-term condition of some kind. All sectors of society and all parts of the NHS need to play their part. Primary care cannot do this on its own. This paper describes how primary care practitioners can help stimulate such a grand alliance for health, by operating at four different levels – as individual practitioners, as organisations, as geographic clusters of organisations and as policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To explore emergent values for community-based peer support in three projects and use of peer research methodology. Peer support refers to the support people with shared lived experiences provide to each other. Its roots are in the civil rights movement, providing alternatives to clinical treatments. This method of support is delivered in different settings, with varying degrees of structure. In this paper, it includes shared experience of mental health issues. We reviewed interview data from two evaluations and one development project - mental health (n = 69), women-only (n = 40), and maternal mental health (n = 24), respectively. Each project used peer research methods. Peer support values from each project were compared, along with reflections from mostly peer researchers who worked on them (n = 11). Six peer support values emerged and were found to be identifiable and applicable in different contexts. Decisions on facilitation and leadership varied across projects and generated some concerns over professionalisation, including non-peer leadership. Frameworks were viewed as broadly useful, but peer support is heterogenous, and peer researchers were concerned about over-rigid application of guidance. We propose caution applying frameworks for peer support. Values must remain flexible and peer-led, evolving in new contexts such as COVID-19. Evaluators have a responsibility to consider any potentially negative consequences of their work and mitigate them. This means ensuring research outputs are useful to the peer support community, and knowledge production is based upon methodologies, such as peer research, that complement and are consistent with the values of peer support itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the articles within the issue of the journal on topics including need post-structuralist concerns of Deleuze and Guattari, sociological commentary on new developments in drugs and historical perspective on the development of anorexia nervosa, is presented.

In recent decades, social housing in the UK has increasingly become the preserve of the poorest in society. This paper is the first to investigate how the child outcome penalties associated with social housing tenure have changed over time across UK cohorts. I compare the differences in the cognitive, mental health, and physical health outcomes of children in social housing with children in non-social housing and evaluate whether these tenure differences have changed between the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS) and the 2000 Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). I find that in both cohorts, children in social housing exhibit worse outcomes across all three dimensions (cognitive, mental health, and physical health) than children in non-social housing. For cognitive and physical health outcomes, however, the tenure difference has narrowed between the two cohorts, while for mental health outcomes, the tenure difference has widened. These results suggest that children have experienced a relative worsening in their mental health outcomes across cohorts, but also a relative improvement in both their cognitive and physical health outcomes. The findings suggest that policies aimed at reducing tenure inequalities in child outcomes should focus on mental health development in the early years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand how people seeking asylum make sense of their migration experience and the factors impacting the mental health of people seeking asylum in the UK how this influences mental health and well-being. We analyse three extended unstructured interviews with people who have sought asylum in the UK that were generated through interviews with a theatre company. This is augmented by two interviews with theatre company staff about the interview process. Transcripts are analysed using simultaneous thematic and narrative analysis. Seven themes are identified; the overarching theme is one of dehumanisation due to the asylum process and public discourse. Narrative analysis demonstrates how experiences of torture and lack of control in countries of origin continued in UK. Moreover, the asylum process inhibited people reconciling their pre-migration trauma and stopped interviewees planning for their future, leading to a loss of identity. Interviewers worked with interviewees to create a narrative to prompt the audience into action on migrants' rights. Results suggest the importance of creating a secure, trusting space where people can purposively construct their narratives of migration to reframe traumatic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is increasing interest in promoting mental health and wellbeing within education, to date, the voices of young people appear to have been almost completely overlooked in the development of school-based mental health practices. This is despite increasing focus on young people's participation; and the fact that young people may be best positioned to understand the pressures of contemporary society. This paper, co-authored by educational psychologists (EPs), school students and the school vice-principal, documents the development of a student-led mental health initiative within a high-achieving girls' grammar school, led by students aged 12–18. Following EP input, the students devised a whole-school, student-friendly mental health strategy with the support of the EPs and senior school staff. As the project progressed, it became evident that applying even carefully selected adult mental health models to school contexts might not be appropriate; instead the students advocated for young person-friendly, innovative, contemporary and creative ways of communicating information about mental health, which avoided stigma. The students