Burnham: Mental Health Counseling On NHS Will Be A Right

Shadow health secretary highlights cuts and 'biggest unaddressed health challenge' as he pledges Labour solution

A Labour government will preserve the right to counseling for mental health problems in the NHS constitution, same goes with people have a right to drugs and treatment for mental illness, Andy Burnham promise October this year.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said at a conference on mental health and wellbeing in Shrewsbury, that mental health is the biggest unaddressed health challenge of the age, costing business £71m a day, or £26bn a year.

He laid blame on and accused the government of lessening the mental health budget and abandoning the national survey of investment in adult mental health services, which showed how much was spent yearly.

"There is growing evidence of highly vulnerable people being held in police cells and sleeping on camp beds in office space because no crisis beds are available," he will say. "The cost of living crisis is tipping many people over the edge and concerns have been raised over the suicide rate. It is imperative that the openness and transparency the secretary of state speaks of are brought urgently to mental health services so parliament can have a proper debate on what's happening to vulnerable people."

The suicide rate is increasing, Burnham reports, rising from 11.1 to 11.8 deaths per 100,000 populations between 2010 and 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Antidepressant prescribing is growing as well; there were 4,000 more prescriptions between 2010 and 2011, a 9.4% increase in a year.

Waiting times for counseling, or "talking therapies", are increasing, he said.  Between April and June this year, more than 80,000 of the 241,250 patients referred for counseling waited for longer than the 28-day target.

As an answer to a parliamentary question from Labour's Lord Hunt, the parliamentary under secretary of state Earl Howe confirmed last October that a national survey for 2012-13 had not been commissioned and said that current data on spending on adult mental health services in England was not available.

"We are currently working with NHS England to explore the use of data collected as part of the programme budgeting collection as a potential replacement," he said.

Burnham accused the government of hiding cuts to mental health spending.

Parliament voted for parity of esteem and we've now no way of knowing if that commitment has been delivered, he said.

"All the evidence we hear is that mental health services have been cut further this year and there's a crisis in mental health crisis care. Now the government is trying to hide the reality of what's happening."

A department of health spokesman said: "It's important to know how much the NHS spends on mental health. The old surveys only captured rough estimates of how much the NHS spent on mental health. We are currently working with NHS England to find new and better ways of capturing how much the NHS actually spends. This means there will be better information out there the local NHS can use to see how much they spend compared to other areas.

"We have clearly set out what services the local NHS must provide for people with mental health problems in our mandate to NHS England."


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Mental Health Services Usage by People with Depression

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/10/07/mental-health-services-usage-people-depression/

A new study has found more than half the people in Ontario who reported they had major depression did not use physician-based mental health services in the following year.

"It's concerning to us that many Ontarians with mental health needs are not accessing clinician-based care," said Katherine Smith, the lead author and epidemiologist in the Centre for Research on Inner City Health of St. Michael's Hospital.

"Some people may seek non-medical types of support or care, such as clergy, alternative medicine, psychologists or social workers.  But we don't know for sure, so the gap remains of concern."

The study used OHIP data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. The findings appear in the journal Health.

A predictable one in four people undergo at one point in their lives from depression, which lessens quality of life, is linked with amplified disability and lower productivity at work.  More than twice as often as men women are diagnosed with depression.

Smith had set out to see whether gender plays a role in seeking mental health care.   As a general rule, about 10 per cent more than men women use mental health services, showing the fact they use health care services overall as much as than men.

More than half - 55.3 per cent - of people in Ontario with self-reported major depression had no contact with physicians for mental health reasons in the following year.  Additional research is needed to understand why, Smith said.

She said some ethnic groups may not be comfortable accessing physician-based mental health services or may prefer to use non-medical services. Stigma around mental illness may also deter some people, she said.

Men, as compared to women, have the tendency to delay seeing a doctor for minor mental health concerns, but will ask help as soon as a mental health problem reaches a definite threshold.

Among those with depression, she found the gender gap was small, only five percentage points.  Women were somewhat more likely than men to see a primary care provider for depression - 30.4 per cent vs. 24.6 per cent, except there was little gender difference in who sought specialty care, like from a psychiatrist.

Comparing to those people who could have had other mental health concerns without major depression, there was a significant gender difference: 21 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men had a mental health visit, a gender gap of 8 percentage points.

Teach Our Children Well

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/09/04/teach-children-well/

There would come a time when you wish that every aspects of life is as easy as arranging the lines of seven-year-old students.  It is like kindergarten students are more behave than the outside world.  Does school really affect the way we behave when we get older and done with school?
Isn’t the concept of lining up, or waiting your turn, or listening while someone else is speaking, something that is supposed to be hard-wired from the age of five onward, thanks to attending school should be a basic and common etiquette for adults?  Are people “misbehaving” in the adult world was an effect of their schooling when they were younger.
If schooling does indeed have a significant impact on us up until our adult years, how does it manifest itself in the everyday world of being a “grown-up”? And perhaps more importantly, are we thinking of education as a means to a positively practical end as we leave school behind us?
Canadians were raising their children and how it was negatively impacting their ability to function once they’d left home to go to university or work. Do not “helicopter parent” your kid rather spend the entire time wondering if it was possible that some of the struggles being discussed weren’t a result of an education that had misfired in shaping these youngsters’ skills sets.
Years back, things are better.  Today, students were being pushed through despite not having passed exams then blames the education system for not being the same as it was years before is a bit too get-off-my-lawn.  Before schooling seemed rigid and wildly archaic, meaning learning is far more than any generation.  Perhaps it was just a case of an education still being a good fit for the society it hoped to produce at the time.  Or maybe education is an organism in a constant state of flux, and sometimes the growing pains of one generation will greatly benefit the one coming up behind.
It all comes down to what a country/people/group wants an education to be.  The students should be more confident and self-aware.  They must think critically to be able to utilize deductive reasoning, to problem solve and so on.  Teach them skills that soon will be able to grow with them, and will evolve into useful tools for navigating their adult lives.  Success is not measured out in numbers on a chart and letters across a table.  The problem is we are all misbehaved, we can all sit nicely in a circle, raise our hands, and wait for our turn to talk.

