General Election blues
Traumatised by the election result? A psychotherapist's recovery guide
Philippa Perry offers some post-election hangover remedies in The Guardian:
Don’t write anyone off as plain evil. Let’s stop assuming the worst of our so-called enemies. We need to learn to empathise and to make an effort to understand the feelings beneath the behaviour of people who voted for rightwing parties. It’s tempting to write them off as uncaring, selfish or persecutory, but that won’t solve anything. I need to feel what it’s like to believe that someone is after all my money and resources and imagine what it’s like to think people coming into this country will not add to our resources but take them away. Hating the electorate for being stupid, however satisfying in the short-term, will make things much worse. I think probably everyone means well in their own way. If I think that, I start to feel more upbeat and less despairing.
David Cameron: ensure our NHS is safe
Sign the petition from action.sumofus.org:
The people have spoken. More than two-thirds of voters in key marginal constituencies have sent a strong message to David Cameron to protect the NHS from being sold out to corporate interests under the secret Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal.
But despite these clear words from us, David Cameron has refused to come out publicly in defence of our NHS. As it stands, TTIP would give US corporations unprecedented access to the NHS and irrevocably cement the sell-out of the NHS to corporate interests.
Only less austerity will improve our mental health
From The Guardian:
This is the first election ever in which mental health has been considered a subject worthy of mainstream political discussion. The Lib Dems take the lead in this regard (closely followed by the Greens) with “equal care for mental health” being one of the five policy priorities featured on the front page of their manifesto, along with a promise of extra funding for the NHS.
In their Manifesto for the Mind, the Lib Dems set out in detail how their promise of an additional £500m a year over the course of the next parliament will be used to end “discrimination against mental health”, through better access to services, improvements in pre- and postnatal care, investment in children’s mental health, prevention, research and tackling stigma.
The Labour and Conservative promises are very much vaguer, indeed so vague in places as to be all but meaningless – the Conservatives’ pledge to ensure “that there are therapists in every part of the country providing treatment for those who need it” tops my personal piffle list. What does seem clear, however, is that politicians have finally clocked on to the fact that mental health is an issue of importance to many voters and, with more and more people prepared to speak out about their experiences, one that they can ill afford to ignore. Cinderella may not yet have made it to the ball, but she’s not about to go back into the scullery. his is the first election ever in which mental health has been considered a subject worthy of mainstream political discussion. The Lib Dems take the lead in this regard (closely followed by the Greens) with “equal care for mental health” being one of the five policy priorities featured on the front page of their manifesto, along with a promise of extra funding for the NHS.
In their Manifesto for the Mind, the Lib Dems set out in detail how their promise of an additional £500m a year over the course of the next parliament will be used to end “discrimination against mental health”, through better access to services, improvements in pre- and postnatal care, investment in children’s mental health, prevention, research and tackling stigma.
The Labour and Conservative promises are very much vaguer, indeed so vague in places as to be all but meaningless – the Conservatives’ pledge to ensure “that there are therapists in every part of the country providing treatment for those who need it” tops my personal piffle list. What does seem clear, however, is that politicians have finally clocked on to the fact that mental health is an issue of importance to many voters and, with more and more people prepared to speak out about their experiences, one that they can ill afford to ignore. Cinderella may not yet have made it to the ball, but she’s not about to go back into the scullery.
Morning after blues: post-election playlists
From The Guardian:
What is the mood music of the nation, this post-election morning? Depends who you voted for, really. With that in mind we have been compiling post-election playlists for supporters of the Tories, the Lib Dems, Labour and the SNP. No science has gone into this – each playlist is a ragbag of emotions, and lyrics are not to be taken as literal comment on each party’s fortunes. Well, not every lyric. And we are not suggesting that these artists are supporters of the relevant parties. While we at the Guardian might wish we could include a certain George Jones song in their playlist – Your Heart Turned Left and I Was on the Right – that was not to be. Perhaps, actually, this might be more apposite. Let us know which songs you would add to each playlist and we’ll update them later.
