A different way of seeing

Dale Agnew

This is 17-year old Dale Agnew’s story about how his experience of being homeless and living in a Rainer hostel had a positive impact on his life. This article is one of five stories from young people who had different problems and how they turned coped.

read article >>

Falling out of love with depression

Indu Mitra

This is Indu Mitra’s account of how she battled with depression since early adolescence, and how seeking professional helped her. This article is one of five stories from young people who had different problems and how they turned coped.

read article >>

Managing meltdown

Nick Hopkin

This is 33 year-old Nick Hopkin’s story about how he suffered a breakdown and was finally diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. He then goes on to tell us how he learned to accept his illness and embrace both the positive and negative aspects of it. This article is one of five stories from young people who had different problems and how they turned coped.

read article >>

Out of the shadows

Katherine Wealthall

This is Katherine Wealthall’s account of how she has lived with anorexia. She says that the physical symptoms did not develop until she was 13, but her thought processes had been deeply disturbed since childhood. She then goes on to describe how she battled with the condition and about the interventions and support that have helped her manage it.

read article >>

Sorted and safe

Steven Lewis

This is Steven Lewis’ story about how family breakdown led to him running away from home. He talks about how he was helped by the Waves project, which is run by the Children Society. He believes that if it weren’t for this project he would probably still be on the street and taking drugs. This article is one of five stories from young people who had different problems and how they turned coped.

read article >>

Carers of anorexia sufferers should be taught motivational therapy, says study

News item

This news item reports on a study, which looked at the experiences of caring for someone with anorexia nervosa. They conclude that work with carers of those with anorexia nervosa need to include strategies to reduce carers’ anxieties.

read article >>

CAMHS waiting list cut by solution-focused approach

News item

This news item reports on how a child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) in Kildare, Ireland, has reduced their year long waiting list to around four to six weeks. This was achieved by encouraging a solution-focused approach to a child or young person’s problem.

read article >>

‘Health workers in youth offending teams failed by the Youth Justice Board and the Agenda for Change’

News item

Health workers in youth offending teams (YOTs) across England are up in arms because the pay scheme in the government’s new Agenda for Change programme fails to fully recognise the skills they use to do their job.

read article >>

Under-16s with mental disorders linked to cannabis use may have doubled in the last four years

News item

A recent House of Commons Written Answer revealed that the number of under-16s being treated for a mental disorder linked to cannabis use in England may have doubled in the last four years.

read article >>

Could flexible working for all be on the cards?

Parliament item

A Labour MP is calling for parents of vulnerable teenagers, who have problems such as schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa or drug dependence should be allowed to request flexible working from their employers.

read article >>

A cut too far?

Annita Wahab

The author looks at how some CAMHS are facing cuts in services due to financial difficulties within PCTs. These organisations have been ordered by the Department of Health to reduce deficits by the end of this financial year. This means that some CAMHS are not receiving money earmarked for them. To add to all this is the fact that there is a target for all areas to have a Comprehensive CAMHS by 2006. The article includes various quotes from CAMHS Staff about the situation in their area.

A different view

Robin Raniero

This article illustrates how cinematherapy can work in practice. It uses the case of 22 year-old Kate, who came into family therapy as part of her outpatient treatment for methamphetamine. They used cinematherapy as a way to help her family understand and share the experiences and feelings she had not been able to put into words.

Across the pond

Dr Patrick Lindesay

This article is based on the National Co-morbidity Survey Replication (NCSR) study, which found that half of all Americans have diagnosable mental dysfunction. Half of all cases showed signs of mental disorder before the age of 14, and as many as one in 33 children suffered specifically from depression. The author then goes on to describe issues connected to the health care system, and politics within the USA.

Appearance: the eye of the beholder

Reva Klein

This article discusses the work of ‘Changing Faces’, which offers support services and resources to people living with a disfigurement. In particular the author reports how they train and support the children who have a disfigurement, Plus, how they train and prepare teachers who will be having a disfigured child in their class, who would in turn prepare the pupils.

Everybody's business

Roger Catchpole and Julia White

The authors discuss some of the challenges that implementing the Scottish national framework for children and young people’s mental health will bring. For instance, they emphasis the importance of local issues when thinking about implementing national policy of this kind i.e. it’s implementation within a rural area will be different to an urban area. They highlight in general terms some of the innovative work that is already happening and how this is a good base on which to implement the national framework and to achieve lasting improvements.

It hurts inside

Terry Philpot

The author looks at the mental health implications of bullying – this includes the bullied and the bully. It looks at how it can impact on mental health and what can be done to help a child who is being bullied. Plus, it also looks at how bulling can be tackled more generally i.e. whole school approaches.

O, father where art thou?

Angela Neustatter

This article gives an overview of Nick Warren’s book, ‘Thirty Years in a Turtleneck Sweater', which won the YoungMinds Book Award 2005.

