Health News Ireland

DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:19:13 +0000

Katie Belle pulled on her yellow T-shirt and headed for the Phoenix Park, where thousands of people sacrificed sleep for something more important…

THEY gathered in their thousands at The Papal Cross in Dublin’s Phoenix Park and at other venues around the country. Forty thousand in all turned their back on sleep and massed in the wee hours to lend support for a worthy cause.

The cause in question is Pieta House; an organisation set up to highlight and help prevent the tragedy that is suicide.

The emotion that dominated the event was hope; hope signified in the open expressions, the hugs and the laughter as people, dogged with tiredness, battle through regardless.

They persevered because the issue of suicide is much more important than sleep. At least for this morning.

The event, an annual one, is called the Darkness into Light fundraiser and all monies raised go towards the support of Pieta House, a suicide and self-harm crisis centre.

And there were reminders all around us as frozen folk squinted into the darkness and jumped on the spot to chase away the cold. People carried framed picture of loved ones who had taken their own lives; people cried, some openly as they walked; people sought support in the stories of others.

Sadness + Joy

Just before the off, Joan Freeman – the founder of Pieta House – drew stark parallels between the work of the organisation and the journey we were all about to set off on. She said this was the ‘start of a journey’; she talked of the ‘scourge of suicide’; and, most tellingly, she spoke of hope. A hope captured in the bright yellow T-shirts worn by the thousands who walked the route.

I live near the Phoenix Park. I run in the Park every day. But this was nothing like I had experienced before. The terrain was subtext to the event; the atmosphere was a confusing mix of sadness and joy, almost in equal measure; the anticipation of a dawn breaking held huge significance for the thousands in attendance.

The work of Pieta House, now more than ever, should not be underestimated. We are battling through tough times. Austerity is a wolf that stalks the streets and the homes and the work places of hundreds of thousands of Irish people.

For many of us there seems to be no end in sight, no help and no-one to care. And suicide appears to be the only way out. Sadly, tragically, the figures are increasing, as the cry for help turns into the final, awful action. More needs to be done.

And then, suddenly, the walk was over. The point was made. People hung around for a time, some wondering what they should do next. They had made a big commitment and an even bigger statement. There should be sometime more, surely.

But there wasn’t. The act in itself was the ‘something more’. The decision to go without sleep was the sacrifice. Their presence at this special gathering was the gesture of support.

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CHASING THE WOLF

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:27:40 +0000

Irish medical researchers have found a new way to help people with the condition known as lupus. Thomas Wilson reports…

WALKING into the research labs in the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI), pictured, is a bit like walking down memory lane. They say the sense of smell is the major pathway for helping you to recall events long past; they could be right.

Nothing really changes in the world of research. Well, nothing changes quickly. The same sinks; the same beakers; the same concoction of fumes hanging in the air; the same sense of anticipation … something new could be discovered. And it could be discovered today.

Something new has been discovered by RCSI researchers and it will come as welcome news to people suffering from the condition known as Lupus.

First off…what is Lupus?

Lupus is what is known as an autoimmune disease; in other words, the body’s defences turn on itself. Elements within the body designed specifically to protect you turn rogue. Why? Well, doctors don’t really know. They have some theories which include the idea that it could be caused by an environmental factor, or it could be genetic in that some people are more susceptible to developing the condition.

Different Categories

Lupus falls into a number of different categories, including:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE for short);
Discoid lupus – which affects and confines itself to the skin
Drug-induced reactions
Neonatal – the childhood version

Signs include achy joints, swelling of the hands and feet and a crushing fatigue and all these could point to the fact that you have lupus.

Lupus is, in many ways, a puzzling, mysterious ailment. So much so, that in 50 years there really hasn’t been any sign of a treatment breakthrough…until now.

Researchers at the RCSI have found that a new treatment for the inflammatory condition could potentially benefit Irish patients.

The research has been centred around a new drug called Belimumab; and what our doctors have done is to identify patients that are most likely to benefit from the drug, as not all patients may respond to the treatment.

“Lupus is a very complex disease and one of the biggest challenges, currently, is identifying the patients who are most likely to benefit from new drugs as they are approved,” says Professor Caroline Jefferies, the principle investigator of the study.

