Engage Aotearoa

Category Archives: Online Resources

Information and news about mental-health resources that can be found online.

New Open-Access Psychology Research Journal Launched: BMC Psychology

March 22, 2013 7:53 pm ⋅

The launch of a new psychology research journal was announced by Biomed Central on the 20th of March.

BMC Psychology is the first dedicated open access journal of its kind in the field of psychological research and considers manuscripts on all aspects of psychology and human behavior, including developmental, clinical, cognitive, experimental, social, evolutionary, and educational psychology, as well as personality and individual differences.

The journal has a policy of accepting negative studies, aiming to reduce the impact of publication bias that may currently exist within the field of psychology.

Editors include Irismar Reis de Oliveira, Gordon Harold, Kwang-Kuo Hwang, Scott Barry Kaufman, Johanna Kissler, Keith R Laws, Frank Padberg

You can read all current articles online.

Posted in: Online Resources, Research ⋅ Tagged: ,

The C Word: C is For Consumer | New Blog Promotes Discussion

March 20, 2013 4:23 pm ⋅

An important new forum for strengthening self-determination in mental-health recovery has been launched on the Changing Minds website – a brand new blog called The C Word.

The latest blog post on ‘The C Word’ was released on Friday the 15th of March, and this time the blogger tackles the word ‘Consumer’ and ideas of self-identification:

“Working in what is considered a “consumer” role, most people would assume that I identify as a “consumer”.  But I don’t.  Put simply, I just can’t identify with that term, and to be honest I feel the same way when it comes to alternatives such as “service-user”.

I choose instead to identify as a person.

I’ve had experiences in my life that have lead me to work in the mental health and addictions sector. These experiences probably enable me to work in this sector more effectively, because I bring personal knowledge as well as professional knowledge to my work.  I don’t feel that I should need to share those life experiences to prove my validity as a humanitarian and as an asset to the community sector.  I’m a person – a person with a strong sense of social justice and who believes that all human beings should be free from harm and treated with fairness and respect. ”

Read more…

Posted in: Older People and Aging, Online Resources, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

E-Book: How to Make the Most out of Your Therapy

March 12, 2013 12:09 am ⋅

How to Make the Most out of Your Therapy: A Guide for Clients receiving Talking Therapies from Psychologists, Counsellors and other Mental Health Professionals
An e-book by Tim Kilgour – clinical psychologist and fiction writer.

What is this e-book about? 

This easy to read guide is a relatively brief summary about how to make the most of your psychotherapy. It is designed for people who are planning to enter into a talking-based therapy with mental health professionals (e.g. psychologist, counsellor or other professional therapist). It outlines some ideas to help prepare for the therapeutic experience, outlines what the client may typically expect in early sessions, describes aspects of the therapeutic relationship, outlines helpful (and not so helpful) attitudes that a client may bring to enhance their progress, describes the purpose of homework, explains the value of others in the therapeutic setting, describes the closing stage of treatment, and gives tips on how to cope if therapy goes wrong. This text is designed to give you, the client, a “head start” in your therapeutic relationship to increase the likelihood of you having a useful experience and make the most of your “treatment dollar”.

The text will also assist psychologists and counsellors in preparing, managing and enhancing the experience of their clients prior to and during the therapeutic experience.

This text is published as an e-book at the following link:
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Most-Your-Therapy-ebook/dp/B006WW9L2S

Posted in: Online Resources, Personal Development Tools, Professional Development ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

Radio Interview Available Online | Teenage Self-Harm: Behind the Scars

March 12, 2013 12:01 am ⋅

At 8:12 am on Sunday 3 February Radio NZ broadcast a special interview, Insight: Teenage self harm – behind the scars

Research shows up to half of Wellington teenagers have engaged in some sort of self injurious behaviour by the time they are 18 and GPs and guidance counsellors report a spike in such behaviour  among teens in post quake Christchurch. For parents the revelation their child has deliberately self-harmed, often in the solitary secrecy of their bedroom at home using simple household objects is a profound shock.  Radio New Zealand’s Sally Round talks to young people who have engaged in this form of self harm as well as those caring for them and in this interview asks whether enough is being done to build resilience among New Zealand’s youth.

Missed it? No worries – Listen to the Interview Anytime on the SPINZ website!

Posted in: Online Resources, Parents and Parenting, Social Change, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

Controversy After Lifehack Launched: New Youth E-Health Project

March 10, 2013 11:27 pm ⋅

The Ministry of Social Development launched a new youth mental-health initiative on the 28th of Feb – a youth-led e-health project.

