Critical Values Based Practice Network

C-VBP-N

Author Archive

Contextualising Distress I: Background and Power-mapping

Written by Steven Coles on . Posted in Clinical Psychology Bite-Size

Contextualising Distress I: Background and Power-mapping

Issue 20 – January 2010

Author: Steven Coles (steven.coles@nottshc.nhs.uk)

Key points

  • There is evidence for all forms of distress being shaped by a person’s social world and life experiences
  • The limited attention to the context of people’s distress has led to power being concealed
  • Rather than understanding power as residing within a person, power can be seen as acting between and through people.

Adult Attachment and Mental Health

Written by Steven Coles on . Posted in Clinical Psychology Bite-Size

Adult Attachment and Mental Health

Issue 18 – September 2009

Author: Emma Bodfield (c/o jenny.poole@nottshc.nhs.uk)

Key points

  1. Attachment Theory concerns the way we relate to others. It includes a person’s view of themselves as deserving of support and whether others are able to meet their needs.
  2. Insecure attachment is linked to mental health problems. Such insecurity can be developed through childhood trauma, adversity and neglect.
  3. The coercive aspects of services may limit their ability to provide safe, trusting relationships to service users and impact on our ability to meet their attachment needs.

Making Sense of Paranoia

Written by Steven Coles on . Posted in Clinical Psychology Bite-Size

Making Sense of Paranoia

Issue 17 – August 2009

Authors: Steven Coles (steven.coles@nottshc.nhs.uk) and John Cromby (j.cromby@lboro.ac.uk)

Key points

  • Suspicious and paranoid feelings and beliefs are on a continuum with ‘normal’ experiences.
  • Victimisation, discrimination and lack of power in the world appear to be causes of paranoia.
  • Unusual beliefs are likely to reflect important themes or thwarted goals in a person’s life.
  • Difficult social experiences can lead to shameful, angry or fearful feelings. Mixtures of these feelings can shape perceptions of the world and give rise to paranoid beliefs.

Social Ranking Model of Distress

Written by Steven Coles on . Posted in Clinical Psychology Bite-Size

Social Ranking Model of Distress

Issue 14 – May 2009

Author: Steven Coles (steven.coles@nottshc.nhs.uk)

Key points

  • Social ranking theory emphasises the importance of social relationships to our well-being
  • People who are unable to escape difficult circumstances (e.g. domestic violence, difficult neighbourhoods etc) are likely to be distressed (including feeling ‘depressed’)
  • Difficulties in a person’s early environment can also lead to a person having low self-worth