News items 2003

Article about schizophrenia from BBC NEWS (12/28/03)

Psykiatric treatment via Internet (11/16/03)
"Psykiatrins dag" on November 12 ((11/10/03)

Are diagnoses of mentally ill patients too subjective? (10/29/03)
US: High cost of treatment of mental illness in children (10/29/03)
US: Survey shows many Americans misunderstand mental illness (10/15/03)
Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine announced (10/07/03)

STEP gives guidance in life (09/23/03)
United Kingdom: Immigrants more likely to have bad health (09/07/03)

New Zealand: No evidence for an increased number of murders since the "deinstitutionalisation" (08/23/03)

Baking keep mentally ill busy (07/15/03)

Healing to fight mental illness (05/23/03)
Mental illness or not? (05/05/03)

Art therapy for the mentally ill (03/29/03)

British researchers say they have found gene for psychosis (02/11/03)
UK: Mentally ill at higher risk of violent abuse (02/07/03)
Denmark: Immigrants at higher risk of developing schizophrenia (02/07/03)

Hallucinations simulator developed to make people understand (01/27/03)
UK: Paramedics taught to deal with mentally ill (01/06/03)
Campaign to tackle negativity of mental illness (01/02/03)

Article about schizophrenia from BBC NEWS (12/28/03)
In an article from BBC NEWS, schizophrenia and the treatment of the disease is described.
Source: BBC NEWS, Wednesday, December 20, 2003
Read more at news.bbcc.co.uk

Psykiatric treatment via Internet (11/16/03)
Psykiatri Centrum Karolinska has developed an Internet program, which aims at, with Internet as a medium, provide psychiatric informatin and psychiatric health care.
Källa: Psykiatri Centrum Karolinska
Read more at Psykiatri Centrum Karolinska's home page

"Psykiatrins dag" on November 12 (11/10/03)
On Wednesday November 12, the annual day of psychiatry will be held in Sweden. Hospitals and other institutions and psychiatric organizations around the country are then open to everybody who wants know more about the psyciatric health care in Sweden and share their own experiences.
Source: Swedish County Council
Contact your local hospital or visit their website for more information

Are diagnoses of mentally ill patients too subjective? (10/29/03)
Despite the existence of universal instructions and tools for diagnosis in the psychiatric health care, people with mental disorders are still often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. An article in the Seattle Times discusses the problems that are associated with the diagnosis of mentally ill patients.
Source: The Seattle Times, Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Read more in article at seattletimes.nwsource.com

US: High cost of treatment of mental illness in children (10/29/03)
The cost for treatment of mentall illness in children in the US is increasing, a study shows. One of the reasons may be the popularity of newer, more expensive drugs.
Source: WebMD, Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Read more in article at www.webmd.com

US: Survey shows many Americans misunderstand mental illness (10/15/03)
Not surprisingly, a recent survey performed by the National Mental Health Association in the USA shows that many misconceptions strongly influence how the general public views schizophrenia.
Source: Health & Medicine, Monday, October 13, 2003
Read more in article at www.flatoday.com

Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine announced (10/07/03)
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet yesterday decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2003 jointly to Paul C Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield for their discoveries concerning "magnetic resonance imaging".
Source: The Nobel Assembly, Monday, October 6, 2003
Read press release at www.nobel.se

STEP gives guidance in life (09/23/03)
STEP (Systematic Therapeutic Education Program), an American Initiative, is a long-term day treatment program for adults with mental illnesses. The combination of therapy and instruction is meant to help rebuild lives.
Source: The Tampa Tribune, Saturday, September 13, 2003
Read more in article at tampatrib.com

United Kingdom: Immigrants more likely to have bad health (09/07/03)
A study commissioned by the British Department of Health shows that immigrant populations are at higher risk of developing both physical and mental illness. Out of the six ethnic groups that were investigated, five had worse health than the general population.
Source: BBC News, Thursday, August 28, 2003
Read more in article at news.bbc.co.uk