involved were well-placed to identify environmental stressors and to disseminate their strategy. The authors conclude that mental health planning in schools should encourage greater student participation, show caution over applying adult mental health models and promote greater use of technology or visual resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author provides a critique of the current campaign promoting well-being and mental health in UK schools. The paper focuses on the unintended consequences of aligning with a medical model of understanding mental health which include concerns about ignoring ecological factors and, to some extent the social construction of individual mental health. The author considers the relevance of Arendt's notion of being at home in the world, (Arendt, 1994), as understood in the context of Biesta's educational commentary, (Biesta, 2017). Finally, the author argues that the current frame of reference for mental health intervention is insufficient in meeting the challenges facing the next generation of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiries into adverse events make a significant contribution to the way risk is understood in modern society and the reports they produce therefore represent an important textual development. Despite their importance, there have been few empirical studies to evaluate the impact of inquiry reports as documents, particularly with regard to their symbolic functions and their intertextuality with media accounts. This paper focuses on the function of homicide inquiry reports in mental health in the UK. Such reports have been significant because they are symptomatic of increased levels of anxiety associated with mental illness in post-community care society and also because they have served to exacerbate these anxieties. The paper draws upon social workers' accounts from an empirical study to demonstrate how reports have behaved as active documents in structuring social relations and responses to risk in mental health. The paper argues that inquiry reports in this field have taken on the status of modern allegories with powerful symbolic functions, through which they have actively reconstituted defensive practice among professionals. It is concluded that these findings are relevant in other fields such as medicine, where the wider impact of inquiry reports warrants closer attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information concerning the status of patients safety in the Great Britain. This was supported by the report provided by the National Audit Office showing statistical records of hospitals, mental health, and ambulance trusts patients safety incidents or near misses. It also points the importance of ergonomist towards eliminating or at least lessening levels of patient safety incidents.

In this paper, we present results from an extensive survey of United Kingdom (UK) university academics investigating satisfaction with senior managers and university governance: the Senior Management Survey (SMS). In total, 5888 academic staff across the United Kingdom Higher Education (HE) sector completed the survey, and results were used to construct a league table of staff satisfaction with management. This table is a stark indictment of the current state of the UK HE sector, showing a mean satisfaction score of 10.54%. The SMS also collected qualitative data, and we extend the league table's insights using these data. Thematic analysis revealed seven major themes: the dominance and brutality of metrics; excessive workload; governance and accountability; perpetual change; vanity projects; the silenced academic; work and mental health. We conclude with a discussion of how this statactivist research can be used to bring about change in management and governance of UK HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes insights into the role of tenure in modifying the relationship between housing affordability and health, using a cross-national comparison of similar post-industrial nations—Australia and the United Kingdom—with different tenure structures. The paper utilises longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey and British Household Panel Survey to examine change in the mental health of individuals associated with housing becoming unaffordable and considers modification by tenure. We present evidence that the role of tenure in the relationship between housing and health is context dependent and should not be unthinkingly generalised across nations. These findings suggest that the UK housing context offers a greater level of protection to tenants living in unaffordable housing when compared with Australia, and this finds expression in the mental health of the two populations. We conclude that Australian governments could improve the mental health of their economically vulnerable populations through more supportive housing policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of major social security reform on mental health claimants by analysing the transition to Personal Independence Payment in the UK. Personal Independence Payment was introduced in April 2013, replacing Disability Living Allowance as the main non-means tested disability benefit intended to assist with the additional costs associated with disability or long-term health conditions. It is important to gain a better understanding of how people with mental health problems have experienced this reform. Twelve service users were interviewed for this qualitative research. Analysis identified three main themes: problems with the Personal Independence Payment claims process; problems conveying mental health problems during the assessment process; and positive experiences associated with the transition to Personal Independence Payment. This research demonstrates that major changes in benefit policy are challenging for people with mental health problems, particularly when delivered in a climate of austerity. The UK Government has changed the main disability benefit for disabled adults. From April 2013, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) has been phased out and replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This research found that