Teens with Social Anxiety Engage in Earlier Alcohol, Marijuana Use

According to a study conducted at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, among teens with substance use disorders, those who also have social anxiety disorder begin using marijuana at a mean age of 10.6 years — an average of 2.2 years earlier than teens without anxiety.
“This finding surprised us,” said principal investigator Alexandra Wang, a third-year medical student at the university. “It shows we need to start earlier with prevention of drug and alcohol use and treatment of social phobia [in children].”
The study was consisting of 195 teens ages 14 to 18 which 102 of them or 52 percent \ were teenage girls.  They met the current diagnosis of substance use disorder and had received medical detoxification if needed.
The researchers evaluated the participants’ history of drug and alcohol use and digged into whether they’d had any of three anxiety disorders: social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and agoraphobia.
Out of 195 teens, 92 percent had marijuana dependence and the most disturbing part was it is starting at the age of 13 years.  And on the other hand, 61 percent were alcohol-dependent, having started drinking at 13.5 years on average.  This shows that marijuana was the most popular drug of choice.
Teens with either social anxiety disorder or panic disorder were far more likely to have marijuana dependence, Wang said. Before marijuana dependence both of these disorders were more likely to occur.
More or less 80 percent of teens suffering from social anxiety disorder and 85 percent with panic disorder had symptoms of that disorder previous to the onset of their substance abuse.  In addition, panic disorder has a propensity to start before alcohol dependence and came about in 75 percent of alcohol-dependent adolescents.
According to the authors, there was no clear evidence showing whether agoraphobia came before or after either marijuana use or the first drink.
A limitation of the study, according to the research team, was that 128 (66 percent) of the teens were juvenile offenders who had received court-referred treatment for their substance abuse. These findings might not generalize to a less severely addicted population.
Yet again, interventions to lessen social anxiety might help avoid substance abuse in teens.
“We need to treat these young patients initially with non-pharmacologic means, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or mindfulness meditation,” said Christina Delos Reyes, M.D., a psychiatrist specializing in addictions at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
Patrick Bordeaux, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Quebec, Canada, said that “comorbidities tend to be the rule in adolescents, not the exception.”
“Adolescents are more likely to have social and mental disorders that make them more likely to use drugs,” said Bordeaux, who was not involved with the study.

Anger Management: How To Deal With Anger

Everyone gets angry once in a while if we are mistreated or feel we have been “wronged” and it is a normal and healthy emotion, you have to handle it appropriately.  What we need to emphasized on is what we do with this anger.  It is time to seek help when you feel like your anger is not doing any good with your day to day life such as work, relationship, ability to achieve your goal and many more.  Anger management’s goal is to learn methods and new ways to control your anger.  Many people who suffer from this condition come to seek help to deal with their problem but most of the time, fear, resentment, and unmet expectations that are the root causes for their anger.  Trough counseling the problem is addressed and the anger soon dissipates.  After, the client is able to be aware that they do not have to be controlled by their anger.  One more thing is that they are not being the “victim” of others or society but rather they are responsible for their own actions and behaviors.

Some people just wouldn’t want to show their real self so they stick with the reputation of an angry person or sometimes it is their way to resent from other people from getting too close to them.  This may result to people afraid of you or if not disrespectful of you.  Communicating your needs and frustrations in an productive and respectful way people will tend to listen more just to learn about your needs and frustrations.

As stated earlier, anger is a normal emotion.  The objective is to deal with the underlying issues and feelings indentified with anger.  And the next goal is to learn healthy ways to deal with this emotion.  Some may think that letting the anger out is healthy until they realize that the have secluded themselves from the people around them like relationships to partners, children, co-workers and etc.  Added the fact that this can have a very negative impact on the way others see and treat you.

For some instances, this type of behavior might be modeled from past experiences from family members seen while growing up.  You can do something to cut the cycle before your children might end up having the same problem and before you isolate yourself from others.

Is it uneasy for you to compromise and acknowledge you’re wrong at times?

Accepting that you are wrong and compromising can be hard at first but consider that you cannot for all time get your way by being the loudest and most demanding. It does nothing but pushes people away.

Are you afraid to let your guard down and allow people to truly see you for who you are?
Other people are saying that if you wanted to achieve anything you must be aggressive, tough and in control.  Anger can have a repealing effect and sends you spiraling out of control.

Do you believe that no matter what, you always have to be right and opinions and viewpoints of others are a direct threat or challenge to you?  Oftentimes we get mad because we observe behavior in someone else that we see in ourselves.  This brings up sentiments that we do not desire to appear at or deal with.  Underneath the anger may be hurt, disappointment, trauma and resentments.  It’s vital to become aware of how your body is reacting to feelings of anger.

If you sense your self get tense, “see red”, find yourself clenching your fist and jaw, have trouble concentrating, find your breathing to be rapid and fast then maybe it is really time for you to seek help.  There are numerous other physical ciphers but these are a little you may notice.

Anxiety and Stress Benefits From Forced Exercise

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/05/02/anxiety-and-stress-benefits-from-forced-exercise/


According to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, being forced to exercise may still help reduce anxiety and depression just as exercising voluntarily does.
People who exercises are more secluded against stress-related disorders even past studies have shown this. And scientists know that the perception of control can benefit a person’s mental health.  But an open question has been the topic of some debates   whether an individual, who undergoes the feeling of a forced to exercise, getting rid of the discernment of control, would still gather the anxiety-fighting advantages of the exercise.

Benjamin Greenwood, an assistant research professor in CU-Boulder’s Department of Integrative Physiology said people who may feel forced to exercise could include high school, college and professional athletes, members of the military or those who have been prescribed an exercise regimen by their doctors.
“If exercise is forced, will it still produce mental health benefits?” Greenwood asked. “It’s obvious that forced exercise will still produce peripheral physiological benefits. But will it produce benefits to anxiety and depression?”

To look for an answer to the matter Greenwood and his colleagues, as well as Monika Fleshner, a professor in the same department, designed a lab experiment using rats. Throughout a six-week period, a few rats stayed inactive, whereas some exercised by running on a wheel.

The experiment went this way; the rats that exercised were divided into two groups that ran a roughly equal amount of time while one group ran whenever it chose to, at the same time as the other group ran on mechanized wheels that rotated according to a predetermined schedule.  The motorized wheels turned on at speeds and for periods of time that mimicked the average pattern of exercise chosen by the rats that voluntarily exercised, for the study.