• Vote with your feet: how (and where) to escape the election result (The Guardian)
Why elections are bad for your health
From Spectator.co.uk:
How common is this obsessive behaviour at election time, and how much damage can it do? While some degree of worry is normal – particularly about events which will potentially affect our own lives – when it reaches a level this extreme (in a small minority of people, but more than you might think) it is to the detriment of sleep, healthy eating, exercising and face-to-face contact with other people.
Of course journalists and politicians become totally consumed by elections – especially one as nail-biting as this. But if you focus on something all the time it becomes intrusive. Once a thought becomes an obsession it can make us feel as if we aren’t in charge of our own minds.
U.K. news
The crisis in children's mental health services: an NHS insider speaks
An anonymous report from the frontlines, in The Guardian:
The crisis has, in recent weeks, finally made it to the front pages. Troubling statistics are everywhere: one in 10 children will encounter a mental health problem of some kind, three quarters of which will go untreated; Camhs budgets reduced by up to 94% in some parts of the country. The steep increase in self-harm and in-patient admissions, the lack of beds resulting in children being seen on adult psychiatric wards, preposterous waiting times, increased referral thresholds and unacceptable national variations have all been brought to attention in recent weeks, with the promise that a further £1.25bn will be ploughed into mental health services during the next five years.
But whatever the promises made in the heat of a general election campaign, adequately funded services feel a remote prospect. On an ordinary day, staff work late and eat their sandwiches in front of computer screens. There are regular complaints that clinical time is increasingly eaten up by administration; but it is also true that our cases are often of such a complexity and level of risk that we want to make sure every decision is in writing. Sickness rates can be high and the lure of private practice grows: how much mental disturbance can we digest, in circumstances where we feel the quality of our work is at risk of compromise, without becoming ill ourselves?
NHS ‘system failure' puts pressure on A&E wards
From The Guardian:
Large numbers of people with mental health issues are ending up in A&E wards because of “system failure”, according to leaked minutes of a government-attended steering group.
The meeting heard that people with mental illness are presenting themselves at emergency wards because of inadequate provision for them in the community.
The minutes from the mental health crisis care concordat steering group, attended by health minister Norman Lamb, suggest that the failure to treat mental health patients properly is contributing to pressure at A&E wards in NHS hospitals in England, which have missed the target of 95% of people to be seen within four hours for 93 weeks in a row.
Traumatised by the election result? A psychotherapist's recovery guide
Philippa Perry offers some post-election hangover remedies in The Guardian:
Don’t write anyone off as plain evil. Let’s stop assuming the worst of our so-called enemies. We need to learn to empathise and to make an effort to understand the feelings beneath the behaviour of people who voted for rightwing parties. It’s tempting to write them off as uncaring, selfish or persecutory, but that won’t solve anything. I need to feel what it’s like to believe that someone is after all my money and resources and imagine what it’s like to think people coming into this country will not add to our resources but take them away. Hating the electorate for being stupid, however satisfying in the short-term, will make things much worse. I think probably everyone means well in their own way. If I think that, I start to feel more upbeat and less despairing.
David Cameron: ensure our NHS is safe
Sign the petition from action.sumofus.org:
The people have spoken. More than two-thirds of voters in key marginal constituencies have sent a strong message to David Cameron to protect the NHS from being sold out to corporate interests under the secret Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal.
But despite these clear words from us, David Cameron has refused to come out publicly in defence of our NHS. As it stands, TTIP would give US corporations unprecedented access to the NHS and irrevocably cement the sell-out of the NHS to corporate interests.
Only less austerity will improve our mental health
From The Guardian:
This is the first election ever in which mental health has been considered a subject worthy of mainstream political discussion. The Lib Dems take the lead in this regard (closely followed by the Greens) with “equal care for mental health” being one of the five policy priorities featured on the front page of their manifesto, along with a promise of extra funding for the NHS.
In their Manifesto for the Mind, the Lib Dems set out in detail how their promise of an additional £500m a year over the course of the next parliament will be used to end “discrimination against mental health”, through better access to services, improvements in pre- and postnatal care, investment in children’s mental health, prevention, research and tackling stigma.