Positive Practice Awards: Our Voice

Angela Neustatter

This article looks at the Barnardo’s UR Voice young people’s project based in Leeds. This group of young people judged the overall winner for the CAMH category of the NIMHE Positive Practice Awards. The article looks at how and why they picked ‘On the Edge’ as the overall winner. Plus, it also looks at the work of the UR Voice group and its many achievements.

Practice awards: Positively Beneficial

Miranda Wolpert and Bob Foster

The authors report on the winners of the CAMH category of the 2005 NIMHE Positive Practice Awards. The article lists the winners and the highly commended in the seven sub-categories for CAMH.

Taking on ADHD

Sarah Harding, Sharron Phillips and Vivienne Tindall

This article looks at how a nurse-run ADHD clinic was set up in Gateshead to tackle service delivery problems, such as high caseloads. The clinic aimed to provide an accessible, comprehensive package of care for the children and their families. The consultant child psychiatrists formally refer the child and family to the nursing team for their continued care. The consultants meet the nursing team on a monthly basis to alter medication and to discuss the more complex cases seen in the clinic. They have developed this clinic without any extra funding and the nursing team continue to hold full generic caseloads alongside the weekly clinic.

Touching the margins

David Robins

This article discusses the work of the Young Men’s Initiative, which is held at the Refugee Advice and Support Centre in Hammersmith, London. The young men who attend this service have usually only recently arrived in the UK and are refugees or asylum seekers. The project gives these young men a place to meet and share experiences, but it also provides them with a vital skills building programme i.e. communication and language.

Opinion: Loud and clear

Cathy Street

The author states although user participation is high on the policy agenda, and a growing evidence base indicates that it can be beneficial on various levels, there is concern that CAMHS are not developing their service user participation.

Review: Child abuse and neglect attachment. development and intervention

Anna Flanigan

There are many books on the subject of child abuse, but the way in which this one differs is that it concentrates on the ‘state of mind of the parents and carers’ and looks at how this contributes to the care, or lack of care of their children. The book is divided into five parts: emotional attachment and the psychological self; abuse; neglect; compound cases of abuse and neglect and interventions; treatment and support. This book is an important and impressive book and an invaluable contribution to the field.

Review: Excluded from school

Vivienne Clifford

This book is based on a study carried out in an education authority in Greater London during a period of rising exclusions. It is a book that helps the reader to think in a more creative way. It will foster a deeper understanding and raise awareness of the need for a higher level of inter-discipline and interagency co-operation, with broader assessments of situations and suitable responses to these.

Review: Letting the buggers be creative

Virginie Pignot-Shahov

This is a book about defining creativity within schools and helping teachers, but also school managers, teaching assistants and learning support assistants to develop pupils’ creativity inside and outside the classroom. This book is a good starting point to develop activities and reflect on the subject.

Review: Mad Hot Ballroom

Imogen Le Patourel

This is a review of the feature-length documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom. The film follows groups of school children from across New York City taking part in a non-profit programme that offers lessons in ballroom dancing styles. Scenes of the dance lessons are interspersed with brief clips of the children talking about life as they know it. The reviewer states that ‘what makes it work so well is that it shows children accessing their potential ….and above all it reminds you how great it is just to watch people dance.

Review: Making and breaking children's lives

Chris Hanvey

This edited book brings together papers from an eclectic mix of authors from different disciplines to examine the medical labelling of troubled and troublesome behaviour in children and young people. This book moves the readers inexorably from medical diagnosis to social explanations. However, the reviewer comments that none of the contributors work in a social services department.

Review: Problem girls

Julie Shepherd

This book focuses on discourses about girls and women who are having problems or are seen to be a problem. The book, as a whole, questions dominant views, stereotypes and the labelling of ‘bad girls’ and the writings look beyond specific problems and behaviours to their social, cultural and gendered worlds. Teachers, social workers, mental health workers would find the book an invaluable tool in helping them to gain an understanding of girls and young women’s lives.

Review: Working with adolescents and Working with young people

Bob Holman

The reviewer states that these are both excellent books. The first studies teenagers brought to the attention of social services departments. It is based on a research project, which compared the effectiveness of local authority support teams who offer preventative interventions to young people at risk of family breakdown, with those picked-up by mainstream social work teams. The second book concerns a wider range of young people who attend youth services. It is a reader, which is part of an Open University course and is a collection of articles, which will stimulate anyone involved in youth clubs, groups and projects.

Review: Young people in care and criminal behaviour

John Pitts

This book is based on the findings of interviews with 39 young people who were, or had been in the care system. She found that 23 of the respondents got into trouble with the law whilst in care, 12 of them for the first time. Her findings and recommendations are not new, but she uses evidence to support her case and argue it persuasively.

Webwatch: A boost in time

Rachel Hindley

This column looks at a selection of websites that aim to help young people deal with difficult problems.