“Our research suggests that simply measuring BLyS levels (see below) in patients may identify those who will best respond to Belimumab, thus improving the long-term outcomes for these patients.”

There are in the region of 1,500 people in Ireland who have the SLE version of lupus. Some of these run the risk of developing organ damage as the disease progresses. This is due to the presence of high levels of a ‘chemical messenger’ called B Lymphocyte Stimulator (BLyS for short) in the body.

And it is this messenger that causes the body’s cells to produce antibodies that attack its own tissues which can, in turn, cause organ damage.

Targets Women

The Irish research was published recently in the prestigious journal Rheumatology and was carried out by Dr Eoghan McCarthy from Cork, under the watchful eye of Professor Jefferies.

The condition has a propensity to target women, with as many as 10 times more women being affected as men.

Dr McCarthy says this could be due to the presence of the female hormone oestrogen – and some researchers feel that this hormone could be a precursor for the development of the inflammatory condition.

Belimumab is used to treat lupus patients who don’t respond to usual medication comprising of a combination of steroids and immunosuppressive anti-inflammatory drugs.

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RESPECTING DISABILITY

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:34:11 +0000

Rory Hafford drops into the Round Room in the Mansion House for the launch of a set of crucial Standards that will safeguard the dignity of people with disabilities…

THERE was a touch of Hollywood about today’s (Tuesday, 14th May) launch of the new HIQA guidelines governing the disabilities sector.

The Round Room of Dublin’s Mansion House played centre-stage to proceedings and was lit up with tiny pools of lights shimmering and shifting hither and yon.

When it came time for ‘action’, the lights were turned down on the audience, the room was plunged into blackness and an attractive blue hue bathed the main speakers on the plinth.

Minister Kathleen Lynch was there; so too was Marie Kehoe O’Sullivan, Director of Safety and Quality Improvement at HIQA; while Director of Regulation Phelim Quinn waited in the wings for his cue.

Giant screens frowned down upon the stage, one on each side, sporting serious messages highlighting the key points raised throughout the session.

And it all worked…for one main reason: this is serious business!

Looking after the rights of people who can’t look after themselves is a measure of the justice, equality and empathy of a society. If we can’t get serious, if we can’t get glammed up for something like this, then it will never happen.

Lot of Responsibility

It is estimated that there are in the region of 9,500 people with disabilities living in around 1,200 residential services. That’s a lot of bodies; that’s a lot of responsibility. And, given that Ireland is now one of the world’s most rule-based societies, that’s a lot of regulation.

HIQA stands for Health Information and Quality Authority, by the way. And that translates to a body that has been charged with looking after the way people/patients are treated by health service professionals.

It’s a busy time for HIQA because things are not, it would be fair to say, working all that well in the Irish health services. Far from it, in fact.

The Standards, launched today, outline to providers what they must do to ensure safe and effective care for people who are using their services.

“Children and adults using residential services have the rights to be safe, to receive good care and support and to have access to the services they need to enable them to live a fulfilling life,” Phelim Quinn told the gathering, in a clipped Northern brogue.

From now on, he said, these standards will provide those who use services with a guide as to what they should expect from residential services; they will ‘drive continuous improvements’ in these services, he promised.

Let’s have a look at the Standards and what it is they aspire to: the Standards are grouped under eight key themes and cover a number of crucial areas, including respect for the autonomy of the individual; privacy and dignity and the promotion of the rights of the individual.

It’s all very aspirational and all very noble. Traditionally it is hard to breathe life into such sentiments. However, the HIQA track record would suggest that this organisation has the expertise and the people to ensure that what they say will happen…will happen!

“HIQA will begin the registration and inspection of residential services for children and adults with disabilities against these standards and regulations later this year,” says Phelim Quinn.

“From then, all residential services will be required to provide HIQA with evidence of compliance with the National Standards and the regulations in order to remain registered.”

Pictured at the Health Information and Quality Authority’s National Standards for Residential Services for Children and Adults with Disabilities launch, were HIQA Chief Executive Dr Tracey Cooper; Minister of State for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People Kathleen Lynch TD, who launched the Standards and HIQA Board Chairperson Pat McGrath.