this significant change caused difficulties for people with mental health problems. Everyone who took part reported increased anxiety, problems with claiming PIP, communicating with benefit officials and the medical assessment. It is important to learn from these problems so that future benefit changes, both in the UK and in other countries, can be developed and rolled-out in ways which are more appropriate for people with mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Medium secure units are one component of secure mental health care for young people across the UK. No research has previously examined the appropriateness of admissions. This is a retrospective cohort study of all patients admitted to one unit by examining clinical notes for demographic, mental health and criminological variables. Descriptive data was statistically analysed to then characterise the cohort, audit against admission criteria and examine changes over time. There were 149 admissions. All patients admitted were male, most were 17 years old and from racialized groups. Most were detained under forensic sections with a primary diagnosis of psychosis. Four of five admissions met all 4 admission criteria. There were notable changes in use of forensic sections and risk over time. Our cohort differs from previous historical and contemporaneous cohorts in terms of diagnosis, legislation determining admission and ethnic breakdown. Our analysis relies on an interpretation of existing admission criteria but it suggests that not all admissions were appropriate, raising important practical, ethical and cost benefit questions. We suggest greater transparency about admission decisions to ensure that patients are admitted to the least restrictive setting needed and that national service planning is responsive to changes in demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of homelessness in the UK has been attributed to government led economic reform, beginning with the election of David Cameron in 2010, who promised to significantly reduce the UK's welfare bill. We argue that these welfare reforms have adversely affected vulnerable young people and placed key services beyond their reach. This paper shares data collected from young people aged 16–21 living in a homeless hostel in England and seeks to challenge notions of responsibilization, which hold young people accountable for the circumstances in which they become encased. Participants reported that although homelessness was precipitated by violence and abuse at home, local authorities sought parental consent before making provision available. Young people described being refused help and advised to "go home" when they reported themselves as being homeless. Despite feeling safe and well supported in the hostel, residents were aware that hostel support was temporary and described feeling worried about their future. Our research highlights the limited nature of services and concludes that vulnerable young people, without family support, are especially disadvantaged by their circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates key findings from a qualitative doctoral research project exploring women's experience of infertility. Six women maintained treatment diaries, reflecting on their experiences prior to, during and beyond infertility treatment. The following key themes are identified: hopefulness, adaptation, transitioning and shifting focus. The data suggest that treatment, clinic experience and living a life 'on hold' act as turning points within the individual life course. It is at the intersection between treatment and outcome that difficulties negotiating the expected and anticipated life course become illuminated, revealing limited connectivity and transitioning through and beyond the treatment process. This is a critical focus area and one that sets the scene for effective future adaptation. The data suggest that the accessibility of supportive care moving through and beyond treatment is limited. This paper argues that the infertility clinic is a critical space and place and one where effective supportive care may enable effective transitioning beyond the experience of infertility as an unanticipated life course disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses mental health and wellbeing among security operatives in the UK using a mixed-methods approach of survey questionnaire and interviews. The survey questionnaires were designed using three hybrid surveys: Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale; The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C); and CAGE-AID as a screen for substance misuse. The survey questionnaires were distributed with the support of the Security Industry Authority and the GMB Union and 754 completed surveys were returned and 15 interviews conducted. Results from the completed survey questionnaires show that 39.3% of the respondents were showing symptoms of PTSD and that many of the security operatives suffered varying degrees of verbal abuse and threats of physical violence with a number reporting acts of violence to themselves and other security operatives during the course of their employment. A key finding was the lack of provision of mental health and wellbeing services provided by the security companies to their employees and managers in general unable or unwilling to accept that some employees were suffering from poor mental health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Group singing has been reported to enhance quality of life (QoL) and mental health in older people. This paper explored whether there are differences in the effects of group singing intervention on people with Parkinson's (PwPs) in Australia, UK and South Korea. Methods: The study included PwPs (N = 95; mean age = 70.26; male 45%) who participated in a standardised 6-month weekly group singing programme. Parkinson's health-related QoL measure (PDQ39) and mental health assessment (DASS) were administered at baseline and follow-up. ANOVAs were performed with significance set as p <.05. Results: ANOVAs revealed main effects of Time on the Stigma and Social Support subscales of PDQ39; both showed a small but significant improvement over time. However, the