Easier access to support for people with depression and anxiety: RightSteps 
Published by Julie Virgin September 30, 2008 in Mental Health. 
Comments (2)
Many people with depression and anxiety want to have access to ‘talking therapies’ – talking to a trained counsellor about their problems - rather than taking anti-depressants, but at the moment this kind of support is not widely available. The Government is committed to increasing access to these ‘psychological therapies’.
Continue reading Easier access to support for people with depression and anxiety: RightSteps
Increasing our market value
Published by Stepping Stones August 14, 2008 in Mental Health. Comments (3)
We are currently all making jewellery for the market stall which we run every other Thursday. Although the Internet site is still important to us, we have been experimenting with this market stall for a while now as an additional means of bringing money back into the project, enabling us to invest in new areas of interest and also increase public awareness of the project.
Continue reading Increasing our market value
Heavy Load
Published by Steve Palmer August 12, 2008 in Learning disability. Comments (0)
I’ve just heard about the release of a really interesting new film and felt that I had to blog about it. Heavy Load is a documentary that follows the rise to fame of a thrash metal punk band that is made up of people both with and without a learning disability. Specialising in thrash covers of late 70’s punk (including The Clash’s ‘I Fought The Law’) – or punk versions of recent pop (including Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My head’), Heavy Load is unlikely to have a top ten hit. ‘We like to take a classic song’ says guitarist Mick, ‘and crucify it’. I can’t wait to see this film!
‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies part 2
Published by Bottling it Up June 19, 2008 in Campaigns, Substance Misuse. Comments (1)
The following testimonies deal with the emotions of suffering and show how people have used different mediums to express their feelings. The first is a poem, and the second is an extract from a published book. If you have an opinion on the issues mentioned please leave a comment. For more information visit the ‘Bottling it Up’ area of the Turning Point website.
Continue reading ‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies part 2
‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies
Published by Bottling it Up June 4, 2008 in Campaigns, Substance Misuse. Comments (0)
The 2006 ‘Bottling it Up’ campaign aimed to raise awareness and examine the impact of parental alcohol misuse. The testimonies we received during the campaign will be republished here over the next five months for you to explore. We received comments from people of all ages, all with vastly different experiences. So if you have an opinion on the issues mentioned please leave a comment. For more information visit the ‘Bottling it Up’ area of the Turning Point website.
The testimonies below were received shortly after the campaign appeared in the media.
Continue reading ‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies
Get yourself connected
Published by Abeda May 2, 2008 in Connected Care. Comments (3)
“I realised I was playing a small role of an exciting journey hoping to turn lives around, by getting involved, getting connected and being a small voice to make a difference to my community of Deane and Derby.”
Bolton’s becoming one of the first areas in the country to pilot Turning Point’s new way of designing and delivering services, called ‘Connected Care’. Local people are recruited as community researchers to interview people from their area to find out what kind of health and social care they want. That means those services can be improved, joined-up and made more accessible. See the coverage in the Bolton News.
I’m a community researcher, and I’ll be grabbing a clipboard and finding out what kind of services people in Derby and Deane want.
Continue reading Get yourself connected
Tackling alcohol problems in hospital
Published by Phyllis Cannon April 7, 2008 in Substance Misuse. Comments (7)
I am the Turning Point hospital worker at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead. Turning Point has three of us: my colleagues Geoff in Sunderland and Julius in Watford are doing the same thing in their local hospitals, seeing people who have drink problems referred from A and E and other hospital departments.
Yet it’s the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff that get the ball rolling: they are the ones that identify patients for whom alcohol may be an issue, so we are in partnership with the NHS on this. They initiate discussions with patients about alcohol use and screen patients to determine if a referral should be made to us – the hospital alcohol workers. It is important to emphasise that contact with the alcohol worker is only arranged with the patient’s consent.
Continue reading Tackling alcohol problems in hospital
Alcohol Awareness Week 2008
Published by Steve Palmer April 4, 2008 in Substance Misuse. Comments (1)
Monday 7 April marks the start of Alcohol Concern’s Alcohol Awareness Week. This is an important week as it aims to raise awareness of the sensible drinking message among the general public and also persuade policy makers at both the national and local levels to devote greater resources to alcohol treatment.
During the week all blogs uploaded to this site will be about alcohol so please visit us again and see what’s new. Remember that you can also share your thoughts or experiences by leaving a comment below.
Until then you can read Ronnie’s story.
For more information please visit Alcohol Concern’s website.
Sign up for our new e-newsletters
Published by Nicky D February 19, 2008 in News. Comments (1)
If you’re reading this blog then it’s clear that you already have an interest in Turning Point’s work. So you may be interested to hear that April sees the launch of our new series of e-newsletters.
Alongside a quarterly general Turning Point e-newsletter, there will also be regular emails on learning disability, mental health, substance misuse, and our Centre of Excellence in Connected Care. You can sign up for the newsletters on our website.
“So I messed up again and felt so ashamed”
Published by Ronnie February 8, 2008 in Substance Misuse. Comments (14)
Well my story started about four years ago when I was sitting on a park bench very drunk. I started talking to a woman who said she could help me into detox. This was going to be my first time there. I was told that I had to come in with a drink inside me to help me prepare. Sadly, by the time I arrived, I’d had more than that to drink. I got there, I was seen and then I went to my room to get ready for a night where the drink would soon wear off. Continue reading “So I messed up again and felt so ashamed”