The Labour and Conservative promises are very much vaguer, indeed so vague in places as to be all but meaningless – the Conservatives’ pledge to ensure “that there are therapists in every part of the country providing treatment for those who need it” tops my personal piffle list. What does seem clear, however, is that politicians have finally clocked on to the fact that mental health is an issue of importance to many voters and, with more and more people prepared to speak out about their experiences, one that they can ill afford to ignore. Cinderella may not yet have made it to the ball, but she’s not about to go back into the scullery. his is the first election ever in which mental health has been considered a subject worthy of mainstream political discussion. The Lib Dems take the lead in this regard (closely followed by the Greens) with “equal care for mental health” being one of the five policy priorities featured on the front page of their manifesto, along with a promise of extra funding for the NHS.
In their Manifesto for the Mind, the Lib Dems set out in detail how their promise of an additional £500m a year over the course of the next parliament will be used to end “discrimination against mental health”, through better access to services, improvements in pre- and postnatal care, investment in children’s mental health, prevention, research and tackling stigma.
The Labour and Conservative promises are very much vaguer, indeed so vague in places as to be all but meaningless – the Conservatives’ pledge to ensure “that there are therapists in every part of the country providing treatment for those who need it” tops my personal piffle list. What does seem clear, however, is that politicians have finally clocked on to the fact that mental health is an issue of importance to many voters and, with more and more people prepared to speak out about their experiences, one that they can ill afford to ignore. Cinderella may not yet have made it to the ball, but she’s not about to go back into the scullery.
Morning after blues: post-election playlists
From The Guardian:
What is the mood music of the nation, this post-election morning? Depends who you voted for, really. With that in mind we have been compiling post-election playlists for supporters of the Tories, the Lib Dems, Labour and the SNP. No science has gone into this – each playlist is a ragbag of emotions, and lyrics are not to be taken as literal comment on each party’s fortunes. Well, not every lyric. And we are not suggesting that these artists are supporters of the relevant parties. While we at the Guardian might wish we could include a certain George Jones song in their playlist – Your Heart Turned Left and I Was on the Right – that was not to be. Perhaps, actually, this might be more apposite. Let us know which songs you would add to each playlist and we’ll update them later.
• Vote with your feet: how (and where) to escape the election result (The Guardian)
Why elections are bad for your health
From Spectator.co.uk:
How common is this obsessive behaviour at election time, and how much damage can it do? While some degree of worry is normal – particularly about events which will potentially affect our own lives – when it reaches a level this extreme (in a small minority of people, but more than you might think) it is to the detriment of sleep, healthy eating, exercising and face-to-face contact with other people.
Of course journalists and politicians become totally consumed by elections – especially one as nail-biting as this. But if you focus on something all the time it becomes intrusive. Once a thought becomes an obsession it can make us feel as if we aren’t in charge of our own minds.
U.K. news
The crisis in children's mental health services: an NHS insider speaks
An anonymous report from the frontlines, in The Guardian:
The crisis has, in recent weeks, finally made it to the front pages. Troubling statistics are everywhere: one in 10 children will encounter a mental health problem of some kind, three quarters of which will go untreated; Camhs budgets reduced by up to 94% in some parts of the country. The steep increase in self-harm and in-patient admissions, the lack of beds resulting in children being seen on adult psychiatric wards, preposterous waiting times, increased referral thresholds and unacceptable national variations have all been brought to attention in recent weeks, with the promise that a further £1.25bn will be ploughed into mental health services during the next five years.
But whatever the promises made in the heat of a general election campaign, adequately funded services feel a remote prospect. On an ordinary day, staff work late and eat their sandwiches in front of computer screens. There are regular complaints that clinical time is increasingly eaten up by administration; but it is also true that our cases are often of such a complexity and level of risk that we want to make sure every decision is in writing. Sickness rates can be high and the lure of private practice grows: how much mental disturbance can we digest, in circumstances where we feel the quality of our work is at risk of compromise, without becoming ill ourselves?