social support reduction was moderated by country; social support was improved only in South Korean participants. The reduction in stigma was greater than previously reported minimal clinically important differences, as was the social support reduction in South Korean participants. In terms of mental health, ANOVAs revealed that the scores of Anxiety and Stress domains of DASS significantly decreased from pre-test to post-test with small effect sizes. Conclusion: This first international singing study with PwPs demonstrated that group singing can reduce stigma, anxiety and stress and enhance social support in older adults living with Parkinson's. The findings are encouraging and warrant further research using more robust designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention of school exclusion is a major UK policy concern in the COVID-19 era of economic uncertainty, speculation about the possible futures for social cohesion, and alarming reports about the prevalence of children's mental health difficulties and eroded sense of well-being and security. This Special Issue on school exclusion is drawn from the work of the multi-disciplinary and cross-jurisdictional research group Excluded Lives, founded in Oxford in 2014 and now involving the universities of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Oxford, Queen's Belfast and the LSE. It adopts a broad view of exclusion including those who are excluded legally and illegally and those who go missing from school. The papers in this special issue represent perspectives on school exclusion across the four UK jurisdictions and from different disciplinary perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a backdrop of austerity, this mixed method paper provides a contemporary understanding of stressors in English policing by examining stressors experienced by police employees in the UK. In the first study, police officers (n = 223) and police staff (n = 134) in a county police force in England completed measures of operational and organisational stressors. Significantly higher scores were found for operational and organisational stressors in police officers compared to police staff. Police officers also reported higher operational and organisational stressor scores in comparison to norms for an international sample. In the second study, 27 police employees from the same force participated in focus groups exploring stressors in policing. The qualitative findings built on the first study by providing detailed insights into stressors presently experienced by police employees and the impact of police reform on stress. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptoms of depression are common in adolescents and have negative impacts on academic engagement and achievement, as well as on future mental health and functioning. A number of psychological therapies are effective for the treatment of adolescent depression but there are barriers to young people accessing treatment promptly. Providing treatment in school may help improve access to mental health care; school-based mental health care is routinely provided in some parts of the world and is currently a policy priority in the UK. However, introducing mental health services into schools will require services to adapt. This paper illustrates how a short-term psychological therapy can be delivered successfully in schools. It describes the treatment and outcomes for two young people with symptoms of depression. Both received Brief Behavioural Activation (Brief BA) which has been adapted specifically for adolescents. Brief BA focuses on helping young people engage with valued activities in different areas of their life, thus increasing rewards and reducing symptoms of depression. The two cases highlight a range of educational and clinical benefits of Brief BA for young people with depression symptoms and illustrate how the treatment and service delivery were adapted for schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Globally millions of people have been diagnosed with the virus whilst thousands have died. As the virus kept spreading health and social care frontline workers (HSCFW) were faced with difficulties when discharging their duties. This paper was set out to explore the challenges faced by different frontline workers in health and social care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research utilized an explorative qualitative approach. A total of forty (N = 40) in-depth one-to-one semi-structured interviews were undertaken with HSCFW who included support workers (n = 15), nurses (n = 15), and managers (N = 10). Health and social care workers were drawn from domiciliary care and care homes (with and without nursing services). All the interviews were done online. The data were thematically analyzed, and the emergent themes were supported by quotes from the interviews held with participants. Following data analysis the research study found that lack of pandemic preparedness, shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), anxiety and fear amongst professionals, challenges in enforcing social distancing, challenges in fulfilling social shielding responsibility, anxiety and fear amongst residents and service users, delay in testing, evolving PPE guidance and shortage of staff were challenges faced by frontline health and social care workers during COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the current study point to a need for adequate pandemic preparedness within the health and social care sector to protect both frontline workers and the individuals they look after. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is now an abundance of research which has demonstrated that military personnel who deploy on operations are at increased risk of suffering a variety of mental health difficulties in the immediate and long-term post-deployment period. One consequence of these research findings has been the development of a variety of programmes which attempt to mitigate the increased psychological risk and to assist personnel who are returning from a deployment to make a smooth transition home. Using a three-tiered prevention model, this article reviews some of the key post-deployment issues facing the UK Armed Forces and highlights the recent interventions which have been put in place to promote successful adjustment in the early post-deployment period. The paper is based upon research identified through a thorough literature search for studies which focused on this area and included a recognized measure of mental health as an outcome. The paper focuses on three main areas; psychological decompression, psycho-education and screening. The current philosophical approaches to post-deployment mental health problems of some of the UK's coalition partners are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper explores wound care for people living with mental health difficulties from a nursing perspective and considers what can be done to improve it. Objective: To analyze policy and practice relating to wound care for people experiencing mental ill health using the ideas of 'wicked problems' and 'problems of many hands' Methods: Policy and practice analysis informed by theory. Results: Recent UK policy is to ensure parity of esteem so that people with mental ill-health receive the same quality of care as those with physical ill-health. However, the provision of physical care to people experiencing mental ill health, including the provision of wound care, constitutes a 'problem of many hands' arising in the context of the mental health system being a complex one replete with wicked problems. Wicked problems are resistant to solutions and problems of many hands are complex and multifaceted, and involve the interplay of different actors. Addressing problems of many hands in this context requires systems thinking and solutions enabling different people to work collaboratively. Conclusions: The wound care of people experiencing mental ill health has been largely overlooked, as it transcends the domains of mental health and tissue viability policy and practice. A strong system level approach is needed to improve care, characterized by closer interprofessional teamworking. The wound care of people experiencing mental ill-health is largely overlooked. People with mental illness receive their wound care from tissue viability nurses. Wound care can be conceptualized as a 'problem of many hands'. System level policies are needed to improve this aspect of health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the current context of the UK mental health service system and the resulting need for program change within acute-care inpatient hospitals. The primary focus is to illustrate through practice example what can be done to support the delivery of client treatment packages by using the concepts described by the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). The paper concentrates on explaining how MOHO has helped to guide program redesign and develop an Occupational Therapy Care Pathway to support occupation-focused services. The example given is of a hospital service in Gloucestershire, England, which provides inpatient care for people experiencing acute mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper is concerned with the issue of service user involvement in education and training within psychological therapy training within the UK. Aims: In particular this paper reflects on the literature on user involvement to gain a deep understanding of its status in the education and training of psychological therapists. Method: A systematic search of the literature indicates minimal involvement from service users in the education and training of psychological therapists. Results: The possible reasons for this are discussed, along with what service users might want from such involvement, what it might add to psychological therapies training, the models of involvement that might be adopted, how service users may be recruited and how they may be involved in the various stages of the educational process, from commissioning, through delivery, to evaluation of programmes. Conclusion: If service user involvement in psychological therapy training is carefully planned, supported and evaluated, it could improve the trainees' practice, so that it reflected the priorities and wishes of those receiving the service. Nevertheless, it is currently an underdeveloped area within contemporary psychological educational practice. Declaration of interests: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group therapy is a useful form of intervention for individuals with histories of extreme trauma. This paper will discuss the relevance of group interventions with refugees and asylum seekers who have suffered persecution and trauma in their home countries. Using case examples, this paper will illustrate how groups can provide an environment in which members can begin to work through past traumatic experiences and begin the process of finding a home in the UK, within a context of continued uncertainty and threat. The central principles of group analytic psychotherapy and how these can be applied and adapted to meet the needs of this specific group will be explored. Key issues, including working with an interpreter, cultural factors and dealing with high levels of vulnerability and dependency, will be discussed. The complex boundary issues arising from needing to intervene with practical issues outside the group therapy process will be considered. The paper will also explore the impact of this work on the group facilitators and ways in which this can be managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of neighbourhood on the income and mental health of individuals living in social housing in the UK. It exploits a dataset that is representative and longitudinal to match people to their very local neighbourhoods. Using this, the paper examines the effect of living in a neighbourhood in which the population is more disadvantaged on the levels and change, over a 10-year window, of income and mental health. It is found that social renters who live with the most disadvantaged individuals as neighbours have lower levels of household income and poorer mental health. However, neighbourhood appears to have no impact on changes in either household income or individual mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]