Then six weeks after, the rats were exposed to a laboratory stressor prior to testing their anxiety levels the next day.  The anxiety was measured by quantifying the length the rats froze when they were put in an environment they had been conditioned to fear.  It is likely what is happening to a phenomenon similar to a deer in the headlights.  Then the stress can be measured by, the longer the freezing time, the greater the residual anxiety from being stressed the previous day.  For assessment, some rats underwent to a test for anxiety without being stressed the day before.

“Regardless of whether the rats chose to run or were forced to run they were protected against stress and anxiety,” said Greenwood, lead author of the study appearing in the European Journal of Neuroscience in February. The sedentary rats froze for longer periods of time than any of the active rats.
“The implications are that humans who perceive exercise as being forced – perhaps including those who feel like they have to exercise for health reasons – are maybe still going to get the benefits in terms of reducing anxiety and depression,” he said.

Strengthening The Marriage

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/05/02/strengthening-the-marriage/


Couples with thriving young children and struggling marriages aren’t a new sight in therapy office.  It can be a real challenge to shift from a married couple to married couple with kids.  Arguments and little fights can be healthy sometimes and couple without kids had the plenty of time to attend to their relationship while now that kid’s are present, their needs alone can leave both parents drained and exhausted. This could mean that at the end of the day couples will feel tired and no time for each other.

There are many reasons why divorce happen but one possible reason is parents tend to get overboard attending to their children while neglecting their responsibilities as a husband or wife.

Most of the parents can only have their alone time after the kids are in bed.  And what make things worse after your long day is both of you has barely the energy to even ask how each others day went because you cannot even pull up the covers.  When you reach this point maybe you are in the edge of your relationship.
It will help so much if couples will find time for each other; it is always a good idea to have a day for the parents alone.  Weekend mornings can be a good time whereas stress of the work week recedes and before the daily demands of the children start stacking up, couples sometimes find their best opportunity to shift into a mode where they can focus on each other.
It is also important to talk to your kids and explain that parents need time for each other too.  To make them busy, think of possible and safe way to make use of their time.  As soon as a couple acquires some uninterrupted time together, now other challenges appear to happen such as how are they going to use this alone time well.

Try not to do the following:

Never compare, do not weigh against whose life is harder
Do not complain and tell your partner the s/he doesn’t give you what you need
Expect your partner to instantly feel like being sexual
Give up on intimacy and plan the children’s week together
Some good ideas consist of:
Take turns listening to each other.
The listener tries to empathize and understand without trying to solve the problem
Massage each other while listening to nice music
Take turns appreciating yourself while your partner listens and smiles
Take a walk together in a beautiful place
Take a bath or hot tub together
Whatever you do, focus on being together
Pay attention to each other
And consciously try to say things that build a sense of connection.
Treating to your relationship in this technique is one of the most excellent things you can do for your children. And for sure you will enjoy it yourself!

Six Things Women Firsts Notice About Men

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/04/22/six-things-women-firsts-notice-about-men/


According to Dr Gordon Patzer, author ofLooks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined, and one of the world’s leading authorities on physical attractiveness, a lot of what women notice in the first few minutes is appearance-based. “A substantial portion of the six features of a man are apparent, in terms of height, weight and overall physical attractiveness,” he says. And when appearances don’t make the cut, the door slams shut on further interactions. Here’s a list of things to keep that door open.

Physical stature: Don’t be a hypocrite and admit it, this matter, after all everything starts with attraction then the getting-to-know part after.  And again yep, you knew this already, we all do: size really do matters.  Height and weight are right on top of the list of things women notice. “Too much or too little of either immediately classifies the man as unattractive to women, and closes the door before less physically obviously features (such as confidence) can be determined,” says Dr Patzer. Take heart though, the acceptable range is influenced by the woman’s own height and weight.

Appearances and attractiveness: All right, we all agree in some point that beauty is skin deep, but it’s going to get women to discover what lies beneath.  As mentioned earlier, everything starts with attraction then the getting-to-know part after.  Agreed, attractiveness does include what you were born with, thanks to your mom and dad huh, but your genes alone can’t scuttle your chances.  It is very important that you know what to do with your hair, clothes, grooming and basic hygiene, basically how you present and carry yourself.  Women surely are not going to work hard to learn more about you if you can’t even make the effort.

Smile: put a smile in those lips, smile can make anyone look good!  After the  women are finished evaluating your overall build, women will look at your smile. “The ability to smile, particularly within the first few minutes of meeting, sends a welcoming, non-hostile signal to women,” says Dr Patzer. There is one proviso though  and you must take a good consideration of this one because this can make or break it, the smile must show off sensibly good-looking teeth or at least presentable and hygienic teeth. So what are you still waiting for, go and fix an appointment with the dentist!

Humor: One more rationale to show off those pearly white teeth! Women want men who have the ability to laugh and even better have the talent to make the woman laugh. That instantaneously gets you plus points!

Confidence: but never be overdo it.  Women find confident men attractive. According to Dr Sameer Malhotra, head of psychiatry and psychotherapy department at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, within the first few minutes of meeting, women will not only suss out your level of confidence, they will also interpret the vibes you give out and how you think. “Women notice how clear or decisive you are and whether you approach things positively.” Just remember, like stated above, do not overdo it; cockiness and arrogance are not the same as confidence!

Conversation: Men have given the impression to womankind the characteristic of being strong and silent. Consequently women aren’t expecting you to have mad talking skills.  But instead, all you’ve got to do hold her attention. “We know (scientifically) that the more or longer that a woman gets to know a man, the more physically attractive he becomes in her mind,” says Dr Patzer. Forget the one-liners because women are looking for someone to keep up the conversation.

But the most advice is just be yourself, it is always great to be loved for who you are.

Falling In Love Addiction

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/04/19/falling-in-love-addiction/


Who among us isn’t snowed under that feeling when someone is fluttering us and at the same time confusing us, that total fascination with the object of our desire, that faith that this time we’ve found the one we are looking for all along.  Maybe the most wonderful feeling in the world is the feeling of in love. We are overwhelmed and drown in confusion.  Then it will occur to us with the gradual realization that yet again, it was just another fairy tale without a happy ending.