NHS ‘system failure' puts pressure on A&E wards
From The Guardian:
Large numbers of people with mental health issues are ending up in A&E wards because of “system failure”, according to leaked minutes of a government-attended steering group.
The meeting heard that people with mental illness are presenting themselves at emergency wards because of inadequate provision for them in the community.
The minutes from the mental health crisis care concordat steering group, attended by health minister Norman Lamb, suggest that the failure to treat mental health patients properly is contributing to pressure at A&E wards in NHS hospitals in England, which have missed the target of 95% of people to be seen within four hours for 93 weeks in a row.
| U.S.A. news May Is Mental Health Month From Mental Health America: For over 65 years, MHA and our affiliates across the country have led the observance of May is Mental Health Month to raise awareness about mental health and mental illness. Addressing mental health before Stage 4—this year’s theme for the month—calls attention to the importance addressing mental health symptoms early, identifying potential underlying diseases, and planning an appropriate course of action on a path towards overall health. “When we think about cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, we don’t wait years to treat them,” says Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO of MHA. “We start before Stage 4—we begin with prevention. So why don’t we do the same for individuals who are dealing with potentially serious mental illness? Like other diseases, mental health conditions should be treated long before they reach the most critical points in the disease process—before Stage 4.” • Awareness of children’s mental health (Huffington Post) • Tavis Smiley: My conversation with Mariel Hemingway on mental health (Huffington Post) |  Are the Kids Alright? Young People and Mental Health This first week of May's Mental Health Awareness month focuses on Children. There's a handy infographic that highlights the scale of the problem, courtesy of TopCounselingSchools.org, an organization which “is committed to alleviating the frustration associated with researching higher degree counseling programs and traditional and contemporary counseling careers." |
Millenials tearing down the stigma around mental health issues
From NBC4 Washington:
Millennials are tearing down the stigma that has surrounded issues of mental health and mental illness in the generations that came before them -- though the stigma isn't completely gone.
That's among the results of a survey of almost 900 young people done by a class of American University students as part of a semester-long examination of how millennials and mental health.
The report showed broad acceptance of mental illness among the young people surveyed. More than 85 percent of those surveyed said they would be comfortable making friends with or working on a project with someone diagnosed with a mental illness.
More than six out of 10 said they would be comfortable dating someone with a mental illness. Half said they would vote for someone with a mental illness.
The troubling link between the economy and mental health
From The Cheat Sheet:
Money problems got you down? You’re not alone. The Great Recession of 2008 was linked to a significant increase in major depression in U.S. adults, researchers at Loyola University in Chicago have found. This was the first study to look at how the most recent recession affected the mental health of the broad U.S. population.
Prevalence of major depression among adults increased from 2.33% in 2005-2006 to 3.49% in 2009-2010. Less severe depression was also more common during and after the recession, increasing from 4.1% in 2005-2006 to 4.79% in 2009-2010. Rates of less severe depression declined to 3.68% in 2011-2012. Poor people and those who had not completed high school were more likely to be depressed than other groups.
“It is plausible that the recession, given its strong, persistent, and negative effects on employment, job and housing security, and stock investments, contributed to the sustained increase in prevalence of major depression in the U.S. population, but other factors associated with the recession time period could have played a role,” the study’s authors wrote.
From NBC4 Washington:
Millennials are tearing down the stigma that has surrounded issues of mental health and mental illness in the generations that came before them -- though the stigma isn't completely gone.
That's among the results of a survey of almost 900 young people done by a class of American University students as part of a semester-long examination of how millennials and mental health.
The report showed broad acceptance of mental illness among the young people surveyed. More than 85 percent of those surveyed said they would be comfortable making friends with or working on a project with someone diagnosed with a mental illness.
More than six out of 10 said they would be comfortable dating someone with a mental illness. Half said they would vote for someone with a mental illness.
The troubling link between the economy and mental health
From The Cheat Sheet:
Money problems got you down? You’re not alone. The Great Recession of 2008 was linked to a significant increase in major depression in U.S. adults, researchers at Loyola University in Chicago have found. This was the first study to look at how the most recent recession affected the mental health of the broad U.S. population.
