13 h. ago Streeting orders review into ‘overdiagnosis’ of mental illness and ADHD in welfare spending crackdown

The health secretary has charged leading experts with finding out whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’

Economics

28 h. ago Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports. Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported. He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit. The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period. Streeting told the Times he knew from “personal experience how devastating it can be ...

Science

29 h. ago Streeting orders review of mental health diagnosis amid welfare reform drive

The Health Secretary is concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness.

Science

3 d. ago ‘Conversion therapy’ is homophobic and dangerous. Yet it threatens to make a comeback | David Kirp

Bans on the dangerous practice, condemned by national mental health organizations, could soon be struck downHomosexuality is an illness that therapists can and should cure: that’s the rationale for “conversion therapy”, a practice promoted as a way to change an individual’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.But a host of studies conclude that such counseling doesn’t work – small wonder, since sexual orientation is a core part of an individual’s identity. It’s also potentially harmful, especially for minors. Research shows that youth subjected to conversion practices, often at the insistence of misguided parents, are prone to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide.David Kirp is professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley and a frequent Guardian contributor.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@sa...

Events

1 week ago Australian judge rules synagogue arsonist was motivated by mental illness, not antisemitism

An Australian magistrate says a man who set fire to a Melbourne synagogue door while worshippers were inside was motivated by mental illness rather than antisemitism

Events

1 week ago London exhibition to explore mental health and social bonds in ‘polarised’ times

Artworks to go on display in January at Bethlem Museum of the Mind, in the world’s oldest psychiatric hospitalFrom images of empty community rooms and a colourful canvas crammed with caricatures to a baby linked by an umbilical-like cord to a seated stranger, artworks on the subject of mental health are to go on display in an exhibition that examines social bonds against the backdrop of today’s polarised times.Artists have long drawn on their own experiences of mental ill health. Staged at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, in the world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, in south-east London, Kindred will explore the power of communities to make people feel comforted as well as isolated. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Respected doctor with a 'perfect' family reveals how she was drugged, put on a psychiatric ward and given electroconvulsive therapy...all because she reported her husband's years of domestic abuse

A once high-functioning paediatrician has revealed how a harrowing descent into mental illness, triggered by years of domestic abuse, led her to undergo electric shock therapy.

Events

2 w. ago Strictly star opens up about his struggle with steroid addiction

John Whaite has spoken publicly about his five-year use of illegal anabolic steroids, revealing the impact on his physical and mental health.

Politics

2 w. ago Strictly star John Whaite opens up about his struggle with steroid addiction

John Whaite has spoken publicly about his five-year use of illegal anabolic steroids, revealing the impact on his physical and mental health.

Politics