The first 50%, which is sexual attraction, is the natures desire to procreate so we have that overwhelming urge to get it together, meaning the biological drive to have sex.  Consequently, great sex which is very much pleasurable and rewarding in more ways is one reason why seeks opportunity to be together.  This is according to some skeptics and the other 50% is projection.
The second half is a bit harder to explain, first, what is projection?  Projection is what we wanted our partner will be.  It is the dream or our fantasy of an ideal partner, how they treat or act towards us.  Someone only has to be apparent for a little sense of some of the distinctiveness but at the same time we should be able to feel those sexual tingles of attraction and the rest we will fill in our imaginations.  And because we are overwhelmed with happiness we will disregard any erudition that will resist to the possible sight.

If you are addicted in falling in love maybe you need to slow down and re-think, process the things first. What you know now may not be enough; it will take time to know someone.  Meaning, if we stop, slow down, and pay attention we might pick some things along the way that may tell us that he/she may or may not be the ideal person.  But remember there is no such thing as perfect; all of us have faults and flaws but as well as good qualities.  We must keep in mind that we have to remain full guarded of whatever may come and we owe it to our self and to the other person to get to know each other in the delightful process of falling in love.
Our past experiences can affect our projections of what is ideal for us that may prompt us to have particular qualities onto sequence of potential partners. We are often depending our present wants to those we didn’t achieve from a failed relationship that lead to us finding a potential partner that will make up we think we deserved and never got enough of. All of us basically want the same thing, attention, acceptance, approval, to name a few.  If time comes someone pays attention to us, we immediately feel that this maybe it.

For a deep relationship to yourself first and have the sense of self-awareness, this is the best “cure” for the serial falling-in-love-followed-by-disappointment trap.  Every one of us has a unique biography and by exploring this in detail we can often find out what particular projections we are likely to be making and why.

Aside from this will permit us to begin agreeing to conditions of premature relationship that might be driving us, this is also owning every positive projection one is putting on to the other partner.  Who wouldn’t want a faithful partner, all of us values fidelity. If you are intact with the belief that they are endlessly fascinated in everything that interests you, that means you value and seek companionship and shared ideals.  If you want to start to seek these characteristics openly, you must own the said desires.  Therefore, you may start learning how to evaluate all the information that you have about the way they behave and most importantly to have the self-esteem to avoid people who don’t genuinely offer these.

And if you are finding these ways hard to face alone you can always seek help trough a counselor.  They are always willing to work with you without being judged. They will help you identify your own personal drivers, to help you build your self-esteem and identify and take back your projections. Counseling is a relationship itself. Find a counselor that is focus on developing healthy ways to live the life that brings out the best in you. Counseling leads to self-love and will make us prepared to find real love with others.

How to Have an Effective Counseling

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/03/20/how-to-have-an-effective-counseling/


You don’t need a good counselor alone to make counseling effective, it’s a two way street.  The person receiving the counseling needs to be cooperative because a good counselor couldn’t do his job if the person receiving the counseling wouldn’t participate.  And it needs commitment to make complex changes in behavior or thinking patterns.



From the beginning you need to know your goal and what is it that you wanted to achieve with your counselor, it should be clearly defined before you even start. Plan a realistic time frame for reaching your goals with your counselor.  And also it is important that you both agree on how you will measure your progress.



Though it is the counselors’ responsibility to gain your trust and build rapport, you have to do your part as well and be honest.  It is very important that you and your counselor to establish a good relationship so that it will allow you to be completely honest about your thoughts and feelings.  It is vital to built rapport because the situation often entails an elusive “chemistry” between both of you in which you feel comfortable with your counselor’s personality, approach and style.  This is very important that if after few sessions you don’t feel this chemistry, look for another counselor with whom you feel more comfortable because that’s the first step of the effective results.

And if you are wondering hoe to tell if you have found an effective counselor here are some signs to spot.



An effective counselor can help identify the obstacles in your way but you are still in charge for making changes in your life.  If you have power over these obstacles, a counselor can put forward behavioral changes to help you conquer them.  Your counselor can coach you on coping mechanisms that will encourage your well being in trying circumstances if these obstructions entail factors out of your control.



An effective counselor can recognize off-putting thinking patterns that may be causing feelings of sadness, depression or anxiety.  A counselor can help you develop a more optimistic attitude by encouraging you to build upon personal strengths and suggesting skills that can overcome self-inflicted feelings of hopelessness.



An effective counselor can help out in making positive changes in your relationships with others, helping you distinguish behaviors that possibly the causative to a troublesome relationship. Your counselor can educate you successful ways of communicating, clearing the way for honest exchanges with people in your life who might be the grounds of your emotional pain.



You can verify if your work with your counselor is effective if you start to get hold of your insights about your own thoughts and behaviors that may have eluded you before.  In time, you should be able to be aware of patterns in the way you act, trace their sources and spot uncertain blocks to your happiness that you may have without knowing shaped. The outcome is personal growth that allows you to be in charge of your life and take pleasure in positive, life-affirming interactions with others.

Christian counselor’s attempt to cure gay man was 'malpractice' - In The News - Springhill Group Counselling

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/03/20/christian-counselors-attempt-to-cure-gay-man-was-malpractice/


A gay man was tried to be converted to become heterosexual, his Christian psychotherapist found guilty of professional misconduct.

Lesley Pilkington, a Christian psychotherapist, was condemned by the professional body for counselors subsequent to an undercover journalist posing as a patient furtively recorded her during a therapy session at her home.

British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ruled that she had breached the profession’s ethical code despite finding that Mrs. Pilkington’s client, Patrick Strudwick, “deliberately misled her”.

She now affronts being chastised off the association’s widely renowned professional register and is considering an appeal.

Mrs Pilkington, 60, practises “reparative therapy”, a contentious method which assumes that homosexual orientation can be “therapeutically changed” in clients who are motivated.

Back in 2009, Mr Strudwick met Mrs Pilkington at a largely Christian conference on therapy of homosexuality.  He told her he said he was unhappy with his gay lifestyle and that he wanted treatment for his same-sex attraction.

