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Brixton news, rumour and general chat - May 2015

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Brixton Weekender – What’s on in and around Brixton, Fri 29th – Sun 31st May
 
A mass protest against Lambeth Community Mental Health Services moving to Streatham Job Centre, and the establishment of the UK's first psychological therapies department at Streatham Job Centre - explicitly merging mental health services with the DWP's agenda of harassment posing as "Back to Work."

More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1632671646970164/

"We understand that from next month a pilot programme is to begin, whereby IAPTS trained CBT practitioners are to be based inside Job Centres. The posts will be part funded by the DWP. We are concerned that these practitioners may be used as part of the sanctions process, that CBT may not be in the client's interest in such a setting, that CBT is not the best form of therapy for many of those who experience mental distress, and that practitioners are not suffiently trained to be able to recognise the level of vulnerability of clients, or the level of risk that they may pose.

The first pilot is to begin at Streatham Job Centre next month.

MHRN, along with Southwark Association for Mental Health intend to campaign aginst this pilot scheme, and have set up a meeting for next Thursday (21st May) at 6pm at 97 Dawes House, Orb Street, SE17. If you live locally please join us and help us to plan the campaign. We will also be discussing relaunching SolidariTEA, with meetings to be held on a midweek evening. Now, with the Tories in majority and in government for the next 5 years, we need to link up and to get active. We hope to see you there."
 
An FoI has shown that the current level of debt that Lambeth Council has is an astonishing half a billion pounds. This is rising each year. Interest rate in PFI payments alone stand at over £13m a year.

Over a third of Council Tax money is spent on servicing this debt, rather than going towards public services.

BBuzz piece.
Most people would term it 'loans'. Yes it is debt as well: managed, serviced loans. It's what every business does.

Published Lambeth accounts:
https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Lambeth Statement of Accounts 2013-14.pdf
 
A mass protest against Lambeth Community Mental Health Services moving to Streatham Job Centre, and the establishment of the UK's first psychological therapies department at Streatham Job Centre - explicitly merging mental health services with the DWP's agenda of harassment posing as "Back to Work."

More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1632671646970164/

"We understand that from next month a pilot programme is to begin, whereby IAPTS trained CBT practitioners are to be based inside Job Centres. The posts will be part funded by the DWP. We are concerned that these practitioners may be used as part of the sanctions process, that CBT may not be in the client's interest in such a setting, that CBT is not the best form of therapy for many of those who experience mental distress, and that practitioners are not suffiently trained to be able to recognise the level of vulnerability of clients, or the level of risk that they may pose.

The first pilot is to begin at Streatham Job Centre next month.

MHRN, along with Southwark Association for Mental Health intend to campaign aginst this pilot scheme, and have set up a meeting for next Thursday (21st May) at 6pm at 97 Dawes House, Orb Street, SE17. If you live locally please join us and help us to plan the campaign. We will also be discussing relaunching SolidariTEA, with meetings to be held on a midweek evening. Now, with the Tories in majority and in government for the next 5 years, we need to link up and to get active. We hope to see you there."
Interesting. Do politicians really care about mental health anyway?
CBT is ideal therapy from a politicians point of view:
1. It can easily be time limited (12 weekly sessions or some such)
2. It is measurable - as the treatment involves repeated filling in of a Beck Inventory or variant.
3. It is in effect a form of brain-washing designed to change a negative attitude into a positive one.
Obvious fit for a Job Centre I would have thought.

This idea of everybody being given therapy dates back to the Blair era. One of his advisers, Richard Layard, an LSE academic promoted it heavily - he has written a book about it called "Thrive"

More interesting is the background of Layard's father - a story for later.
 
Interesting. Do politicians really care about mental health anyway?
CBT is ideal therapy from a politicians point of view:
1. It can easily be time limited (12 weekly sessions or some such)
2. It is measurable - as the treatment involves repeated filling in of a Beck Inventory or variant.
3. It is in effect a form of brain-washing designed to change a negative attitude into a positive one.
Obvious fit for a Job Centre I would have thought.

This idea of everybody being given therapy dates back to the Blair era. One of his advisers, Richard Layard, an LSE academic promoted it heavily - he has written a book about it called "Thrive"

More interesting is the background of Layard's father - a story for later.

What's the background of Layard's father?
 
What's the background of Layard's father?
John Layard was an anthropologist in the south pacific from 1920s - early 1940s. Specialised in Vanuatu and small related islands.

He was however prone to depression and shot himself in the head attempting suicide
As a result of this he became a patient, then student, of Carl Gustav Jung.

I expect his father's psychiatric history may well have led Richard Layard to take a major interest in mental health and therapy.
 
The vast majority of economists also failed to spot the Great Recession.

Nor did they warn of the problems with a single currency.

I remember them warning quite clearly of the problems with a single currency. In fact they must have been banging on about it long and hard to register in my memory at a time when I had no interest in politics and economics.
 
A mass protest against Lambeth Community Mental Health Services moving to Streatham Job Centre, and the establishment of the UK's first psychological therapies department at Streatham Job Centre - explicitly merging mental health services with the DWP's agenda of harassment posing as "Back to Work."

More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1632671646970164/

"We understand that from next month a pilot programme is to begin, whereby IAPTS trained CBT practitioners are to be based inside Job Centres. The posts will be part funded by the DWP. We are concerned that these practitioners may be used as part of the sanctions process, that CBT may not be in the client's interest in such a setting, that CBT is not the best form of therapy for many of those who experience mental distress, and that practitioners are not suffiently trained to be able to recognise the level of vulnerability of clients, or the level of risk that they may pose.

