Fortunately, there are lots of things that can be done to fight the winter blues. The NICE Guidelines are based on the ones for depression, but it is important to take the seasonal variability of the condition into consideration. Some improvement in our sleep quality can be achieved with a few straightforward measures.
Category: clinical psychology
Published
My doctoral thesis research into tablet-computer based art interventions for people with dementia and their caregivers has been published. You can find the paper here, or here if you are on ResearchGate. I conducted the research with Paul Camic, Sabina Hulbert and Michael Heron. The research explored the impact of art-viewing on wellbeing, both quantitatively… Continue reading Published
Killing (your demons) with kindness
A recent study has found evidence to suggest that performing acts of kindness can reduce the degree to which people with social anxiety avoid situations they might find anxiety-provoking.
On practicing what you preach
Sometimes in practice, I have found I feel somewhat hypocritical. An example of this was when I was a primary care mental health worker, helping people to work on their blood / needle / injury phobias.
What about now?
It is customary, at least in the culture I grew up in, to look back over the past year, and think about the coming year on the last day of a given year. It is also customary to make resolutions, which in my experience can be summed up as “idealistic, knee-jerk plans founded on guilt… Continue reading What about now?
Talking about ‘the gap’
In a previous post, I described the thoughts Clinical Psychology Forum 261 – a special about the gap between clinical psychology and psychiatry. A letter summarising those thoughts was published along with other responses to CPF 261 in this month’s Forum, which is somewhat poignantly a special about ‘Remembering the bio in biopsychosocial’.
Which came first, the sleepiness or the culture? Is there more narcolepsy in Japan?
I’ve been reacquainting myself with sleep-related issues of late, as half of my current placement is in a sleep disorders team. When looking into narcolepsy, I was intrigued to note that rates of narcolepsy are about four times higher in Japan according to self report than they tend to be elsewhere. This got me thinking… Continue reading Which came first, the sleepiness or the culture? Is there more narcolepsy in Japan?
Internal conflicts – on treating distress with electrodes
Part of my current placement involves working with children experiencing dystonia who are candidates for or who have had deep brain stimulation (DBS). Since I was relatively naive to the concepts, I have read up. DBS seems to be helpful to clients experiencing a range of motor-related physical problems, and is most commonly used with people experiencing Parkinson’s… Continue reading Internal conflicts – on treating distress with electrodes
Bridging which gap? Reflections on Clinical Psychology Forum 261
This month’s CP forum special (PDF version at this link) has been quite evocative for me. It looks at the ongoing discussions about differences between clinical psychology and psychiatry. I shall outline my thoughts about the special issue below.