Life Hack says they are “assembling a crack team of hipsters, hackers and hustlers…” Called Lifehackers. “The Mavericks and trailblazers, who don’t let a hurdle stop them, the ones who make things happen.” “…Together they’ll use their sweet skills to create new technologies and media solutions to tackle young New Zealanders’ mental health issues head on.”

Explore the newly launched Lifehack Website to find out more about the project and how youth can get involved.

In Lifehack: the youth mental wellness answer or a well-meaning quick fix? diversity consultant Philip Patston describes Lifehack as “a technology incubater run by (my words) well-meaning happiness evangelists and tech geeks, hell-bent on the idea that the answer to better youth mental health is to play more, say, “Yahoo!” and download an app.” He goes on to post two videos that reveal the Life Hack ad bears striking similarities to a Coca Cola ad, sharing unrealistic images of perfect bodies having sun-filled fun.

Comments on Facebook question the wisdom of investing so much money in a project that only some youth will directly participate in, instead of addressing the funding shortages in the primary mental-health sector. Others question the approach of gathering happy, successful people to tell other kids how to be happy, rather than seeking out youth with lived experiences and empowering them to lead the charge.  One person suggests “as far as i know and i have yrs of experience w mental health issues, assistance and understanding, the best thing for people is tailored to individuals first of all, works with people who trust each other and rarely does any technology take the place of another well-trained, decent human being.”

Engage Aotearoa director, Miriam Larsen-Barr, comments “E-resources can be really useful, but in my opinion we really need more on-the-ground resources at the moment, more access to therapy and real-life support. Hopefully Lifehack can attract the right kind of young people with genuine intention, who are able to create something that has a life beyond the web. Computers really can’t replace human contact, meaning and belonging. That’s why all of our e-resources are designed to help people engage with their communities and support options.”

Lifehack needs young people who have experienced mental-health problems to get involved and make sure that the initiative goes in the right direction!

Posted in: Community Participation, News, Online Resources, Politics and Policy, Service-User Movement, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

New Research out from BMC Psychiatry in Feb 2013

March 2, 2013 2:35 pm ⋅

Research article
 Childhood clumsiness and peer victimization: a case–control study of psychiatric patients
Bejerot S, Humble MB
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:68 (25 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
 A case-linkage study of crime victimisation in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders over a period of deinstitutionalisation
Short TB, Thomas S, Luebbers S, Mullen P, Ogloff JR
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:66 (20 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

* This study reports an increase in crime victimisation by people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders since services were moved to the community. It is the opinion of Engage Aotearoa that violence by people who are unwell is often due to a lack of responsive services and appropriate supports, rather than the mental-health condition itself. Stressed out family members and friends are not always the most appropriate supporters when things have reached crisis point. Voluntary respite services are highly restricted in accessibility. The current NZ system requires that someone has become a risk to themselves or others before acute services are provided. Crisis Team response times are renowned for being too long. This all creates space for escalation and victimisation before treatment and support can be accessed. This is a complex issue that extends well beyond mental-health problems themselves and reaches into the core of how we as a society support those who are experiencing a mental-health crisis.   

Research article
 Antipsychotic medications and cognitive functioning in bipolar disorder: moderating effects of COMT Val108/158 Met genotype
Arts B, Simons CJ, Drukker M, van Os J
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:63 (19 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: The results of this gene-environment study, if replicated, may partly explain why people with the same diagnosis can respond very differently to the same antipsychotic medication.

Research article
A 6-month randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention for weight gain management in schizophrenia
Attux C, Martini LC, Elkis H, Tamai S, Freirias A, Camargo Md, Mateus MD, Mari Jd, Reis AF, Bressan RA
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:60 (18 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: Weight management strategies are important interventions for addressing a common side-effect of many anti-psychotic and some antidepressant medications. However, in the opinion of Engage Aotearoa, this article de-emphasises the role of medications in the weight-gain of people with schizophrenia diagnoses and incorrectly implies it is a direct consequence of the mental-health problem itself, when it is not. 

Research article
Perception of depressive symptoms by the Sardinian public: results of a population study
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:57 (16 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: These results show that the public sees a difference between depression as a response to loss (‘a normal response’) and clinical depression requiring professional attention.  In the opinion of Engage Aotearoa, the public (and the authors) appear to assume that diagnosable mental-health problems are ‘not normal responses’. This is an attitude that likely contributes to stigma about depression. Unfortunately this article does not acknowledge that clinical depression is indeed a normal response that can usually also be traced to previous difficult experiences. 

