News - March/April 2010

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Birmingham visit offers vision for future of…

1. Belgian mental health services

A delegation of 31 Belgian VIPs, including the country’s Vice-President, the Honourable Laurette Onkelinx, visited the Faculty of Health at Birmingham City University and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) recently.

The visit was a second fact-finding mission from Belgium, and follows Professor Mervyn Morris’s (Centre for Community Mental Health, Centre for Health & Social Care Research, Faculty of Health) consultation work for their Ministry of Health, focusing on de-institutionalising Belgian mental health services.

Press release
Photos (Click on image for larger view.)

2. Norwegian mental health services

A group of Norwegian academics and mental health professionals, representing a number of different Norwegian universities and mental health services visited Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Health in October 2009 to learn more about mental health work and teaching within a multi-cultural society.

Review and photos

Bermuda mental health experts in Birmingham visit

Mental health experts from Bermuda have visited Birmingham to gather ideas on modernising services back home. Professionals from the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute made the journey to the city to gather knowledge to drive the planning and implementation of mental health services in Bermuda. The visits, in March, were led by Professor Mervyn Morris, Director of Centre for Community Mental Health, Birmingham City University.

Press release and photographs

Birmingham City University – Faculty of Health Ethics Committee Seminar – 30 June 2010:

‘Well meant but exclusive – are some groups of people are prevented or discouraged from taking part in research?’

To include,
‘Mental health service users in research’ - Professor Mervyn Morris
‘Ethnic diversity and participation in research’ - Professor Mark Johnson
‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender perspectives on taking part in research’ - Dr Catherine Meads
‘Researching in prison settings’ - Professor Morag Macdonald

Flyer Click here Booking Form Click here

Colleague publications:

Our Faculty of Health colleagues, Elaine Denny and Paul Illingworth have both recently published books which may be of interest…

Mental Health Nursing Carving a path to practice

Illingworth, P & Singleton, L [eds] (2009). Harrow. Pearson. ISBN978-0-273-72100-0 Are you wondering if a career in Mental Health Nursing is right for you? If you are considering studying Mental Health Nursing or have already begun your course this book is the perfect tool to see if you have what it takes to be a Mental Health Nurse.

http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/Bookshop/detail.asp?item=100000000282122

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Sociology for Nurses

Denny E, Earle S (eds) 2009 Sociology for Nurses. Cambridge, Polity 2nd edn ISBN 9780745646244
“Since its publication, Sociology for Nurses has become a leading textbook in the field and an invaluable companion for students wishing to understand how sociology can help nursing practice. This thoroughly revised and updated new edition maintains its commitment to providing jargon-free explanations of sociological theories and evidence to show how studying sociology can be useful in all branches of professional nursing practice. Clearly written, and carefully illustrated, the new edition includes a whole new chapter on global health, as well as recent developments in health policy and a dedicated website with extra resources for students.

http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745646244

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Support Soteria Network for free via Amazon

You can now support Soteria Network every time you buy online from Amazon by following the link below and clicking on the Amazon button at the bottom of the page. Your purchases will cost the same to you, but Amazon will pay Soteria a small percentage of your order value.

http://www.soterianetwork.org.uk/donations/donations.html#amazon
For more information please visit our Soteria Network page

2nd World Hearing Voices Congress & Festival: ‘Raising our voices, speaking our truths’

The 2nd World Hearing Voices Congress will be held in England on 3rd and 4th November 2010, following the Intervoice meeting, the International Network for Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices, which will be held on 2nd November 2010. The conference will be a celebration of the success of the Hearing Voices Movement with presentations from experts by experience and experts by profession from around the globe, sharing stories of courage, optimism and determination and the ways people have found to transform themselves and the worlds we live in.

Flyer Click here Accommodation information Click here

New report/statistics on attitudes towards mental illness

Since March 1994, the Department of Health has placed a set of questions on TNS’s Face-to-Face Consumer Omnibus about public attitudes towards mental illness. The surveys serve as a benchmark, enabling measurement of whether attitudes are improving or worsening over time.
The full report is available from this link:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_114795

Phone support service for older people

A pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of delivering social care to older people through telephone support and well-being groups is launching in Reading in April. Over the next two-years 15 groups will be set up as part of Reading Borough Council's preventative and early intervention service. The project, which launches on Friday, is a collaboration between the council and teleconferencing charity Community Network and will use a state-of-the-art telephone conferencing system. The aim is to improve participants' health, well-being and independence and reduce the need for residential care or additional statutory services.

For the full story please visit: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/information/news/?entryid17=77943

News - March/April 2010 Click here to access archived news.