Mr. Strudwick recorded a session on a tape machine strapped to his stomach while he appeared to Mrs. Pilkington’s private practice, based at her home in Chorleywood, Herts, and

He collected evidences which he later used in a protest against Mrs. Pilkington to the BACP.  A decision by the BACP panel was made but both sides were advised to treat the issue as confidential while Mrs. Pilkington considered whether to use her right to an appeal.

Mr. Strudwick wrote about the BACP’s decision for the Guardian newspaper while Mrs. Pilkington then issued her own press statement through the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting her case. The BACP has refused to comment, stating that the process has not yet concluded.

The disciplinary panel described Mrs. Pilkington as “reckless”, “disrespectful”, “dogmatic” and “unprofessional” and ruled that her treatment of him constituted “professional malpractice”.

The ruling affirmed that her accreditation to the organization will be suspended at the same time she will be ordered to complete training. If she be unsuccessful to comply she will be forced off the register.

Mr. Strudwick said in his newspaper article, “I am an out, happily gay man. I was undercover, investigating therapists who practice this so-called conversion therapy (also known as reparative therapy) – who try to ‘pray away the gay’.

“I asked her to make me straight. Her attempts to do so flout the advice of every major mental-health body in Britain.”

Mr. Strudwick alleged that Mrs. Pilkington asked him whether he had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child and then prayed for God to “bring to the surface” his past suffering, and suggested he take up rugby.

The Christian Legal Centre released further excerpts from the ruling, which stated that “Mr. Strudwick was not open about his true intention” and “in significant ways deliberately misled” Mrs. Pilkington into believing that he was comfortable and accepting of her approach”.

This had the effect of “lulling Mrs. Pilkington into a false sense of security” in which he could “manipulate” the sessions “to meet his own agenda”.

Mrs. Pilkington said: “I am deeply concerned that the privileged and confidential relationship between a counselor and her patient will be undermined by a journalist seeking a sensationalist story without any substance.

“Reparative therapy is a valid therapy that many people want and it should not be damaged by irresponsible reporting. The hearing is still subject to an appeal.”

Universal Preschool, What High-Quality Education Really Means

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/03/08/universal-preschool-what-high-quality-education-really-means/


“Make high-quality preschool available to every child in America”, says President Obama in his recent State of the Union Address.  This proposal he referred to research that has demonstrated long term positive effects of attending high-quality preschool programs.  The early childhood community got excited in President Obama’s support.  And it seems like a very good proposal, expanding a high-quality preschool opportunities, what could go wrong?  But the question is “What does “high-quality” mean in practice?”

According to educators and economists “high-quality” preschools means teachers are adequately paid, facilities are adequate, and the ratio of staff to children is low.  Those mentioned are really significant elements of quality and if not achieved there could be serious problems.  In reality, high-quality is otherwise as preschool educators are often very poorly paid, poorly educated themselves, and lack decent facilities.  The low salaries results to a bad quality and poor performance of the teachers.  So this proposal for ensuring universal access to high-quality preschools is aiming high for current preschoolers are already struggling with quality and funding issues.

Aside from money matters, there is a question raised about how preschool programs should be structured.  Compare to no preschool there are a lot of advantages of high-quality preschool.  And although there are a lot of researches supporting the latter, there is fewer research showing different benefits of different preschool approaches.

By means of standard preschool teaching methods the Preschool Curriculum Effectiveness Research initiative weigh against a number of promising approaches to each other and to groups.  You can see the results summarized review on the Best Evidence Encyclopedia.  And consequently only a small number of programs illustrated child outcomes superior to those achieved by other programs, by the end of kindergarten.  The best outcomes for children are planned programs that mainly focused on language and emergent literacy, giving children many opportunities to use language to work together, solve challenges, and develop positive relationships with each other.

Nowadays, early childhood education has also evolved in many ways such as technology has so far played a modest role in it, but this may change as multimedia devices become more commonly used.  Children cannot be technologically late, they must understand how the world works, and technology offers opportunities for teachers to enhance language development by engaging children with brief content that helps them to do so.  They can watch videos on DVD and educational television, things like that helps.

But this doesn’t mean that technology has to replace the early childhood learning although it may help adding the capacity for teachers to show anything they want to their children and to link to the home in ways that have not been possible in the past, and this may result in enhanced learning at this critical age, they still have to manipulate and learn from real objects.  They have to learn to work with each other, sing songs, develop coordination and creativity, and practice appropriate behaviors.

In general, the proposal was a terrific idea, expanding preschool access would really help children’s education but sure thing is it will take a lot of money and time to get in order.  This will be a great help more especially to unfortunate children and if they want to go further in this project then they should motivate immediately.

Recalling Good Times May Reduce Depression

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/02/28/recalling-good-times-may-reduce-depression/ 


There is a new strategy that was discovered to improve mood for the ”depress”, it is easier and costs nothing.  This is easy just the recollection of positive day-to-day experiences.  This can work for those who are not suffering from depression as well.  I’m sure this will change anyone’s mood.

Researchers suggest that recalling actual, detailed memories that are positive or self-affirming can help to improve the mood of people with a history of depression.

Sad to say, for people who suffer from depression, this kind of vivid memory for everyday events seems crippled by the victims.

In the new study, Tim Dalgleish, Ph.D., of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and colleagues hypothesized that a well-known method used to enhance memory — known as the “method-of-loci” strategy — might help depressed patients to recall positive memories with greater ease.

The method-of-loci strategy consists of connecting vivid memories with physical objects or locations.  An example of which are buildings you see on your commute to work every day. To bring to mindall the memories, you just have to imagine going through your commute.

An article published in Clinical Psychological Science the study is further discussed.  In the study, depressed patients were asked to come up with 15 positive memories.

The method-of-loci strategy was used by one group to create associations with their memories and the other group was asked to use a simple “rehearsal” strategy, grouping memories based on their similarities.

The participants were asked to recollect as many of their 15 positive memories as they could after working on the techniques.

Both groups were able to recall nearly all of the 15 memories.  Although the method were equally effective after the initial memory test conducted in the lab, the strategies were not equally effective in the long run.

A surprise call was made by the researchers after a week when they are already at their own homes.  They then asked them to recall the 15 memories once again and the group who used the method-of-loci passed with flying colors while those who used the rehearsal technique did not do the same as the other group.