Prevalence of major depression among adults increased from 2.33% in 2005-2006 to 3.49% in 2009-2010. Less severe depression was also more common during and after the recession, increasing from 4.1% in 2005-2006 to 4.79% in 2009-2010. Rates of less severe depression declined to 3.68% in 2011-2012. Poor people and those who had not completed high school were more likely to be depressed than other groups.
“It is plausible that the recession, given its strong, persistent, and negative effects on employment, job and housing security, and stock investments, contributed to the sustained increase in prevalence of major depression in the U.S. population, but other factors associated with the recession time period could have played a role,” the study’s authors wrote.
Reviews: 'Welcome To Me' shows humor, heartbreak in mental health struggle
From Forbes:
Films about mental health are already dealing with a touchy subject that requires a deft hand and sensitivity. When the film is a comedy, the difficulties are compounded and the need for sensitivity is even greater. The comedy-drama Welcome To Me manages to walk that fine line, driven by a remarkable lead performance from Kristen Wiig that proves her talents extend well beyond comedy. It tells the story of a woman with severe personality disorders who wins the lottery and stops taking her medication in order to pursue her dream of making her own talk show (in which she relives the most painful moments of her past, cooks food, takes naps, and neuters animals). Things go exactly as badly as you think they will. It’s not an easy sell to audiences, except that it’s wonderful and funny and heartbreaking in so many ways you rarely get from mainstream cinema. And again, the performance from Wiig makes it all worth the price of admission even if nothing else happened on screen around her.
• Kristen Wiig on mental health, comedy and 'Ghostbusters' (Reuters)
From Forbes:
Films about mental health are already dealing with a touchy subject that requires a deft hand and sensitivity. When the film is a comedy, the difficulties are compounded and the need for sensitivity is even greater. The comedy-drama Welcome To Me manages to walk that fine line, driven by a remarkable lead performance from Kristen Wiig that proves her talents extend well beyond comedy. It tells the story of a woman with severe personality disorders who wins the lottery and stops taking her medication in order to pursue her dream of making her own talk show (in which she relives the most painful moments of her past, cooks food, takes naps, and neuters animals). Things go exactly as badly as you think they will. It’s not an easy sell to audiences, except that it’s wonderful and funny and heartbreaking in so many ways you rarely get from mainstream cinema. And again, the performance from Wiig makes it all worth the price of admission even if nothing else happened on screen around her.
• Kristen Wiig on mental health, comedy and 'Ghostbusters' (Reuters)
'Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy' by Irvin D. Yalom
From the Washington Post:
In his new book, “Creatures of a Day,” Irvin D. Yalom, author of the best-selling “Love’s Executioner,” makes a compelling case for returning to the essence of what has always made any brand of psychotherapy effective: the therapist’s ability to connect and collaborate with his or her patients, making them feel safe and valued. This isn’t by-the-book learning, Yalom contends. Rather, the relationship comes only from preferring the “full-bodied, multidimensional individual facing us in our office” over formal diagnoses.
The book uses 10 case studies from Yalom’s therapy sessions to illustrate epiphanies on both sides of the patient-therapist relationship, with each case touching upon a single central concept: the ephemerality of life. How we manage the pursuit of a happy one in spite of fleeting youth, squandered opportunities and loss determines how much we’re affected by the prospect of our own death.
“The amount of death terror experienced,” Yalom writes, “is closely related to the amount of life unlived.”
• Yalom: ‘Creatures Of A Day: And Other Tales Of Psychotherapy' (Radio interview with grandfatherly-voiced Yalom on WAMC)
World news
Earthquake-devastated Nepal struggles to heal its emotional scars
From the Hindustan Times:
From the Washington Post:
In his new book, “Creatures of a Day,” Irvin D. Yalom, author of the best-selling “Love’s Executioner,” makes a compelling case for returning to the essence of what has always made any brand of psychotherapy effective: the therapist’s ability to connect and collaborate with his or her patients, making them feel safe and valued. This isn’t by-the-book learning, Yalom contends. Rather, the relationship comes only from preferring the “full-bodied, multidimensional individual facing us in our office” over formal diagnoses.
