Monthly Archives: September 2017

Workplace Sexual Harassment Can Cause Depression

Date: September 29, 2017
Author: Ann Ingham
Categories: counselling

A new study looking at the impact of sexual harassment in the workplace has found that when someone is harassed by a colleague or boss the impact on mental health is worse than when the harassment comes from a customer or client.

The Independent reported on the Danish study, which surveyed more than 7,600 people working for over 1,000 different companies. It noted that over one per cent suffered sexual harassment from a colleague, with 2.4 per cent experiencing the same treatment from someone else they dealt with through their job.

Researchers used the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) to assess the impact of sexual harassment on mental health. By filling in a questionnaire each person is given a score, where 20 indicates mild depression and 30 or more is serious depression.

If a person experienced harassment from a client or customer, their score on this scale increased by 2.05 points. However, when the harassment came from a colleague, the score increased by 4.5 points.

Dr Ida Madsen, from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Denmark, said that they were surprised by the results, as this is not a distinction they’ve seen in previous studies.

“This is important as some workplaces, for example in person-related work, may have an attitude that dealing with sexual harassment by clients or customers is ‘part of the job’,” she stated.

The impact of any form of sexual harassment shouldn’t be ignored though, especially given that figures from NHS Digital recently found that almost one-third of sick notes issued by GPs in England between December 2014 and March 2017 were as a result of mental health conditions.

If you’re having difficulties at work, whatever the reason, counselling in Warrington may help. Contact us to find out more about the support we offer.

5% Of South Cheshire Clinical Budget Spent On Mental Health

Date: September 26, 2017
Author: Ann Ingham
Categories: counselling

Mental health services in South Cheshire could come under threat as it’s revealed that the proportion of the clinical budget allocated to these services will be just five per cent.

According to data obtained by Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree Luciana Berger, more than half of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), responsible for setting NHS trust budgets, do not plan to spend more on mental health in the coming months.

Ms Berger, who is also a member of the health select committee and chair of Labour’s Campaign For Mental Health, recently wrote in the Huffington Post that 2017 marks the fourth year in a row that the government has failed to deliver on its promise to increase the money reaching the mental health frontline.

Assessing statistics obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Ms Berger said that the number of CCGs pledging to increase mental health spending has gradually dropped year on year since 2014. Now, 52 per cent of CCGs say they will not invest a greater proportion of their budget in mental health services.

“We must continue to strengthen the social movement in mental health that is creating the space for us all to talk about the issues more freely,” she commented, calling for mental health spending to be ring-fenced and for proper investment in prevention and early intervention across the nation’s schools and communities.

Previous figures have shown that clinical commissioning groups across Cheshire spent approximately 25 per cent less on mental health per head than the national average. For therapy in Cheshire, contact us today.

Mental Health Conditions ‘Account For 31% Of Sick Notes’

Date: September 17, 2017
Author: Ann Ingham
Categories: counselling

A new report from NHS Digital has found that mental health and behavioural conditions made up 31 per cent of all sick notes issued by GP practices in England between December 2014 and March this year.

During that period, nearly 1.8 million notes were issued by doctors where the diagnosis was mental health or behavioural concerns. And of these episodes, approximately one in five notes were for a period of absence of over 12 weeks.

Anxiety and stress-related conditions appear to be concerning, with the number of notes written for this climbing by about 14 per cent between 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. January of this year saw the highest number of notes handed out, with 556,000 issued by surveyed practices over the month.

Chief executive of NHS England Simon Stevens commented on the findings and was quoted by the BBC as saying: “These figures explain why the NHS is now putting mental health front and centre, in what was recently independently described as ‘the world’s most ambitious effort to treat depression, anxiety and other common mental illnesses’.”

And Jed Boardman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists made further comments, saying that more now needs to be done to help people get back to their jobs. This could include staggered work days or coming up with agreed goals for the person returning to work – which GPs will suggest on these fit notes.

Do you think you need depression counselling in Warrington? Give us a call today to see how we can help.

Robbie Williams Opens Up About Depression & Anxiety

Date: September 6, 2017
Author: Ann Ingham
Categories: anxiety

British singer Robbie Williams has spoken out about how his music career has had a negative impact on his health and wellbeing, contributing to feelings of anxiety, depression and agoraphobia.

Speaking to The Sunday Times magazine, the 43-year-old singer – who joined super group Take That aged just 16 – explained that he thinks the music business has been very bad for his health, the Sun reports.

He said: “This job is really bad for my health. It’s going to kill me. Unless I view it in a different way. [Depression] sprints through my family. I don’t know if I’d be this mentally ill without fame. I don’t think it would be as gross or as powerful if it hadn’t been for fame.”

The musician continued to say that because he’s so in the public eye and has the attention of the world upon him, his defects have been magnified as a result as well.

Common signs of depression can include feeling irritable, agitated or restless, feeling empty or numb, having no self-confidence or self-esteem, finding no pleasure in life or activities you might usually enjoy, or feeling isolated and unable to relate to others.

It can affect your behaviour, so you might find yourself self-harming, avoiding social events, finding it hard to think or speak clearly, having difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, feeling tired all the time, no appetite and weight loss, using alcohol, smoking or taking other drugs more than usual, and moving very slowly or experiencing physical aches and pains with no obvious cause.

If you’re concerned and need someone to speak to, get in touch with us today for depression counselling in Cheshire.