This made a conclusion and the researchers believe these findings suggest that using the method-of-loci technique to associate vivid, positive memories with physical objects or locations may make it easier for depressed individuals to recall those positive memories.

Recalling and focusing on positive memories, rather than negative projections, may help individuals elevate their mood in the long run.  And also for all of us this may help brighten each day so you may have a great day ahead!

Everyday Life’s a Struggle for 25 Years and Younger

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/01/14/everyday-lifes-a-struggle-for-25-years-and-younger/


People under the age of 25 are ‘struggling to cope’ with everyday life, says the Prince’s Trust.  Their recent survey claims that one in ten young people are now struggling to deal with day-today life.

Over 2000 16-25 year olds were surveyed by prince’s trust across UK.  They have discovered that those who are jobless and out of school are the most discontented.  Due to this they are the most unhappy, these are the people who are likely to have grown up without anyone to talk to and converse their issues with.

“I used to apply for jobs but after getting knocked back, it hit my confidence. I’d wake up and just not know what to do with the 24 hours in the day”, says Leon White, 24.  He is currently living with his family but his father passed away ten years ago and he left school without receiving any qualifications.  He dreams of a career in music, but has only recently been able to secure a full-time job in a hotel, after taking a hospitality training course.

The survey indicated that almost three out of ten people that were questioned said they felt their career prospects had been permanently damaged by the recession.

Government said they are not satisfied with the rate of employment while the level of unemployment is at its lowest since 2009.

A spokesman from the Department for Work and Pensions said: “Youth unemployment has fallen recently, and excluding full-time students, there are now 626,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds – the lowest figure since early 2009. But we are not complacent about the scale of the challenge we still face.

“Through our Youth Contract we’re offering nearly 500,000 work experience placements, wage incentives and apprenticeships over the next three years to help young people gain the skills and experience needed to get a job.”

Counseling for Trauma Victims

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/01/09/counseling-for-trauma-victims/

Trauma is defined as “severe emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience” (The Cambridge Dictionary).  But trauma is also an extremely subjective experience because what may be traumatic for one person may barely affect another.

Generally speaking, when someone experience excessive stress that overwhelms ones emotional or physical ability to cope, this is being referred to as trauma.  Emotional trauma can be experienced by anyone even without the physical trauma but the two sometimes are often go hand-in-hand.  An example of this is when the wounds from physical trauma like the loss of a limb or a gunshot wound, while an obvious shock to the body, will eventually heal.  While all the emotional wounds and repercussions of the actual traumatic event are left to the person.

Symptoms of trauma 

Symptoms of trauma can vary from person to person.  A traumatized individual may suffer from one or several of the following symptoms. (list not complete)

• upsetting memories such as images, thoughts or flashbacks
• nightmares
• insomnia
• re-experience the trauma mentally and physically
• emotional detatchment (known as dissociation)
• individuals may turn to alcohol and/or drugs
• stress/anxiety disorders
• panic attacks
• anger
• despair
• depression
• loss of self-esteem.

Causes of trauma

• abuse
• violence
• threat of abuse or violence
• witnessing of abuse or violence
• catastrophic events (war, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes etc)
• witnessing/being involved in an attack
• accidents (e.g a car crash or explosion’
• divorce
• job loss
• death
• mugging
• armed robbery
• rape
• car accident
• illness
• failing an exam
• losing valuable things

Trauma like any other illness can be cured.  When someone suffered from a traumatic experience, he/she can undergo trauma counseling.  Trauma counseling is appropriate for people who experienced traumatic incident.  In fact any event, whether shallow or horrible events can traumatized a person, anything that a person regard as negative and that changes his view or himself or the world.

Trauma counseling will help you in identifying and coming to terms with the feelings and emotions you may feel during and after a traumatic experience.  And because people handle trauma in various ways these emotions will also vary from individual to individual, but the most commonly experienced emotions are anger and fear.

Here are some ways the trauma counselor may use to achieve your healing process

• Listening to what you are saying (and not saying)
• Supporting your coping mechanisms
• Exploring with you, and validating, your feelings and emotions
• Supporting you to make sense of the incident
• Preventing the use of suppression as a defense
• Integrating the event meaningfully into your life

To get your life back on track and to move you from being a victim to being a victor, you must admit to yourself first that you need help.  This doesn’t mean that you are going crazy or that you are weak.  Everyone deserves healing.

How to Know if Depress During and After Pregnancy

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2012/12/17/how-to-know-if-depress-during-and-after-pregnancy/


Depression is actually the most common complication during and after pregnancy although exact number of women that suffers from this is unknown.  Perinatal depression, it is the depression that occurs during pregnancy or within a year after delivery.



You may not recognize depression because some normal pregnancy changes cause similar symptoms and are happening at the same time that is exactly why it was not treated.  Tiredness, problems sleeping, stronger emotional reactions, and changes in body weight may occur during pregnancy and after pregnancy and these are also symptoms of depression.  For a lot of women, joyfully anticipated pregnancy and motherhood bring depression as an unexpected accompaniment.  Depression is not only risky for mothers but for their children as well.  During pregnancy, depression may result in poor prenatal care, premature delivery, low birth weight, and, just possibly, depression in the child.  Depression after childbirth aka postpartum depression can lead to child neglect, family breakdown, and suicide.  A depressed mother may fail to bond emotionally with her newborn, raising the child’s risk of later cognitive delays and emotional and behavior problems.



If the depression is detected soon enough, help is available for mother and child.