The book uses 10 case studies from Yalom’s therapy sessions to illustrate epiphanies on both sides of the patient-therapist relationship, with each case touching upon a single central concept: the ephemerality of life. How we manage the pursuit of a happy one in spite of fleeting youth, squandered opportunities and loss determines how much we’re affected by the prospect of our own death.
“The amount of death terror experienced,” Yalom writes, “is closely related to the amount of life unlived.”
• Yalom: ‘Creatures Of A Day: And Other Tales Of Psychotherapy' (Radio interview with grandfatherly-voiced Yalom on WAMC)
World news
Earthquake-devastated Nepal struggles to heal its emotional scars
From the Hindustan Times:
Millions of quake survivors in Nepal are experiencing “phantom tremors” and other anxieties, in continuing anguish that experts describe as classic symptoms of post traumatic disorder that the country will struggle to deal with.
Nepal has just 90 trained psychiatrists and 300 psychologists. Consider their task: Health experts estimate that about two million Nepalis will probably require basic post traumatic stress disorder counselling. Of these, at least 20% could require short-term medication, according to the Psychiatry Association of Nepal.
“These are conservative figures,” Dr Saroj Prasad Ojha, president of the association, told HT.
“Whichever way you look at it, we are not equipped to deal with this challenge. The infrastructure is grossly inadequate.”
• In Nepal, psychosocial counselling goes on the radio (UNICEF)
• New UN guide aims to address mental health needs in humanitarian emergencies (UN News Centre)
• Nepal Earthquake Appeal - oxfam.org.uk (www.oxfam.org.uk/nepal_appeal)
Nigeria: Hundreds freed from Boko Haram require counselling
From AllAfrica.com:
Hundreds of women and children held by the militant group Boko Haram have been rescued by the Nigerian army in recent weeks. UNFPA is providing support to the freed women and girls in Borno and Adamawa states, and, as the military steps up its offensive against the insurgents, UNFPA is strengthening its services in anticipation of additional freed hostages.
Last week saw a major influx of rescued women and girls, including 293 women and girls who were rescued on 28 April 2015. Many of those released from Boko Haram have been brought to camps, where thousands of community members are seeking shelter from the ongoing unrest.
UNFPA, in close collaboration with the Borno State Ministry of Health, mobilized and deployed health workers to camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) in north-eastern Nigeria. There, they are providing psychosocial support and health services to the rescued women and girls, as well as to family and community members.
"A large number of girls and women rescued from Boko Haram have been found to be pregnant," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "We do not know yet the total number of pregnant girls among those rescued. The screening is still ongoing."
Turkey: Obligatory counseling for domestic violence perpetrators
From Daily Sabah:
To fight domestic violence, the government is preparing to introduce compulsory psychiatric treatment for people convicted for domestic violence. New regulations will allow the Family and Social Policies Ministry to handle the treatment, which was previously mandatory only when ordered by a court.
Minister Ayşenur İslam said repeat offenders in domestic violence cases sometimes eventually end up killing their spouses, and the treatment aims to prevent a repeat of acts of violence. İslam said the violence was not confined to acts against women, but rather it was a social problem. "Violence targeting women also targets children. A child who grows up in a family suffering from domestic violence turns to violence when he [or she] becomes an adolescent. So, it passes from one generation to the next," she said. Her ministry will now launch a comprehensive study to examine the profile of those resorting to domestic violence and those who do not.
Units of the ministry specializing in domestic violence cases will assess the psychological condition of offenders, and they will undergo treatment for anger management, addiction and other factors that may have led to the crimes they committed.
Saudi Arabia: Using art therapy to open the minds of jihadists
From Pacific Standard:
Of all the problems therapists have been tasked with solving, altering the mindsets of committed jihadists is one of the toughest and most important. In Saudi Arabia, which has more experience with this problem than any other nation, they have found a simple tool provides invaluable assistance in this challenging process: Paint brushes.