If you want to know more, log onto www.hiqa.ie

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WHY HUMANS LIKE TO CRY

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:31:27 +0000

In Part 1 of a two-part series, Psychotherapist Doris Dash dives into a fascinating new book by Michael Trimble on why we fragile creatures like to tear up…

IT could be classed as an ‘old wives tale’, but when someone tells you that a good cry will do you the world of good…they have a point.

Why do we cry? It’s a question that has puzzled philosophers for the longest time. No other creature on the planet cries tears of emotion; just human beings.

It’s a mystery that has exercised the mind of psychologist William Frey, who decided to carry out a study on the issue back in the 1970s. He gathered together more than 300 adults (none of whom had any psychiatric problems) and he came up with some interesting stuff.

For instance, he found that the average frequency of crying was 5.3 times a month for women, compared to 1.4 for men. Ah…women!

Of considerable interest, however, was the fact that people in the study group reported that they felt happier after crying. Some reported that the act relieved tension, while others commented on the ‘cleansing action’ of crying, i.e. ‘washing out bad feelings’ and similar sentiments.

Chemical Analysis

There’s a ‘sexes’ component to crying: a study by Jeffrey Kotter found that men are less likely to ‘use tears manipulatively’ and that they cry in more subtle ways compared to women. By this he meant that men shed fewer tears and for a shorter duration; they were inclined not to explain the reason for their tears; and they said sorry a lot more (than women) for crying.

Okay. Good stuff. But why exactly is crying beneficial for you? And how does it release pent-up stuff to the point that you actually feel a little bit better for it?

Back to Frey for this one: he conducted a chemical analysis on the constituent parts of tears and reported that noxious chemicals, built up as a result of stress, are removed from the body during the act of crying (his considered view). He likened this literally to an excretory process…purgation by another means!

This has some associations with the theory of catharsis, a view that is linked to purification and cleansing. “In a slightly different version of these ideas, it has been suggested that tears drain off excess emotional energy, restoring a homeostasis,” writes Michael Trimble.

“This was a favoured theory of the early Freudian pre-psychoanalytic theories.”

Immediate Attention

Crying is built into our DNA. Interpretations emphasize the ‘communicative value of crying’. Says Trimble: “Crying, like a shout or a sneeze, attracts the immediate attention of others. Tears provoke an emotional response in the observer which, in the more sceptical view, not only elicits sympathy but acts as a manipulative tool.”

Tears have symbolism, for the one crying and for those who observe the tears, argues Kotter. They are woven from fragile, mutable memories with more than a hint of mortality.

Tears authenticate meaning; they reflect honesty; they reveal so much that cannot be said in words.

In Part II of this feature, Doris Dash looks at the Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of crying

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THE STORY OF WHY

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:29:18 +0000

Jemma Morgan recalls the ‘hardest journey’ she has ever had to make –a boat-ride across to the UK for an abortion…

THE sea was choppy that morning. And it had that kind of dirty slate grey colour to it; a hard toxic colour that drains the emotion and leaves you feeling utterly depressed.

I remember the rain whipping in off the coast as the boat pulled out to sea. I remember standing on the deck, hanging onto the rail and getting absolutely soaked.

I remember feeling utterly alone. I also remember that I didn’t care.

Two weeks before I had found out that I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it. It was like a bad joke. At any minute I expected someone to pop out with a camera and yell: ‘You’ve been framed!’ and then everything could go back to the way it had been. Normal.

But I hadn’t been framed. This was the new normal. And this was all wrong.

I was 28 years old. I wasn’t a kid. I had a job. A job that I liked. A job that meant I could support myself. For the first time in my life I had real independence. It had taken me a long time to reach that point; and it was a point in my life that I liked. I was comfortable with it. It reinforced my in a very positive way. Now, I stood to lose it all.

Two Options

The pregnancy happened as a result of a drunken one-nighter. Nothing new there. Except, it was just not me. I never thought of myself as that kind of girl. I was always extremely careful. But, on this occasion, I let my guard down. I made a mistake.

That way I saw it, I had two options: I could live with that mistake for the rest of my life; or I could do something to rectify it. Only, it wasn’t that simple.

With a heavy heart, I set about organising everything myself. I didn’t want to involve anyone. And this in itself is a heavy burden to carry. Just talking to you about it now, all these years later, feels almost like a positive experience. I feel lighter just talking about it.

