Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health"’ Sort:
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Spread a lot of happiness
- Author:
- ELLIOT Maggie
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, June 2006, pp.12-13.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
The author talks to Margaret McCathie, Scotland's very own clown doctor. She also runs mental health awareness and laughter therapy workshops in hospitals, schools and workplaces.
Self-help strategies to reduce emotional distress: what do people do and why? A qualitative study
- Author:
- MARLEY Elizabeth
- Journal article citation:
- Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 11(4), December 2011, pp.317-324.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Managing distress is a complex and multi-dimensional process unique to each individual. However, some people with emotional distress prefer to utilise self-help strategies to reduce their symptoms rather than seek professional help. However, little is known about the strategies employed. This study investigated which self-help approaches might be employed to reduce the effects of emotional distress, and the reasons for these choices. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 11 clerical employees in Scotland and analysed using grounded theory. Analysis of the data revealed five main categories: experiencing an emotional event; relationships with others; other choices; factors influencing self-help choices; and barriers to help-seeking. The use of self-help options was determined by a person's core beliefs, their social networks, and ideas about coping. Such beliefs may hinder help-seeking. The author concluded that people tend to engage in activities that are familiar to them already, rather than attempt new ones. Self-help strategies distracted the person from their problems and contributed to physical and mental well-being. Implications for practice are presented.
Defining shame: a critical step in the resilience process
- Author:
- BROWN Brene
- Journal article citation:
- Addiction Today, 18(104), January 2007, p.18, 27.
- Publisher:
- Addiction Recovery Foundation
A growing number of researchers and practitioners are examining shame's role in mental health and public health issues. The author presents some key findings from her research over the past six years. She looks at the ways in which both men and women describe shame, and the importance of learning to identify and label emotions to enhance resilience. The emotions of embarrassment, guilt and humiliation are then defined, with explanations of why they are often confused with shame.
Exploring the concept of alexithymia in the lives of people with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- MELLOR Karen, DAGNAN Dave
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 9(3), September 2005, pp.229-239.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Alexithymia is a construct that has attracted considerable research for people without learning disabilities. People with alexithymia have difficulties recognizing and describing emotions and have an externally oriented cognitive style. Alexithymia has been closely associated with a variety of mental health and somatic problems. However, the construct of alexithymia has not been considered in respect to people with learning disabilities. This article identifies parallels between the concept of alexithymia and the emotion recognition difficulties and external cognitive styles that have been identified in people with learning disabilities. The article further identifies that many developmental factors considered important in the aetiology of alexithymia are significantly present in the lives of people with learning disabilities and that the association between alexithymia and mental health identified in other populations may also be important for people with learning disabilities. We conclude that there is a strong argument that alexithymia should be a focus of further research for people with learning disabilities.
Research into Practice
- Author:
- MORGAN Brian
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 31.01.02, 2002, p.45.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Looks at research that argues that emotional well-being of looked-after children needs as much attention as their physical health.
How to deal with anger
- Author:
- CLOUTTE Penny
- Publisher:
- MIND
- Publication year:
- 2000
- Pagination:
- 11p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Discusses the nature of anger, healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with it, and gives advice on handling confrontation.
Trajectories of emotional symptoms in adolescence: impact on alcohol use
- Authors:
- BIRRELL Louise Elizabeth, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 10(4), 2017, pp.130-141.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how different trajectories of emotional symptoms relate to alcohol use in adolescence. Design/methodology/approach: In all, 431 participants (majority female), aged approximately 13 years at baseline were followed over three years and reported on their emotional symptoms and alcohol use. Latent class growth analyses explored different trajectories of emotional symptoms and regression models were run to relate these trajectories to alcohol use (full standard drink, and binge drinking) at 36-month follow-up (age 16 years). Findings: While the majority of adolescents were best characterised by low-stable emotional symptoms, those with high-stable symptoms were more likely to be have consumed a full standard drink of alcohol and binge drunk when aged 16 years. Research limitations/implications: Findings highlight the importance of prevention and early intervention, particularly targeting adolescents with elevated stable emotional symptoms who were more likely to be using alcohol at 16 years of age. Originality/value: The present study is one of the first longitudinal investigations into the use of alcohol by community adolescents with different emotional symptom trajectories. (Edited publisher abstract)
That's just life: older adult constructs of trauma
- Authors:
- HISKEY Syd, McPHERSON Susan
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 17(6), 2013, pp.689-696.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Researcher, clinical professional and lay understandings of the meaning of trauma may differ. An awareness of older people's perspectives on trauma may be important, given the potential for historical and cultural features to shape how the term is conceptualised among this group, thereby influencing related help-seeking behaviour. Older people living in Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk were interviewed about their perceptions of the term, as was a group of mental health professionals who work with the elderly. Forty-two older adults (aged 67–91) took part in six focus groups (ranging from four to nine members). Twenty-eight were females, 14 were males, all were white British. Many older people regarded significant adversity as just part of life, with collectively understood methods of avoidance or limited support-seeking pointing to emotional management through non-disclosure. This position seemed further informed by views that disclosure may be self-indulgent, which is in stark contrast to the historical and cultural background in which many older people were raised. The professionals also suggested that some older people may be unused to expressing their emotions. The concept of trauma seems to be relative, with stigma and shame appearing to influence the way that responses to adversity are managed by this age group. It is concluded that focused history taking by clinicians may be needed to help elicit symptoms of trauma among elderly patients, while at the same time services might engage in a compassionate dialogue to encourage those suffering in silence to seek help. (Edited publisher abstract)
Emotional competencies in the education of mental health professionals
- Authors:
- HEN Meirav, GOROSHIT Marina
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 30(7), October 2011, pp.811-829.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Previous research suggests that the ability to assess, regulate, and utilise emotions is important to the performance of health professionals. Nevertheless, few professional programmes adequately address this matter in their curricula. This study examined whether emotional intelligence and empathy could be improved in the traditional classroom, employing experiential teaching modes. Pre- and post-questionnaires were used to assess the emotional competencies of 165 social work undergraduate students in Northern Israel. The results indicated an increase in emotional intelligence at the end of a course for advanced-year students. Overall empathy had not increased for both first- and advanced-year students. Further findings indicated significant correlation between empathy and emotional intelligence at the end of a course for advanced-year students compared with an insignificant correlation at the beginning of the course, whereas for first-year students, findings were in the opposite direction. The authors concluded that future research should focus on strategies for the teaching of social workers that promote emotional competencies.
The ratio between positive and negative affect and flourishing mental health across adulthood
- Authors:
- DIEHL Manfred, HAY Elizabeth L., BERG Kathleen M.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(7), September 2011, pp.882-893.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Previous research has suggested that the balance of positive to negative affect is critically relevant to well-being and adjustment, and that, to maintain an optimal level of positive mental health, individuals need to experience approximately 3 times more positive than negative affect. The aim of this study was to address the association between the positivity ratio, age, and mental health status, and particularly to see if the proposed critical positivity ratio of 2.9 discriminated equally well between individuals with different mental health status across the adult lifespan. The participants were 239 adults from north central Florida, separated into 3 age groups: 81 young; 81 middle-aged; and 77 older. The participants completed a self-report questionnaire, followed by 30 consecutive days of daily assessments. The findings showed that the ratio of positive to negative affect differed across adulthood such that age was associated with an increasing preponderance of positive to negative affect. The positivity ratio was also associated with mental health status with higher positivity ratios being associated with better mental health. Although the data supported the notion of a positivity ratio of 2.9 as a ‘critical value’ in young adulthood, this value did not equally well discriminate the mental health status of middle-aged and older adults.