mental health

Following the launch of the Scottish Government’s new policy and action plan for mental health improvement (MHI) for 2009-11, Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland an event was held to support the implementation. The meeting brought together key national agencies and partners with responsibility for mental health improvement, together with senior officials from the Scottish Government, local government and the NHS.

The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) promotes, supports and defends the principles and practice of independent advocacy across Scotland. This newsletter provides an update on the progress of the SIAA. Points of interest include highlights of the SIAA annual meeting, in particular presentations on the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Although many people experience loneliness at one time or another, it is often overlooked or dismissed. Because society prides itself on self-reliance, loneliness might carry a stigma for people who admit to it. This is both paradoxical and pernicious: if loneliness is transient, it is simply accepted as part of life, but there is a deep dread of being lonely for the long haul.

This review on indicated prevention adds to the current knowledge and understanding of risk factors in the development of later drug problems and dependence, focusing on the mental health and behavioural problems that develop during childhood. Indicated prevention is a relatively new branch of drug prevention and can be seen as the third part of the ‘prevention chain’, after universal and selective prevention.

In this learning object you are asked to consider issues which are central to understanding the experience of ageing and older age in contemporary society. Ageism, age discrimination and social exclusion diminish the quality of life which older people may enjoy. They also threaten their mental health. In spite of their negative effect on the daily lives of older people, however, ageism and age discrimination are often unrecognised, ignored, or even compounded in health and social care settings.

In Freudian Slips Lisa Appignanesi revisits five of Freud’s major works for their centenary. The focus for the first programme in the series is Freud's essay 'Sexual Aberrations'. The second programme looks at the essay 'Infantile Sexuality'. The third discusses the last of Freud's essays on sexuality in which he explains why the troubled adolescent has to relive childhood in a bid to leave home. The fourth programme in the series looks at 'Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria' which was Freud's first great case history.

This resource takes you on a journey of discovery where you are invited to challenge ideas, both new and old, in relation to mental health.

This resource provides information, statistics and research on drugs misuse in Scotland. Target users are policy makers, professionals, researchers, employers and the wider community. This website supports the implementation of the Scottish Drug Misuse Information Strategy.

This resource, produced by the Mental Health Foundation, is a guide which illustrates the different ways that can help people to keep in good mental health.

This report begins by asking why there should be investment in promotion and prevention. It then summarises what is known and gives examples of study findings on wellbeing, early intervention,, depression, suicide and workplace health promotion. Ongoing and future evaluations are noted and the need for more European assessments emphasised.