The first pilot is to begin at Streatham Job Centre next month.

MHRN, along with Southwark Association for Mental Health intend to campaign aginst this pilot scheme, and have set up a meeting for next Thursday (21st May) at 6pm at 97 Dawes House, Orb Street, SE17. If you live locally please join us and help us to plan the campaign. We will also be discussing relaunching SolidariTEA, with meetings to be held on a midweek evening. Now, with the Tories in majority and in government for the next 5 years, we need to link up and to get active. We hope to see you there."

Since there's absolutely no links or any theorising in any shape nor form on why this is bad or will lead to people being sanctioned could you please explain this to me?

You do understand that Lambeth is one of the poorest boroughs and also has one of the highest instances of mental health issues as well?

You also fully understand that when re-organised in 2010 Mental Health Services Lambeth (which were complete gubbins by this time anyway) had a 50% immediate funding cut with an extra 5% cut (on top of the 50%) each year for the next five with the emphasis on keeping what's left for IAPT?

SlaM pre 2012 had 4 floors of a wing in St Thomas's by mid 2012 it was in half the basement of the same wing.

So....
 
Since there's absolutely no links or any theorising in any shape nor form on why this is bad or will lead to people being sanctioned could you please explain this to me?

You do understand that Lambeth is one of the poorest boroughs and also has one of the highest instances of mental health issues as well?

You also fully understand that when re-organised in 2010 Mental Health Services Lambeth (which were complete gubbins by this time anyway) had a 50% immediate funding cut with an extra 5% cut (on top of the 50%) each year for the next five with the emphasis on keeping what's left for IAPT?

SlaM pre 2012 had 4 floors of a wing in St Thomas's by mid 2012 it was in half the basement of the same wing.

So....
Is it possible that the psychiatric services think basing some treatment facilities in Job Centres is a form of "reach out"?

I don't know anything about Streatham Job Centre, but the Brixton one always excites my paranoia - there are usually at least twice as many security staff as "advisers". To anyone more paranoid than me going for CBT or any other treatment in Brixton Job Centre would be not much different from going to Brixton Police Station.

I think this strategy needs to be thought out a bit more - and hey, where is the community consultation? We get consulted to death about planning, regeneration, libraries, local environmental improvements. Why can't we be consulted about our views on mental health services?
 
Since there's absolutely no links or any theorising in any shape nor form on why this is bad or will lead to people being sanctioned could you please explain this to me?

You do understand that Lambeth is one of the poorest boroughs and also has one of the highest instances of mental health issues as well?

You also fully understand that when re-organised in 2010 Mental Health Services Lambeth (which were complete gubbins by this time anyway) had a 50% immediate funding cut with an extra 5% cut (on top of the 50%) each year for the next five with the emphasis on keeping what's left for IAPT?

SlaM pre 2012 had 4 floors of a wing in St Thomas's by mid 2012 it was in half the basement of the same wing.

So....

I would have thought its obvious.

For DWP to fund CBT practioners based in Job Centres is a conflict of interest.

Mental Health care must imo be confidential and clearly demarcated from other government departments.

For users of mental health services its important that they can feel open to talk in an environment that is not judgemental or based on a goal set from outside.

Yes St Thomas mental health services are now stuck in the basement of the hospital. At the back of the hospital in one of the older buildings. You have to go to end of hospital and down two flights of stairs to get to it. That a statement of how its seen.

St Thomas is one of few places where one can get non CBT therapy. They do there own variant Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) and psychotherapy. Which one you do is decided at initial discussion with one of the therapists. And there is long waiting list.
 
Where do you draw the line though? Can't consult on everything

Mental health is a really important issue - many people suffer from mental health issues in one form or another (I suffer from general anxiety disorder which means I don't use the tube or go on planes). If I had to go for a CBT course, I would not want to go to the job centre. The staff at the job centres treat you like you have done something wrong, they are useless when it comes to helping you find work and are just there to process you through their systems. Crossing mental health services with the job centre seems to be more about getting more people back to work than helping the recovery of those with mental health issues.
 
I remember them warning quite clearly of the problems with a single currency. In fact they must have been banging on about it long and hard to register in my memory at a time when I had no interest in politics and economics.

I remember exactly the opposite.

And was gutted that the Labour govt kept us out.
 
Mental health is a really important issue - many people suffer from mental health issues in one form or another (I suffer from general anxiety disorder which means I don't use the tube or go on planes). If I had to go for a CBT course, I would not want to go to the job centre. The staff at the job centres treat you like you have done something wrong, they are useless when it comes to helping you find work and are just there to process you through their systems. Crossing mental health services with the job centre seems to be more about getting more people back to work than helping the recovery of those with mental health issues.
There does seem to be an implied threat at the back of it.
Actually whenever I see IDS speaking on TV he always seems to be talking about helping people get off benefit by cutting it off.
I would have thought that doing therapy in the Job Centre would be very threatening to people on benefit, but otherwise not so much.
But I very much doubt they would be offering therapy to non-claimants in the job centres.
 
can someone please have a word with yuppie tastemakers/lifestyle bloggers and ask them to pass it on that gratuitous use of "fuck" and it's derivatives does not make you " edgy" "vibrant" or "street", it just makes you look like a gobby twat.....
thanks
 
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So Windrush Square finally got the cafe that was in all the early plans. Hooray!

Oh. It's just a corporate promotion for Weight Watchers. Booo!
 
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