You just might LOL!

A researcher in the US found texting has a mental health application: as a form of treatment or support for people experiencing mental health issues.

Prof. Adrian Aguilera, clinical psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, has devised a text messaging service for patients with depression & other mental disorders. People are sent automated messages asking them to think & reply about their mood, about their responses to both positive & negative daily interactions, as well as reminding them to take their medication.

When the service was stopped after a few weeks, 75% of the recipients requested they continue to receive messages; one person reported the service made them feel 'cared for & supported' when stressed or in difficulty.

Aguilera's patients are mainly low-income Latinos, who experience significant challenges in their daily lives, & often lack ready access to alternatives. He says the texting concept was mix of technology and therapy; many of his patients had a mobile phone on a prepaid monthly plan, & many had trouble translating the lessons of therapy into their daily lives. In addition, finances denied a lot of patients regular internet access... 'so I thought about using mobile phones to send text messages to remind them to practice the skills covered in therapy sessions'.

The psychologist added the patient response demonstrates the positive impact of regular contact with their support team - even if it’s nothing more than a 140-character hello: 'we are harnessing a technology that people use in their everyday lives to improve mental health in low-income, under-served communities'. 

 

Mind CEO quits Government panel

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, quit his government role in protest against the flawed Dept for Work & Pensions reforms in assessing benefit claimants fitness to work. Farmer, Mind's representative on the 4-man panel appointed to improve the Work Capability Assessment, said his position was 'no longer tenable' (Guardian article).

In a blog outlining his reasons for resigning, Paul writes... In July 2010, I joined a the Harrington Scrutiny Panel, set up to oversee the work of the WCA Independent Review team. My role was to give advice & criticism regarding the areas the review was looking at & the changes they are recommending.

The DWP has committed to making some changes arising from the Independent Review, but these will take time, & some fundamental changes required haven’t even started to be addressed. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are being reassessed using a test which is still not fit for purpose. Around 50% of people are appealing against the decision, & a remarkable half of those appeals are being upheld, meaning as many as one in four tests are wrong. The cost to the taxpayer of the tribunal system alone is £50m, around a half of the £100m a year being spent on reassessment.

I spent some time last week at Mind’s InfoLine. Call after call was coming in from individuals with a mental health problem, or a member of their family, anxious about the reassessment letter, concerned about having to appeal & the potential impact on their lives. We’ve heard about Job Centres who are shocked when someone who is clearly unwell turns up having been told they are fit for work.

The callers to our line were not benefit scroungers - they were ordinary people whose health had put them in a very vulnerable state. Ordinary people desperate to recover & be able to work, but who just weren’t yet well enough. Instead of offering support & help to recover, then find & stay in work, the WCA process is making their health worse & so, ironically, the prospect of a job even less likely.

We at MSM meet a lot of folk who are truly fearful of the threat these reforms might bring to their lives, if you have such concerns, or just want to know a little more, the Mind website goes into why the WCA isn't working.