In the journal The Arts in Psychotherapy, Awad Alyami of King Saud University, who serves as senior art therapist at the Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care in Riyadh, provides a fascinating first-person report on his and his colleagues' work with former radical fighters, including men who had been held for many years at Guantanamo Bay.
He offers evidence that art therapy is "an efficacious approach in counterterrorism," and a vital part of the larger effort to integrating former radicals back into Saudi society. He describes the trial-and-error process that led to the current approach, and the ways he and his colleagues adapted Western concepts to serve a Saudi population.
Nepal has just 90 trained psychiatrists and 300 psychologists. Consider their task: Health experts estimate that about two million Nepalis will probably require basic post traumatic stress disorder counselling. Of these, at least 20% could require short-term medication, according to the Psychiatry Association of Nepal.
“These are conservative figures,” Dr Saroj Prasad Ojha, president of the association, told HT.
“Whichever way you look at it, we are not equipped to deal with this challenge. The infrastructure is grossly inadequate.”
• In Nepal, psychosocial counselling goes on the radio (UNICEF)
• New UN guide aims to address mental health needs in humanitarian emergencies (UN News Centre)
• Nepal Earthquake Appeal - oxfam.org.uk (www.oxfam.org.uk/nepal_appeal)
Nigeria: Hundreds freed from Boko Haram require counselling
From AllAfrica.com:
Hundreds of women and children held by the militant group Boko Haram have been rescued by the Nigerian army in recent weeks. UNFPA is providing support to the freed women and girls in Borno and Adamawa states, and, as the military steps up its offensive against the insurgents, UNFPA is strengthening its services in anticipation of additional freed hostages.
Last week saw a major influx of rescued women and girls, including 293 women and girls who were rescued on 28 April 2015. Many of those released from Boko Haram have been brought to camps, where thousands of community members are seeking shelter from the ongoing unrest.
UNFPA, in close collaboration with the Borno State Ministry of Health, mobilized and deployed health workers to camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) in north-eastern Nigeria. There, they are providing psychosocial support and health services to the rescued women and girls, as well as to family and community members.
"A large number of girls and women rescued from Boko Haram have been found to be pregnant," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "We do not know yet the total number of pregnant girls among those rescued. The screening is still ongoing."
Turkey: Obligatory counseling for domestic violence perpetrators
From Daily Sabah:
To fight domestic violence, the government is preparing to introduce compulsory psychiatric treatment for people convicted for domestic violence. New regulations will allow the Family and Social Policies Ministry to handle the treatment, which was previously mandatory only when ordered by a court.
Minister Ayşenur İslam said repeat offenders in domestic violence cases sometimes eventually end up killing their spouses, and the treatment aims to prevent a repeat of acts of violence. İslam said the violence was not confined to acts against women, but rather it was a social problem. "Violence targeting women also targets children. A child who grows up in a family suffering from domestic violence turns to violence when he [or she] becomes an adolescent. So, it passes from one generation to the next," she said. Her ministry will now launch a comprehensive study to examine the profile of those resorting to domestic violence and those who do not.
Units of the ministry specializing in domestic violence cases will assess the psychological condition of offenders, and they will undergo treatment for anger management, addiction and other factors that may have led to the crimes they committed.
Saudi Arabia: Using art therapy to open the minds of jihadists
From Pacific Standard:
Of all the problems therapists have been tasked with solving, altering the mindsets of committed jihadists is one of the toughest and most important. In Saudi Arabia, which has more experience with this problem than any other nation, they have found a simple tool provides invaluable assistance in this challenging process: Paint brushes.
In the journal The Arts in Psychotherapy, Awad Alyami of King Saud University, who serves as senior art therapist at the Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care in Riyadh, provides a fascinating first-person report on his and his colleagues' work with former radical fighters, including men who had been held for many years at Guantanamo Bay.
He offers evidence that art therapy is "an efficacious approach in counterterrorism," and a vital part of the larger effort to integrating former radicals back into Saudi society. He describes the trial-and-error process that led to the current approach, and the ways he and his colleagues adapted Western concepts to serve a Saudi population.