But I know I will never feel light enough to the point that the heaviness will leave me. It is always with me. When I sit down to dinner, it sits down with me. When I climb into bed at the end of the day, it is there beside me.

We are a product of the choices we make. A fact of life that we can’t escape.

The procedure itself was routine enough. The people at the clinic were competent and professional. There wasn’t too much in the way of empathy. I suppose, when you do something day in day out you build up a kind of barrier to it all. Maybe. I dunno.

And then I was back on the boat; except, I wasn’t alone. Depression set in and has been my constant companion ever since. I felt a sense of emptiness. I felt desolate, like someone had dropped my off in a vast desert and drove away. I felt …

Blanket of Blackness

I went on anti-depressants for a long while; heavy medication that was designed to throw a blanket over the blackness. It helped, but only for a while.

I checked into a psychiatric unit for a month, where I was given more medication and the occasional psychotherapy session. It helped, but only for a while.

I didn’t feel that I was a bad person. I didn’t feel that I had ‘committed a sin’. It is like a dagger to the heart every time I pick up a newspaper now and see terms like ‘murder’ and ‘holocaust’ and ‘slaughter’. It’s like trying to negotiate an emotional minefield. And it’s not fair.

I wonder how many people – the people who are trying to stick labels on this – I wonder how many of them actually had to make that choice.

For me, this debate is all about control: control over what women do with their own body; control over how women should feel. I understand both sides. I do. Absolutely. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about what happened, about what I did, about what I lost and what I gained.

Inevitably, when the subject of abortion comes up, a great divide opens up. A chasm that cuts people in two. I find myself on one side of that rift, screaming into the wind.

Inevitably, the religious voice wants to make itself heard. And that’s as it should be. Everyone should be heard. But everyone should also be respected for their views and not blackened as a result of them.

When I think of religion – or more particularly spirituality – I think of a man called Jesus. And I think of him being whipped and beaten; and I think of the humiliation he suffered as he was dragged through dusty, unforgiving streets; and I think of a crown of thorns being driven into his poor flesh; and I think of him being hoisted up onto a roughly hewn piece of wood and the nails being hammered into his flesh.

And then I think of why. Why would an omnipotent being allow this horror to happen? And, for me, one word sums it up…choice.

This man symbolically died for me so that I could choose. And I live with that choice every, single day.

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THINKING WITH DA FISHES!

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:25:25 +0000

Katie Belle remembers her own exams days and has a suggestion that may help for today’s students…it involves something fishy!

WE are slap-bang in the middle of exam season! Grumpy looking teens are walking around with the ‘if you even look at me, you’re dead’ kind of expression!!

It’s understandable. Students have never had it so hard in this country. Expectations have gone through the roof; competition for university places is savage; and there is a paucity of jobs when you do qualify. It’s not easy.

Having said that, cramming for exams has never been easy. Why, I myself have been known to pull the occasional all-nighter and sit the test with hair-of-the-dog (on me head) and bad coffee breath.

But, hold on: there may be something new on the market that could help. It’s called Fish Eye and even actors of the calibre of Dame Judy Dench swear by it when it comes to learning lines.

Top Nutritionist (and ex-model) Emma Buckley, pictured, says fish oils are a vital part of cognitive health: “Our brains are 70% fat. Therefore, a diet rich in healthy fats, like those found in oily fish are an important nutrient for brain health”.

She says that scientists have linked Omega 3 fatty acids to one of the biggest evolutionary developments for human beings: “Homo Sapiens became the intelligent beings we are today because we started eating fish alongside fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds”.

Health Benefits

“The medical profession has known for a long time that there were cardiovascular benefits to diets rich in oily fish. But, over the past number of years, a growing body of evidence has emerged looking at the connection between oily fish and cognitive health. And there have been numerous studies showing that fish oil has had a positive impact on cognition, memory, attention and concentration,” says Emma Buckley.

It is now recommended that we eat at least two portions of oily fish, such as sardines, mackerel or salmon per week.

Before we move onto a bit more evidence, you might like to know that Equazen’s Eye Q study packs are now on the shelves and ready to bump up your brain power!

Taking fish oils is one of the things that leading Irish actor Susan Loughnane feels gives her an edge.

