Anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, panic disorder and phobias, are common and affect between 5 – 19% of all children and adolescents (Costello, 2004; as cited in James et al, 2013, pg. 6). Anxiety problems in childhood or adolescence can disrupt social and educational life, and may persist into adulthood. [read the full story…]
This month in the woodland (and the Twittersphere) we’ve given you #MindfulnessMonday. It’s been our attempt to highlight some of the potential benefits that mindfulness can have on our mental well-being in a variety of different health conditions including breast cancer, depression and anxiety, and psychosis. This last #MindfulnessMonday blog examines the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress [read the full story…]
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is substantially more effective than standard care at reducing symptoms of health anxiety in medical patients, and can be delivered by non-specialist staff with minimal training at little extra cost, according to an RCT published by The Lancet today. The CHAMP (Cognitive behaviour therapy for Health Anxiety in Medical Patients) trial [read the full story…]
Last week, Kirsten Lawson blogged about mindfulness-based stress reduction as a treatment for breast cancer. We have featured a number of blogs on mindfulness in the last couple of years, including a piece about the use of Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). MBCT is recommended by NICE to prevent relapse in people who have already experienced three [read the full story…]
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are often perceived to be as effective as conventional treatments, more “natural”, less expensive, have fewer side-effects and are easily available without a prescription. But do these perceptions match up with the reality? Can CAM therapies be helpful additions to conventional treatments? This alludes to an interesting sociological question [read the full story…]
Within the woodland October is a month of themes. Many of you will be familiar with #Stoptober, which always helps any elves who sneak round the the back of the woodshed, to give up smoking. You may be less aware of our #MindfulnessMonday activities that will be sprinkled across the month; showcasing the potential benefits that [read the full story…]
Suicidal thoughts and actions are typically discussed in relation to depression, but a number of studies have suggested suicide may also be linked to anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders often co-occur with depression, and this may be masking a risk of suicide specifically related to anxiety. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day so it seemed relevant [read the full story…]
Patients presenting to their GP with a mental health problem are likely to be offered medication, in the form of antidepressants, and/or a ‘talking therapy’, such as counselling or CBT. This is because we know that both those broad categories of treatments (drugs and psychological therapies) are effective in reducing symptoms. However, it’s less clear [read the full story…]
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), somewhere between 25 and 50% of people may have been physically abused at some point during their childhood, an experience defined as the use of physical force that harms the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity. Childhood maltreatment does not stop at physical abuse, however – children may [read the full story…]
Cancer diagnosis and treatment can have negative consequences for the psychological wellbeing of patients and their caregivers. This blog will summarise a systematic review on whether couple-based interventions make a difference for couples affected by cancer (Regan, 2012). The review tried to answer three questions: What is the efficacy of couple-based interventions on depression, anxiety, [read the full story…]