Signs of depression during pregnancy:

History of depression or substance abuse
Family history of mental illness
Little support from family and friends
Anxiety about the fetus
Problems with previous pregnancy or birth
Marital or financial problems
Young age (of mother)
Signs of postpartum depression or after giving birth:

Feeling restless or irritable
Feeling sad, hopeless, and overwhelmed
Crying a lot
Having no energy or motivation
Eating too little or too much
Sleeping too little or too much
Trouble focusing, remembering, or making decisions
Feeling worthless and guilty
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
Withdrawal from friends and family
Having headaches, chest pains, heart palpitations (the heart beating fast and feeling like it is skipping beats), or hyperventilation (fast and shallow breathing)
After pregnancy, signs of depression may also include being afraid of hurting the baby or oneself and not having any interest in the baby.
Postpartum psychosis (seye-KOH-suhss) is rare and is need to be treated by the doctor.  It occurs in about 1 to 4 out of every 1,000 births.  It usually begins in the first 2 weeks after childbirth.  Women who have bipolar disorder or another mental health problem called schizoaffective (SKIT-soh-uh-FEK-tiv) disorder have a higher risk for postpartum psychosis. Symptoms include:

Seeing things that aren’t there
Feeling confused
Having rapid mood swings
Trying to hurt yourself or your baby


The problem with some women is that they do not tell anyone about their condition because they embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty about feeling depressed when they are supposed to be happy.  They may think that they will be judge as unfit parents, bad and not together mom but this can happen to any mothers.  Remember that your child is also at risk.  Seek for help.

springhill group korea-Three things I wish I’d known when I started my business

1) It’s never just the good idea

This is the very first moment when you think it is ‘a good idea to run your own show’; you have read of these entrepreneurial heroes who create amazing ‘overnight’ success stories – and you think, “I could do that”.

All you need now is that idea – which will make the business simply slip into place and you are on your road to Nirvana. Ah, what a lovely dream. Sorry to bring you down to earth: businesses are 1 per cent idea and 99 per cent execution. You do still that bright, shining idea though – without it you only have hard work.

2) Don’t ask, “Will it work?” Ask, “Do I want it to?”

I’m approached regularly by people wanting to share a new business idea with me. They ask earnestly, “Will it work?” My response to all these queries is always the same: “Why do you want to do it?”

Working out "why" you want to start a business (let alone keep running it for a good proportion of your adult life) is essential to sustaining you, and ultimately, the success of the enterprise.

3) It’s not about the money

If you are driven solely by financial success in business, think again. Great businesses solve a problem; they make life ‘easier’ – they do things that have not been done before. They make a difference to other human beings. You could argue that great businesses make the world a better place.

I have only just come across the work of John Mackey - Concious Capitalism: Creating a New Paradign for business and Raj Sisodia Firms of Endearment. I have been putting into practice what they talk about for years - and it works.

All of the great start-ups that you can think of solve a problem. Facebook was about keeping college students connected. Google was about making the worlds information accessible. And think of the number of problems Apple has solved.

So the first step on creating a viable business is to work out what problem you are solving, simply asking ‘what is your purpose’.

It is far easier to create an enterprise when you are really clear about it's noble purpose. I just happened along our purpose after listening to the impact RedBalloon.com.au was having on customers - when they told us about what it meant to them to go on a RedBalloon experience as a result: We believe every one deserves to have fun, feel good and be happy! We are passionate about giving people more good times.

Springhill Group Counselling: Counseling and Psychotherapy for Married Couples

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2012/11/13/counseling-and-psychotherapy-for-married-couples/

Let us understand first the difference of counseling and psychotherapy.  These two are terms that are often used interchangeably.  Even if that is the case, they are very similar yet there are subtle differences as well. Counselor meaning advisor-- a relationship of the psychotherapist to the patient.  It involves two people working together to solve a specific problem.   Psychotherapy on the other hand speaks to a general term that involves longer term of treatment which focuses more on gaining insight in to chronic physical and emotional problems.  It focuses onto the patient’s thought processes and way of being in the world rather than specific problem.

Many couples struggle with their relationship that leads to divorce and broken families.  Just like any case, marital problems may also be solved by counseling.  Marriage counseling a.k.a couples therapy; is a type of psychotherapy.  Couples of all types may undergo therapy; it resolves conflicts and improves relationships.  Marriage counselor will always be rational towards things, she will not recommend you to separate your ways or force you to fix your relationship but rather help you to realize the problem and will advice you options to solve them which can make thoughtful decisions about rebuilding your relationship or go your separate ways.
Not everyone can be a therapist just because they are good in giving advises.  Marriage counselors are provided by licensed therapists who are graduates or postgraduate degrees.

Married couples undergo therapy to strengthen their relationships.  Marriage counseling is not just for married couples; in fact it is advisable to have a pre-marriage counseling before getting married.  This aims to achieve a deeper understanding of each other and iron out differences before their married life starts.

It is always better to have a joint therapy; in this case you will both learn ways to solidify your relationship together.  It is a start of communicating openly, solving problems together and discussing differences rationally. You will analyze the bad and the good parts of the relationship as you both pinpoint the problems and better understand the basis of your conflicts.  Whatever it is that you are struggling with you can openly discuss it to your therapist. E.g:

• Communication problem
• Sexual difficulties
• Conflicts about child rearing or blended families
• Substance abuse
• Financial problems
• Anger
• Infidelity
• Divorce

Although marriage counseling might also help in domestic abuse it is more advisable to seek help from crisis centers, police or local shelter.

How to find a good therapist is a good question.  Here are tips on whom to go and seek advice from:
• It is necessary to know the therapist’s education and experience, her educational and training background.  More especially if she is licensed.  You must provide a postgraduate therapist that will conduct your counseling.
• Where is her office and what is is her office hours.  Will she be available in case of emergency?
• Treatment plan. Scheduling.  You must work this out, joint counseling is always better.  More especially therapist must always be approachable.
• Fees and insurance.  Talk about the terms, it is always better to have it sorted out from the start for no further conflicts.

Talking about your problems might not be easy, sharing your like to a stranger will be hard but consider the things that a counselor can do for your marriage to work.  It will always be worth it.

CSE Seminar Idea on Three Topics That Continue To Be Misunderstood By The Wireless World | 1000 Projects

http://1000projects.org/cse-seminar-idea-on-three-topics-that-continue-to-be-misunderstood-by-the-wireless-world.html


The wireless communication technology is the leading one among all other technologies. The three wireless technologies are GSM, CDMA, and 3G. Between these three technologies CDMA vs. GSM and “What is 3G?” comes into conflict. The link among CDMA vs. GSM and 3G is discussed in this paper. Before the 3G technology there are two technologies namely AMPS and 2G in the market.

