Shirley Reynolds

Shirley Reynolds

I'm a clinical psychologist. Most of my work has been research on depression and anxiety and how to improve treatments. We need to make effective treatment available to everyone @DrS_Reynolds

Location University of Reading

Activity

  • by the way I'm @cbtreach if you are on twitter

  • I've taken note of this an just had the chance to directly interact on twitter with one of our followers...we just need more of them...any tips?

  • Biggest commercial impact surely equals the biggest turnover and market reach - so Coca Cola comes to mind as available everywhere....then all the e-companies that have near perfect international reach. Social purpose - much less obvious - I am a cynic about some of their avowed aims and generally see these as a way to reduce taxes....but perhaps Patagonia...

  • Before I go any further I realise that I am a bit of an anti-brand person - not that I don't appreciate the attachment people have to some products but I find it a bit off putting to have that identified in such a deliberate way - I'm hoping that this course will open my mind a bit - and in fact it already has to some extend as I had never appreciated that...

  • Hi, that is a risk factor but of course lots of children who have parents with depression do not get depressed - as said above there are a lot of different factors and they all interact with each other @IreneBaxter

  • Very very hard Karen

  • Wow that's powerful as they can see the wooden blocks stack up - Do you find they respond to praise and attention as well?

  • that's an additional benefit - non monetary rewards are also important don't you think?

  • What you highlight is just how important it is to consider each family and each individual on their own merits. Parenting is hard hard work and sometimes we all slip up

  • Thanks Chaz and Thais - there absolutely is a firm theoretical basis (and good evidence) for thinking about how to use rewards to increase behaviours we want to see more of - thanks for highlighting this

  • Absolutely - listening and paying attention is the ultimate reward

  • yes - ideally rewards would come from activities or spending time with people and sharing something fun - as you say that can be very hard to get someone who's depressed to start ...we need to be not too ambitious!

  • Yes absolutely - and rewards don't have to cost money - they can include shared activities as well as praise and attention.

  • Great point - we show our children how to behave so it's quite possible that learn directly from us as well as from friends and other people. It's knowns as 'modelling' and the general advice is model what you want them to do / how you want them to behave.

  • Yes i think that is generally the case - our need for sleep changes throughout life - and it's great you don't worry about it - that definitely wouldn't help!

  • Interesting idea Elina. As psychologists we are focusing on what we know best - but wouldn’t it be great to see some sociologists develop another course?

  • Sorry Mary I don’t know

  • I don’t think it does - sounds perfect

  • I guess it’s a continuum - so more simple and more complex

  • Good luck @AlessandraB It’s a tough period. Sleep when you can and walk when you can (with the pram). Survival is the aim!

  • Yes it's not easy - sometimes makes more sense to build into everyday life .e.g not giving lifts to schools (within reason!)

  • that's great to hear - do you run alone or with other people? or both?

  • it's quite possible that might be better for you - most people find it much harder to wake even earlier and then get up and less difficult to stay up later .....however it's reducing the time asleep that is critical here....

  • If you are quick going back to sleep it really doesn't matter....but if it is ages and ages you are awake we'd probably suggest getting up, doing something quiet for 10-15 minutes, and going back to bed....

  • The world simply sometimes is not organised around our children's needs - is there any way this could be changed if other parents and young people also found it a struggle?

  • Sleep difficulties are often a concern in anxiety - however, our research suggests that young people who are depressed have more problems with sleep and they are more consistent i.e. they struggle to get to sleep at weekends as well as during the (school) week.

  • I agree that schools can really help in this regard = but they need decent funding to provide healthy meals and teach children how to eat and how to shop and cook

  • quite right - correlation does not equal causation - @PhilippaThomson There is a massive need to do experimental studies but as you can imagine these raise a few logistical and practical problems. I'm pleased to say we have started - and taking flavonoids for 4 weeks does seem to improve mood compared to a placebo....but it is early days

  • Hi, i think this will violate the guidelines as advertisements are not allowed. I have flagged so the moderators can take a look

  • I wonder if there might be very small steps you could try for a while (say 2 weeks) and then see if there is any effect ?