“Taking a natural fish oil supplement helps my memory and helps me maintain my concentration levels, which is really important to me,” says the star of the hit TV show Love/Hate.

Susan, who featured in some of the more exacting scenes in the small screen series, says she turns to fish oil especially when she has a lot of lines to memorise.

“Having used it in the past when studying for my exams in Dublin – and seen the benefits – it’s a must-have on my list of study essentials.”

Check this out: the Eye Q pack is a veritable study power-house! It contains one month’s supply of omega 3+6 and a month’s supply of Red Kooga Natural Energy Release, containing ginseng and guarana…all guaranteed to give your mind a little bit more oomph!!

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THE CARING PROFESSION

Editor — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:44:17 +0000

Debate has raged in the media lately over the lack of empathy in the medical profession. Rory Hafford presents the evidence…

THERE has been vexed debate in the media recently on the subject of patient care in medicine; or, more particularly, the lack of human concern shown to patients.

This won’t come as any great surprise to Irish health watchers who, over the recent years have seen a major turn towards the clinical approach and a swing away from caring. And, by that I mean true, altruistic caring.

It’s important to state at this point that healthcare professionals in general and doctors in particular do a wonderful job. This is not in question. But they are only as good as the skills they are imbued with.

Teaching how to connect with another human being comes a poor second to clinical nous in medical school. Students are rewarded for their ability to diagnose a hiatus hernia from ten paces; they are not that rewarded (if at all) for displays of empathy towards a fellow human being.

Consequently, what you put in to your student is what you get out…by and large.

And that’s why we have the debates we have been having on the Joe Duffy Show and in The Irish Times regarding the less than humanistic approach adopted by our physicians and our nurses.

Empathy Study

Some years ago a study was carried out and reported in The Archives of Internal Medicine. The study was on empathy. It found that “Doctors seldom respond empathically to their patients”.

The study went on to claim that: “Physicians provided little emotional support, often shifting (instead) to biomedical questions and statements”.

According to Dr Elliot Hirsch, a leading medical educator, the way medicine is practiced today runs contrary to the empathic approach. He said: “Some argue that it is not possible for a physician to genuinely empathise with every patient. To do so would be emotionally draining and difficult under modern time constraints”.

Studies (too numerous to mention) also show that patients want to be treated as a person, not as an illness; and they want to be reassured that the doctor understands the non-medical aspect of the condition.

Appropriate use of empathy, it has been argued, honours the patient and lends respect to the human condition.

Medical writer Christel Broederlow claims that empathy (in a clinical setting) senses the true feelings that run deeper than those portrayed on the surface. It senses the truth behind the cover.

Dr James Hardee – a leading proponent of the empathic approach – has carried out his own study. His findings make for telling reading. He approached practising doctors and asked them, out straight, why they didn’t favour the empathic approach. Here’s what he found:

Not enough time
It’s irrelevant and takes the focus away from acute medical problems
It’s emotionally exhausting
I’d rather not open that particular Pandora’s Box
Not enough training in empathic communication
Afraid that I might not have anything left for my own family

All valid enough reasons, you might argue.

However, let’s leave the debate at this point with the words of Dr Hirsch: “The physician who understands each patient on a personal level stands a far better chance of experiencing and conveying empathy and treating the patient and illness effectively than the physician who does not have that level of understanding.

“The empathic component of medicine is what makes a physician special: without it we are, in essence, (just) highly trained computers.”

Taken from the book Medical Communications – The Art of Connecting, by Rory Hafford

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THE HEALING TOUCH

Editor — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:17:46 +0000

Thomas Wilson is sent for a Facial Massage and discovers a whole new world of relaxation and rejuvenation…

PATRICIA Sheridan combines aromatherapy, reflexology and therapeutic massage to produce an overall effect that leaves you with an enormous sense of wellbeing long after you leave her clinic.

She opened her Lavender Lane Health & Wellbeing Clinic in the Dublin suburb of Castleknock over ten years ago and has since become a fixture in the community. Originally from Cavan, she was attracted to the whole area of therapeutic massage a long time ago. She hasn’t looked back.

“I could do this all day,” she says. “And it would be a day well spent.”

