Our blog
Talk is cheap – or is it?
I guess you all know that yesterday marked the first ever outing of Time to Talk Day, described on the official website as ’24 hours in which to start conversations about mental health, raise awareness and share the message that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, and neither is talking about it.’ The…
What men don’t like – and why they’re dying to let you know
You know things are not quite right when it becomes necessary to convene a consortium that goes by the name the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (which appears to be a new, improved version of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, referenced above – go figure). Because, let’s face it, when members of our society…
Youth mental health now a priority for UK General Practitioners
Statistics from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) show that 50% of adults with mental health problems will have presented by the age of 15 and 75% by the age of 18 – this is powerful information which points to the importance of early intervention. Juxtapose this with the fact that (according to Dr…
A new peer counselling initiative for North London
My GP practice in North London is pretty switched on, by my estimation (which is, of course, not to say that it necessarily is). So I was intrigued to discover a new initiative starting up in which patients registered at the practice can join a group called ‘Talk for Health’, billed as ‘a programme for…
Greener pastures for the New Year
Happy New Year from all at 96 Harley Psychotherapy! May 2014 herald green shoots, steady growth and forward momentum. Staying with the green theme, I couldn’t help but notice a new study published by the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology which offers encouraging news for those who are planning to move to areas with…
Mental health and casual sex. What sort of bedfellows?
I have no doubt there are those who would argue for the benefits of sex, sex and more sex. Loosening us up, chilling us out, opening us up to creativity – why, it’s a surprise there are not more of us putting it about. Perhaps such lines of thinking can be traced back to Sigmund…
Schizophrenia Awareness Week, November 11-17, 2013
R.D. Laing And so it is upon us – Schizophrenia Awareness Week 2013, now with just two days to go until the closing gong. So here I am doing my bit, in the hope that my small action here will help to de-stigmatise what must be an incredibly difficult condition to live with. I have…
Good news for paedophiles
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has recently re-classified paedophilia in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, mark five (DSM-V). In a move towards destigmatising the disorder, the organisation has changed their terminology to describe paedophilia as a ‘sexual orientation’, thereby opening the door to paedophiles arguing that their behaviour (as per the precedent…