New Zealand: No evidence for an increased number of murders since the "deinstitutionalisation" (08/23/03)
A common opinion is that the closing of mental health institutions have led to the release of mentally ill individuals into society, which in turn have increased the number of violent crimes. Now an investigation in New Zealand shows that there is no evidence that the "deinstitutionalisation" has contributed to the increase in murders in community. It even suggests that the likelihood of violence by people with mental illnesses has fallen.
Source: The New Zealand Herald, Sunday, August 17, 2003
Read more in article at www.nzherald.co.nz

Baking keep mentally ill busy (07/15/03)
Cookie Creations is a commercial bakery at the south end of Whidbey Island, Washington. The bakery has 10 co-owners and is a profit-sharing co-operative run by workers with chronic mental illness, predominantly schizophrenia. They all say the baking keep them busy which helps keep the demons away.
Source: Seattlepi.com, Thursday, July 3, 2003
Read more in article at seattlepi.nwsource.com

Healing to fight mental illness (05/23/03)
In a study published in British Medical Journal last year, researchers found that healing can help treat mental illness. In an article in Yoga Journal the possibilities of using Eastern healing methods in psychiatry are discussed.
Source: Yoga Journal, 2003
Read more in article at www.yogajournal.com

Mental illness or not? (05/05/03)
In an article at Redflagsdaily.com, Nathaniel S. Lehrman, M.D., discusses the problems with misconceptions regarding what is mental illness and not, and how different conditions should be treated.
Source: Redflagsdaily.com, Monday, April 28, 2003
Read more in article at www.redflagsweekly.com

Art therapy for the mentally ill (03/29/03)
A program in Seattle, Washington, offers art therapy for the mentally ill, an alternate outlet for expression and an added venue for increasing the participants self-esteem and social skills. Coaxing those with mental illness out of their isolation means building on skills they already have and conversation starters rather than dredging up past traumas, one of the organizers say.
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Friday, March 28, 2003
Read more in article at seattlepi.nwsource.com

British researchers say they have found gene for psychosis (02/11/03)
A British research team, led by Professor Timothy Crow, believe they have identified one of the genes responsible for psychosis. The gene is called ProtocadherinXY, and is believed to give us the power of speech. It is also linked to the asymmetry between the left and right sides of the human brain.
Source: The Independent, Sunday, February 9, 2003
Read more in article at news.independent.co.uk

UK: Mentally ill at higher risk of violent abuse (02/07/03)
In accordance with previous reports, a study published by Institute of Psychiatry in London last week says mentally ill people living in the community are twice as likely as members of the general public to be the target of violent abuse. As many as 16 per cent of patients with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, were victims of violence in the past year, compared with just under 7 per cent of the general population.
Source: The Independent, Sunday, February 2, 2003
Read more in article at news.independent.co.uk

Denmark: Immigrants at higher risk of developing schizophrenia (02/07/03)
According to a study at University of Lund, immigrants in Denmark are more than twice as likely as native Danes to develop schizophrenia. Although psychologists say they do not know why. People from Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Greenland who have moved to Denmark have the highest risk of developing the disorder, while those from Scandinavia have the lowest.
Source: Reuters, Saturday, February 1, 2003
Read more in article at alertnet.org

UK: Paramedics taught to deal with mentally ill (01/06/03)
Paramedics in Northhampton, UK, are now receiving special training to teach them how to deal with mentally ill patients. "Ignorance about mental illness induces fear in many people and healthcare professionals are no different. Teaching ambulance technicians about such matters should reduce this fear and thereby lessen the risk of using derogatory terms as a defence mechanism to cover ignorance," says Susan Putman, mental health site manager at NHS Direct Northamptonshire.
Source: NorthantsNews, Thursday, January 2, 2003
Read more in article on northantsnew.co.uk

Campaign to tackle negativity of mental illness (01/02/03)
Having been a sufferer from psychiatric illness herelf, psychiatric nurse Julie Mackay is very aware of the importance of true friends. After finally admitting that she was going through a depression, Julie realised that many of her family and friends were avoiding her and wouldn't acknowledge she had a problem. At the age of 30, she has now has put her name to a campaign which aims to tackle negative attitudes towards mental illness.
Source: The Press and Journal, Thursday, December 26, 2002
Read more in article on thisisnorthscotland.com