When I learned that I was being sent for a facial massage I baulked slightly. Facial massage; that’s for women, right?

Well, no, actually. It’s for everyone with a face!

Sure, it’s been associated with a beauty regime for the longest time; but this is to do it a slight disservice. Recent studies suggest that facial massage does a number of therapeutic things that echo deep within the body.

One of the main health benefits is improved circulation. It makes sense that as the therapist stimulates certain areas of the face, blood will be attracted to those areas. As we get older, our blood tends to pool and select parts of the body have to do without: the face being one, in some people.

Encouraging Flow

Improvement in lymphatic drainage is yet another benefit of the system that Patricia has developed over the years. A ‘facial’ to her also includes the shoulders and neck region, where the body houses a little army of lymph nodes.

Patricia expertly coaxes these areas into life, encouraging flow in the system. Basically speaking, it helps the body to increase drainage and, in turn reduce puffiness.

Fifteen minutes into the session and I feel great. Honestly! Why I haven’t done something like this before, I’ll never know.

She is now in full swing, cleansing, preparing ‘facial masks’ and brewing up a concoction of essential aromatherapy oils…it’s like a party is going on in my olfactory system!

There’s also a strange and welcome side-effect beginning to kick in: my mood has lifted. I feel elevated! This will come as no surprise to the brain boffins who carry out studies into this sort of thing. For instance, it has been found that facial massage decreases feelings of anxiousness (User Science Institute) and can help with feelings of depression by lifting general mood.

Patricia also has a technique for helping relieve sinus congestion, by stimulating trigger points deep to the naso-labial groove. I suffer from bouts of hay-fever and what she did helped. No question.

Relaxation + Rejuvenation

So, as I’m lying there, face all wrapped up snug, Patricia then gets to work on my feet! She is also a qualified Reflexologist, a form of therapy that specialises in using pressure points on the feet to bring about a reflex action through the nervous system.

As she puts pressure on certain areas of my feet, she asks me questions about organ systems in my body to check susceptibility. She then sets about trying to affect some change using the feet as a springboard.

And then…that’s it! All too soon the session comes to an end. I had intended to go for a jog afterwards but I am so relaxed I’d probably just end up asleep under a tree!

If it’s relaxation, rejuvenation and a re-evaluation of the healthy things in life you’re after, then you could do worse than a trip down Lavender Lane.

The procedure described in the article normally costs €80. However, if you present this article to Patricia you can get the treatment for €15 less. Lavender Lane, 5 Castlcourt Centre, Castleknock, Dublin 15. Tel: 01-8206554, or 086-8240081.

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A THERAPY FOR OUR TIMES

Editor — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:16:38 +0000

Psychotherapist Doris Dash discusses Existential Psychotherapy and feels it might just be the way out for people who are feeling trapped…

I WAS listening to the Joe Duffy, pictured, programme on the radio last week. A succession of people were on sharing their experiences; all of which were came across as negative.

It was mostly stuff about lack of money, pressures related to money, or monies being taken out of their accounts.

If you listened a bit closer, a common theme emerged. People were crying out for a little empathy; longing for someone to see things from their point of view, from their frame of reference.

In many ways, the Joe Duffy show represents the psychological pulse of the nation. It is one way of being heard; one forum in which to talk – and so many Irish people just need to talk to someone about the hardships that they are going through. It is a catharsis; a temporary welcome release from a permanent unwelcome situation.

Joe can’t physically do anything to help the thousands of people who appear on his show. But he can listen; something he does to great effect.

He also does one other thing…he seems to ‘get it’! He seems to understand and appreciate what people are going through in these times of taxes and repossessions and cutbacks and austerity.

But, really, there should be a little more than just a radio show to give people some respite.

Wits End

It got me thinking. A lot of people who come to my clinic are at their wits end. Talking to them about mindfulness and breathing techniques and stress-management theory just doesn’t seem to cut it a lot of the time.

They need something more. They need something that is going to make a real difference in their lives. And they need it now!

And that’s where the Existential approach comes in.

Existential Psychotherapy is rooted in the philosophy that is Existentialism. One of the great exponents of this art was the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who said: ‘Everything has been figured out, except how to live’. He had a point back then. The same point holds true today!