Research article
Substance use among inmates at the Eldoret prison in Western Kenya
Kinyanjui DW, Atwoli L
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:53 (13 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
Is virtual reality always an effective stressors for exposure treatments? Some insights from a controlled trial
Pallavicini F, Cipresso P, Raspelli S, Grassi A, Serino S, Vigna C, Triberti S, Villamira M, Gaggioli A, Riva G
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:52 (11 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
Residual symptoms and functioning in depression: does the type of residual symptom matter? a post-hoc analysis
Romera I, Pérez V, Ciudad A, Caballero L, Roca M, Polavieja P, Gilaberte I
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:51 (11 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
CBT for depression: a pilot RCT comparing mobile phone vs. computer
Watts S, Mackenzie A, Thomas C, Griskaitis A, Mewton L, Williams A, Andrews G
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:49 (7 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
Influence of personal and environmental factors on mental health in a sample of Austrian survivors of World War II with regard to PTSD: is it resilience?
Tran US, Glück TM, Lueger-Schuster B
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:47 (4 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: This research suggests a humorous and challenge-focused attitude to stress and trauma is associated with resilience to PTSD. Environmental elements showed associations with resilience to PTSD symptoms. The authors conclude the socio-environmental factors are simply consequences of PTSD symptoms. However, it is also possible that these factors are directly contributing to the symptoms and that resolving them would improve resilience to PTSD. 

Posted in: Online Resources, Psychiatric Medication, Research ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John Read Interviewed on Take It From Us

February 26, 2013 11:41 am ⋅

On Take It From Us on Tuesday 26th, is guest Professor John Read, of the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland, sharing some of the highlights of his time in New Zealand before returning to the United Kingdom. Take it From Us will canvass his views on the strengths and weakness of our mental health system, what are the priorities for the future, and what’s important to achieve recovery.

Listen live on 104.6FM at 12.30pm or online www.planetaudio.org.nz

If you miss the live broadcast, listen for the next seven days @ www.planetaudio.org.nz/takeitfromus 

or Catch up on the last four shows online
www.likeminds.org.nz 

And don’t forget the Facebook page www.facebook.com/takeitfromus

Posted in: Families/Whanau, Online Resources, Parents and Parenting, Research, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

National Resource: Preventing Maori Suicide Webinar Video and Slides Now Online

February 20, 2013 2:16 pm ⋅

The Suicide Prevention Information of New Zealand (SPINZ) video and slides from Wednesday’s webinar are now online:

Preventing Maori suicide: Involving whanau and community

http://www.spinz.org.nz/resourcefinder/listings/resource/590/preventing-maori-suicide%3A-involving-whanau-and-community

Fill out the Evaluation Survey!  If you have a few minutes afterwards, the organisers would love to hear what you thought of the Webinar:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VYW7YBB

You can still register for the third webinar at:

http://maorisuicideintervention-eorg.eventbrite.co.nz/

Posted in: Families/Whanau, Maori Communities, Online Resources, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Recently Published Research Articles Available Online

February 3, 2013 12:01 pm ⋅

Research article
Guided online treatment in routine mental health care: an observational study on uptake, drop-out and effects
Kenter R, Warmerdam L, Brouwer-Dudokdewit C, Cuijpers P, van Straten A
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:43 (31 January 2013)

Research article
A randomised controlled pilot study: The effectiveness of narrative exposure therapy with adult survivors of the Sichuan earthquake
Zang Y, Hunt N, Cox T
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:41 (31 January 2013)

Research article
Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with an enhanced spontaneous production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Gola H, Engler H, Sommershof A, Adenauer H, Kolassa S, Schedlowski M, Groettrup M, Elbert T, Kolassa I
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:40 (29 January 2013)

Research article
Schizophrenia and potentially preventable hospitalizations in the United States: a retrospective cross-sectional study
Cahoon EK, McGinty EE, Ford DE, Daumit GL
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:37 (25 January 2013)

Research article
Integrating mobile-phone based assessment for psychosis into people’s everyday lives and clinical care: A qualitative study
Palmier-Claus JE, Rogers A, Ainsworth J, Machin M, Barrowclough C, Laverty L, Barkus E, Kapur S, Wykes T, Lewis SW
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:34 (23 January 2013)

Posted in: Online Resources, Research ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,