Piece of Mind: Mental Health & Psychiatry

Content warning: in this episode we’ll be discussing suicide. If this could be at all upsetting, please stop here and maybe give another episode a try. We’ve included links to resources and information below, if you’re looking for support at the moment.

In this episode, we meet with Professor Tania Gergel and Professor Ian Jones to discuss the increased risk of suicide for people living with bipolar disorder, and what research is needed in this area.

A difficult but important topic, suicidal thinking is a recognised symptom of bipolar. Globally, approximately 15-20% of people with bipolar disorder die by suicide, with another 30-60% making at least one attempt. Attempts amongst those with bipolar experiencing suicidal episodes are also more lethal than attempts among the general population.

Tania is the director of research at Bipolar UK, and has various other roles, including being an Honorary Visiting Professor in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University and national lead for bipolar in NCMH. A key focus of her research has been on severe mental health conditions and advance choice documents, which are also known as living wills, a legal document that explains your wishes for medical care if you can’t make decisions for yourself.

You can find another Piece of Mind episode where we sat down with Tania to discuss ACDs in more detail if you’d like to hear more.

Ian is a professor of perinatal psychiatry for the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience at Cardiff University, and, at the time of recording, director of NCMH (Ian has since retired and Professor Jon Bisson has now stepped into his rather large shoes). His research interests relate to bipolar spectrum disorders, in particular the relationship of mood disorders to childbirth. Ian is also a psychiatrist within the Cardiff and Vale University Health board and Ian’s clinical focus is on women at high risk of severe episodes after having a baby, also referred to as “postpartum”. He was also the director of the Bipolar Education Programme Cymru a group programme which received the British Medical Journal award for innovation in medicine in 2014.

Resources

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or text FRONTLINE to 85258. In an emergency, please call 999. You can also access crisis support through your General Practitioner (GP).

Bipolar UK Research Community - join as someone living with bipolar or if you're supporting someone with bipolar: https://www.bipolaruk.org/research-partnerships
NCMH Research Community - open to everyone over the age of 16: https://www.ncmh.info/help-with-research/
Bipolar Education Programme Cymru (BEPC) - free online recordings: https://www.ncmh.info/resources/covid19-resources/bepc/
Advanced Choice Documents podcast episode with Tania: https://shows.acast.com/piece-of-mind/episodes/minisode-have-your-voice-heard-in-mental-healthcare-decision
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On this episode, we’re chatting about how researchers at the NCMH have been investigating how memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills, also known as cognition, are impacted by mental illness, and how online tools can be used to treat more people.

Dr Amy Lynham is a researcher at the NCMH and has developed the Cardiff Online Cognitive Assessment, or CONCA, an online tool to assess cognitive difficulties that are often associated with mental health diagnoses such as psychosis and depression.

Amy is joined by Anthony Cope, member of NCMH’s Partnership in Research group, also known as PÂR, and a public contributor to research happening at Cardiff University and beyond. Tony shares his experience of mental ill-health and how he's been involved in developing CONCA.

Visit the CONCA website
Read more about CONCA on the NCMH blog
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Psychosis can be a difficult thing to explain. It is a term used when people experience a ‘loss of touch’ with reality. Around 3% of people will have a psychotic episode during their lifetime.

Leading the discussion for us today is Maleeha, a member of the peer support group at Headroom Cardiff, who support young people in Wales that have experienced psychosis. Joining Maleeha are Bekah and Hezron, both of whom have experienced an episode of psychosis and became friends through the peer support group.

Maleeha, Bekah and Hezron, kindly share their experiences of psychosis which they went through as young adults at university. They also share what they found helpful during this time and the difference the support services and peer support group made to their recovery.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing psychosis, you should contact their GP practice. If there's an imminent danger of harm, call 999 and ask for an ambulance.
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Psychosis is when you perceive or interpret reality in a very different way from people around you, it may also be called a 'psychotic experience' or 'psychotic episode'.

Psychosis often begins in young adulthood when a person is in their late teens to mid-20s. However, people can experience a psychotic episode at younger and older ages and as a part of many disorders and illnesses. For instance, older adults with neurological disorders may be at higher risk for psychosis.

This year we’ve been fortunate to work with NHS Wales to revamp Psychosis Wales, the website for information and resources for young people who are experiencing or recovering from psychosis in Wales.

In this episode, we met with Maleeha Akbar and Eleanor Williams.

Maleeha is based in Cardiff and experienced psychosis when she was at university. She now works for Cardiff and Vale Drug and Alcohol Service and facilitates the Headroom peer support group for young people who have experienced psychosis in Cardiff. Maleeha has kindly shared her experience of recovering from psychosis and how she got involved with the peer support group.

Eleanor is the Clinical Team Leader for Headroom, the service supporting people with psychosis in the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Psychosis can be frightening and make it difficult to maintain quality of life, but treatment and support are available. With the right treatment, such as therapy and medication, many people recover gradually.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing psychosis, you should contact their GP practice. If there's an imminent danger of harm, call 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Mentioned in this episode
Psychosis Wales website - find details about Headroom Cardiff
NCMH Research Community - sign up today!
Brain and Genomics Hub research study
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Did you know that you have the option to guide mental health professionals in your treatment and care in case you become unwell?

Advance Choice Documents (ACDs) give people living with mental illnesses an opportunity to state their wishes and instructions about their treatment and care during future episodes of illness.

They give you a chance to make your voice heard in future mental healthcare decisions by using your knowledge, gained through past experience of illness and healthcare, to guide a clinical team through future episodes of illness. Recent research has suggested that the use of ACDs could reduce the rate of sectioning by up to 25%. 

We chatted to Professor Tania Gergel about her work to raise awareness of this vital tool for people with severe mental illness.

Tania is the Director of Research at Bipolar UK and a Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London and here at Cardiff University. She’s also the lead for bipolar research at NCMH.

You can read more about ACDs at advancechoice.org


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