Looking at life through the prism of psychology, philosophy, mental health and more. Originally created by counsellor, psychotherapist and philosopher Dr Greg Mulhauser, this blog is now the work of an international team of contributors.
When some British doctors see a patient with mild to moderate depression or anxiety, they pull out their pads and prescribe a self-help book. Under a new program in more than a dozen counties across the United Kingdom, patients take the prescription to their local library, where they check out reserved titles such as “Overcoming Depression” and “The Feeling Good Handbook”.
What needs to happen to get it right for people with learning disabilities? The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities and the Norah Fry Research Centre are starting a programme of work to evaluate what contributes to and hinders the successful provision of employment opportunities and community-based day activities for people with learning disabilities.
Not content to focus on actual physical acts of terrorism, the UK government now plans to extend powers to deport or exclude foreigners on the basis of their beliefs. As the government prepares to make it illegal to ‘justify’ terrorism, and to exclude those whose views ‘pose a threat to UK security’, we ask about the psychology of terrorism and wonder why UK politicians are so reluctant to engage in reality-based analysis. Contrary to currently popular political demagoguery, ‘to explain’ and ‘to justify’ are not the same thing.
As London’s Metropolitan Police announce their intention to focus stop and search operations on young Asian men in an attempt to prevent suicide bombings, we take a look at some underlying assumptions about stop and search. Mathematics and reflections on the psychology of suicide bombing suggest that stop and search will make virtually no difference to the probability of a suicide bombing taking place.
Male doctors are far more likely to prescribe antidepressant medications as a first response to patients with mild or moderate depression than their female colleagues, according to a mental health charity. Female GPs are much more likely to believe that counselling is the most effective response, but are not much more likely to refer patients to it.
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