New mental health website aims to dispel myths of psychosis
8 February 2010
Written in clear and simple language, the website mentalhealthcare.org.uk, explains mental health terms, provides information about medication and other treatments such as talking therapies and sets out how mental health services work. All information on the website is based on research carried out to learn more about the causes of psychosis in order to develop better treatments or improve existing ones.
Funded by a public engagement grant from the Wellcome Trust, the site is a joint venture between the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, in association with Rethink, the campaigning mental health charity that runs support groups for carers.
Elizabeth Kuipers, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, who led the development of the website, said: "Looking after someone with psychosis can, at times, be emotionally demanding. There is still an enormous amount of stigma and shame about psychosis, and worry and upset when a relative is diagnosed with a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia.
"There are a lot of myths about what it means if you have one of these problems, so it's helpful to have information that you can trust, information that helps you know what you are dealing with. Through this new website we aim to provide clear information about treatment, medication and other support available to carers and people with psychosis."
Consultation carried out with carers across the UK puts reliable information that is quickly and easily available near the top of their wish list. They also said that while there are many websites about psychosis on the internet, there are few British ones, and few that are reliable. Of those available, it is hard to know which to believe as they often say completely different things.
mentalhealthcare.org.uk aims to address these key issues by providing video interviews with health professionals and researchers talking about different aspects of psychosis, treatment and care, summaries of Institute of Psychiatry research about psychosis, written in plain English, and Ask the Pharmacist, Ask the Psychologist and Ask the Psychiatrist pages where visitors to the site can submit general questions.
"Access to reliable information in the early stages of diagnosis is crucial," said Marshall Whiting, who supported his late brother and now his eldest son, through schizophrenia. "Although therapies and medication have moved on significantly since my brother was diagnosed in 1962, there is still not enough information and support from the authorities or the medical profession.
"Most information is shared by carers through support groups and word of mouth, so something like the new website is a big step in the right direction to helping provide carers and families and friends of people with psychosis with the information they need."
Image: An artist's interpretation of mental illness; Adrian Cousins, Wellcome Images