The AMPS is nothing but 1G and the Digital Cellular is named as 2G. In the present days some technologies have considered into 2G or 2.5G technology. One among them is GSM/GPRS. The 2G phones had developed in the early 90’s. The big conflict is that in the consumer’s point of view GSM, CDMA, 3G are three different technologies. The main intention of our paper is to solve this conflict.

For consumer a digital mobile phone means in the sense it is the phone which is Compaq in size and better battery backup along with multimedia features etc., but the main thing is that CDMA technology is differ from GSM technology. The applications used to develop CDMA technology are differ from the technology used to develop GSM technology. The consumer must not think like “What is 3G?” He can ask “What can 3G can do for everyone?” the GSM technology is the 2nd generation technology with some multimedia features.



The CDMA is also wireless technology that differs from GSM. The competition is running in between CDMA and GSM not in between CDMA, GSM, and 3G. 3G technology also comes under the GSM technology which has some additional features. The original name of 3G technology is 3GSM. It means the 3G technology is the third generation GSM technology which have video calling feature. Therefore, this paper will show the clear answer for the conflict about “CDMA vs. GSM” and “What is 3G?” This paper will show the clear wireless world.

Studies more firmly tie sugary drinks to obesity

A huge, decades-long study involving more than 33,000 Americans has yielded the first clear proof that drinking sugary beverages interacts with genes that affect weight, amplifying a person's risk of obesity beyond what it would be from heredity alone.

This means that such drinks are especially harmful to people with genes that predispose them to weight gain. And most of us have at least some of these genes.

In addition, two other major experiments have found that giving children and teens calorie-free alternatives to the sugary drinks they usually consume leads to less weight gain.

Collectively, the results strongly suggest that sugary drinks cause people to pack on the pounds, independent of other unhealthy behavior such as overeating and getting too little exercise, scientists say.

That adds weight to the push for taxes, portion limits like the one just adopted in New York City, and other policies to curb consumption of soda, juice drinks and sports beverages sweetened with sugar.

Soda lovers do get some good news: Sugar-free drinks did not raise the risk of obesity in these studies.

"You may be able to fool the taste" and satisfy a sweet tooth without paying a price in weight, said an obesity researcher with no role in the studies, Rudy Leibel of Columbia University.

The studies were being presented Friday at an obesity conference in San Antonio and were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The gene research in particular fills a major gap in what we know about obesity. It was a huge undertaking, involving three long-running studies that separately and collectively reached the same conclusions. It shows how behavior combines with heredity to affect how fat we become.

Having many of these genes does not guarantee people will become obese, but if they drink a lot of sugary beverages, "they fulfill that fate," said an expert with no role in the research, Jules Hirsch of Rockefeller University in New York. "The sweet drinking and the fatness are going together, and it's more evident in the genetic predisposition people."

Sugary drinks are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet, and they are increasingly blamed for the fact that a third of U.S. children and teens and more than two-thirds of adults are obese or overweight.

Consumption of sugary drinks and obesity rates have risen in tandem - both have more than doubled since the 1970s in the U.S.

But that doesn't prove that these drinks cause obesity. Genes, inactivity and eating fatty foods or just too much food also play a role. Also, diet research on children is especially tough because kids are growing and naturally gaining weight.

Until now, high-quality experiments have not conclusively shown that reducing sugary beverages would lower weight or body fat, said David Allison, a biostatistician who has done beverage research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, some of it with industry support.

He said the new studies on children changed his mind and convinced him that limiting sweet drinks can make a difference.

In one study, researchers randomly assigned 224 overweight or obese high schoolers in the Boston area to receive shipments every two weeks of either the sugary drinks they usually consumed or sugar-free alternatives, including bottled water. No efforts were made to change the youngsters' exercise habits or give nutrition advice, and the kids knew what type of beverages they were getting.

After one year, the sugar-free group weighed more than 4 pounds less on average than those who kept drinking sugary beverages.

"I know of no other single food product whose elimination can produce this degree of weight change," said the study's leader, Dr. David Ludwig of Boston Children's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The weight difference between the two groups narrowed to 2 pounds in the second year of the study, when drinks were no longer being provided. That showed at least some lasting beneficial effect on kids' habits. The study was funded mostly by government grants.

A second study involved 641 normal-weight children ages 4 to 12 in the Netherlands who regularly drank sugar-sweetened beverages. They were randomly assigned to get either a sugary drink or a sugar-free one during morning break at their schools, and were not told what kind they were given.

After 18 months, the sugary-drink group weighed 2 pounds more on average than the other group.

The studies "provide strong impetus" for policies urged by the Institute of Medicine, the American Heart Association and others to limit sugary drink consumption, Dr. Sonia Caprino of the Yale School of Medicine wrote in an editorial in the journal.

The American Beverage Association disagreed.

"Obesity is not uniquely caused by any single food or beverage," it said in a statement. "Studies and opinion pieces that focus solely on sugar-sweetened beverages, or any other single source of calories, do nothing meaningful to help address this serious issue."

The genetic research was part of a much larger set of health studies that have gone on for decades across the U.S., led by the Harvard School of Public Health.

Researchers checked for 32 gene variants that have previously been tied to weight. Because we inherit two copies of each gene, everyone has 64 opportunities for these risk genes. The study participants had 29 on average.

Every four years, these people answered detailed surveys about their eating and drinking habits as well as things like smoking and exercise. Researchers analyzed these over several decades.

A clear pattern emerged: The more sugary drinks someone consumed, the greater the impact of the genes on the person's weight and risk of becoming obese.

For every 10 risk genes someone had, the risk of obesity rose in proportion to how many sweet drinks the person regularly consumed. Overall calorie intake and lifestyle factors such as exercise did not account for the differences researchers saw.

This means that people with genes that predispose them to be obese are more susceptible to the harmful effects of sugary drinks on their weight, said one of the study leaders, Harvard's Dr. Frank Hu. The opposite also was true - avoiding these drinks can minimize the effect of obesity genes.

"Two bad things can act together and their combined effects are even greater than either effect alone," Hu said. "The flip side of this is everyone has some genetic risk of obesity, but the genetic effects can be offset by healthier beverage choices. It's certainly not our destiny" to be fat, even if we carry genes that raise this risk.

The study was funded mostly by federal grants, with support from two drug companies for the genetic analysis.