Schizophrenia Commission

How fantastic that a report has been made looking into the way Schizophrenia is handled in the UK. The points that really caught my attention were that 220,000 people in England have psychotic experiences, patients are frequently being admitted against their will (and probably given anti-psychotics against their will) and that the cost of Schizophrenia to society is estimated at nearly £12 billion in England! The commissioners have highlighted how only 1 in 10 of those who could benefit from CBT actually receive the therapy which is ludicrous, NICE guidelines have pointed out the benefits of psychological therapies and these need to be recognised and put into action. I agree that the money budgeted for everything involved with Schizophrenia (from drugs to prevention) is not enough- only 13% of NHS resources- and that more should be spent on preventative programmes instead of using every resource on security provisions and drugs. Finally someone has noticed the flawed system that is being used to treat Schizophrenia in the UK and is doing something about it, I say more therapy/therapists and less time temporarily 'managing' the patients with major tranquillising drugs!

Derren Brown and Placebo

Four participants think they are receiving a drug that eradicates fear, will the power of placebo prevail? Derren just pointed out 75% of anti-depressent success may be due to the placebo effect, the fact that we have the psychological power to treat our own conditions is just breath taking.