As part of the improvements to ELPsych! I have adjusted the way that links are shown on the site.  Previously, the link directory was a separate website with Directory software installed.  This attracted far too much spam as companies tried to get themselves listed.  Since almost none of them had anything to do with Mental Health, we didn’t really want these links on our site.

The Link Directory is now part of this website making it much easier to manage.  However, I still want suggestions to be added.  If you have come across a website or internet resource that you have found useful, please let me know so that other can benefit as well.

You’ll find the Directory Here.  Use the comments section at the bottom of that page to add your suggestions.

I couldn’t resist a comment on a foodie theme that has emerged in the popular press over the last few weeks.

The NHS Choices website has published an article referring to pieces in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph both extolling the benefits of salt as a treatment for Depression.  The Mail’s article goes into a bit more detail than the Telegraph’s but it’s probably the NHS site that explains the theory the best.

What the NHS missed though was an article in the MIrror.  They published an article in February listing 1o Top Tips for dealing with Paranoid Psychosis.  Number 4?  Eat more Lettuce!  Apparently it contains a Morphine like substance that aids sleep.

We’ve heard a few comments recently suggesting it’s not as easy to find Psychological Therapies as it should be.  When we looked a bit closer, it was easy to see why!

There is a nice big map just inside the Aberlady Road entrance to the Herdmanflat Site.  It points the way to the Adult Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) but doesn’t list Psychological Therapies separately.  Since our front door is different, this is confusing.

To find us, follow the road through the car park down the right of the building.  You’ll see our door before you get to the bottom of the road (it’s the only door!).

Here’s an interactive map to help.  You’ll need flash installed for it to work.

Hope this helps.  If not – Let us know!

Over the weekend we have added a new series of Self Help and Information booklets. These have been published by L-PIN, the Lothian Psychological Interventions Network.

The booklets were originally produced by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust a few years ago. They have been brought up to date and local contacts and resources have been added.

Although primarily written with a Lothian bias, the booklets will be useful to anyone with an interest.

Find them on our site by clicking this link or navigating to our Self Help Leaflets section under the Resources heading.

We are now heading towards the Christmas break and historically this has been a surprisingly quiet time for the group work service.  In the past we have continued to run a group or two through the holidays but this has never been a successful tactic.

This year we are going to take a couple of weeks break whilst the schools are off.  This means that there will be no groups the weeks of the 22nd and 29th December 2008.  Our programme will resume on Monday 5th January 2009.  There will be new groups starting shortly after the New Year so we will publish a new Timetable as soon as possible.