One of the key differences between this form of mental health care and the rest is that its focus is more on human terms rather than sickness and health. In other words, the frame of reference is philosophical rather than medical, social or psychological.

People need to find ways of making sense of life before they can make sense of their problems and of themselves, according to leading Existential Psychotherapist writer Emmy van Deurzen.

People don’t need fancy medical terms, which they have to pay through the nose for. They don’t have time for that anymore; and they certainly don’t have the money. They need a simple, down-to-earth method for helping them to get on with daily existence in a meaningful way. That’s Existential Psychotherapy.

Freedom Factor

The man who many consider the expert on this form of therapy is Viktor Frankl. He says: “The decisive factor is freedom to come up with a decision…I would like to become this way or another, in spite of conditions”.

This, I feel, is crucial. What you hear from Irish people, again and again, is a sense of being trapped. In modern-day Ireland there doesn’t appear to by any way for them to turn. The banks are not there for them. The jobs market has dried up. The Government certainly is not there for them.

There is a palpable sense of hopelessness and despair. And there is also deep psychological hurt.

Frankl talks about despair: he says despair is suffering without meaning… “If you can see a meaning in suffering you can turn tragedy into triumph”.

“Living for something is key.”

Frankl sums it all up with one of the great quotes from psychotherapy: “If we can’t change the situation we always have the freedom to change our attitude”.

For more information you can log onto logotherapyireland.com, or call 085-1994958 to book a therapy session.

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‘SHAMEFUL’ H.S.E. SLAMMED!

Editor — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:13:58 +0000

Thomas Wilson revisits the thorny issue of junior doctors and their training and discovers a sinister new development…

SOME time ago we carried a story on the sorry plight of junior doctors in this country and the sometimes inhuman hours they were expected to work.

The issue also found its way onto the front pages of the national media and Prime Time did a ‘special’ on it.

Back then we said we would be following up on this issue, not just because it affects trainee doctors, but also because it affects the quality of care of the patients.

Since then, things would appear to have gotten worse. How do we know? Well, let’s take the temperature of the health service by looking at the issue of foreign doctors.

Some years ago, the Health Service Executive (HSE) recruited a raft of junior doctors from places like India and Pakistan. At the time questions were asked as to why we had to import doctors instead of producing our own home-grown variety. Now, there are even more questions to answer!

Scramble Around

A mere 17% of these doctors from India and Pakistan have decided to stay within the Irish system and scramble around for opportunities. The rest have packed their bags and ‘got out of Dodge’.

“The treatment of these doctors by the HSE has been shameful and it is little surprise that – in common with the poor treatment of many doctors – that they have chosen not to stay in the Irish health system,” an Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) spokesperson told Health News Ireland.

The IMO says it is ‘reprehensible’ that promises made to the doctors before they left their own country are not being honoured.

The IMO puts this down to the ‘failure by the HSE and regulatory authorities to deliver on the extensive and unrealistic promises regarding the jobs and future prospects for these doctors in Ireland’.

The HSE was dragged through the mire over the issue of junior doctors working ‘illegal hours’ only a few months ago. You would imagine that they would get their act together and try to fix a situation they themselves said was untenable.

But they haven’t.

“It is clear that the HSE has learnt no lessons from the previous debacle,” says the IMO. “(In fact) The HSE has now decided to poach medical talent from South Africa, a country that can scarcely afford to part with this talent.

“It is shameful that the HSE is proposing to locate these doctors in places where training and learning opportunities are limited.”

Abject Failure

The IMO says that it is clear that the recruitment challenge facing the HSE in filling junior doctor posts is getting more difficult. However, this is not surprising due to the ‘abject failure of the HSE to address the appalling way NCHDs (trainee doctors) continue to be treated’.

The way things stand at the moment, the Irish health service is not an attractive place to work; consequently, the brightest and the best are seeking opportunity elsewhere. And who can blame them?

All that aside, the real problem that we can’t afford to lose sight of is the patient. You hear the term ‘patient-centred approach’ bandied about now and then, particularly when some bureaucrat is trying to sound morally superior.

Nothing about our health service appears patient-centred. It’s process-focused and money obsessed. Unless we do something soon to address these systemic failures, we will be writing and talking about this for years to come; and patients will be mere sub-text to the great scheme of things.

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