  • It certainly true that it's hard to get teenagers to take 'good' advice - but sometimes they will follow steps to deal with a very specific problem like poor sleep -

  • Taking the whole picture is important - however, Faith and I have just published a study which shows that treating sleep problems (and only that) can improve both low mood and anxiety....so this is an area well worth our time and attention.

  • Is that 'Sleepio" by the esteemed Professor Colin Espie? If it is you did well to find it as it is a great online treatment - hope it helped

  • This is a very lively area of research and one we are all taking an interest in - in our team we've been looking at the effects of flavonoids on mood - it's fascinating but we have so much yet to learn.

  • yes there really is increasing evidence of the direct positive effect of exercise on low mood - but so hard to take such active steps when the last thing you can imagine is making that kind of effort

  • Shirley Reynolds made a comment

    If you've got here well done - hope to see you next week.....sometime later, whenever you get the chance to join us again

  • Let us know how that goes? Good luck

  • That is a huge problem in the UK

  • Thank you!

  • yes the school would be part of the young person's environment - @ClaireFoston

  • Sorry to hear about your difficulties getting help but glad you were able to help your daughter

  • Yes it can be very difficult to spot depression in young people - partly because many symptoms are not visible and because depression looks very different in different people. A sustained change from 'usual' behaviour is a good hint

  • Yes and it's very important to bear in mind that thinking about death and dying is something that many young people do and it doesn't necessarily mean anything ominous - it can be part of just thinking about life and identify and the world in general and part and parcel of growing up

  • HI Karen, we do have another online course that deals with anxiety and depression in adults - might be of interest

  • Thanks for sharing that - i hope you have found some way to manage this really difficult experience - thank you for your advocacy of those who need a voice

  • Separating fact from fiction - oh how i agree. I'm sure we will discuss a lot of things where separating fact from fiction is quite difficult and there are very strong opinions

  • Sorry to hear that Anita - very tough

  • That sounds incredibly tough Zoe - i hope this course is useful to you and very best of luck to you and your family

  • Hi Roseanne, i was in South Africa a few months back - you have a really important (and difficult) job to do there and i hope we can help in some small way. P

  • Hi Eman, it's great that you are looking out for your friend - take care of yourself too

  • We have some material on the adolescent brain coming up - look forward to your comments

  • Hopefully you won't ever need it Alvina

  • Hope this is interesting - we look forward to hearing from you @LoisJones

  • It's lovely to see such a great mixture of people here - thanks for joining us

  • That's great - we do our best to be engaged and really enjoy it

  • Yes absolutely (at least in the UK anyway - it may differ across countries) - It can be helpful to support older teenagers but it's not required

  • The NICE guideline is based on the evidence about effectiveness and safety of treatments - it's important that any medication for depression prescribed for a young person is carefully monitored and usually psychological treatments are offered first - but not always

  • Does this also work with teenagers @KarlRobson ?

  • Yes it's a tricky thing to balance and we are bound to get it wrong a lot of the time!

  • Thanks everyone for your tips about where, how, when, to open up a conversation with young people - doing something else (driving, cooking, walking etc) seems to be a general theme.

  • That's not something we've noticed before - thanks for pointing it out - be interested in what other people think? Did anyone else notice?

  • Thanks @maryrussell - i don't think we fully understand how the group or social context affect the incidence of self harm but i think that some of the material that Sarah Jane Blakemore discussed is probably relevant

  • That's a really tough place to be @MerylGoulbourne - sounds like you are doing a great job and providing support and safety for your son

  • Totally understandable Joanna - it's often these changes in behaviour e.g. school work that are the most visible (outward) sign of depression in young people - and then it's not always clear what they mean

  • Thanks for the link

  • That's so interesting as we see lots of young people with depression who keep away from other people because they worry that they will snap at their friends, and upset them, and then end up losing their friends. But of course the more they stay away, the worse the feel, and the more distant they become from their friends, who aren't able to support them. ...

  • It's progress (I think) but it's way too slow!

  • Yes perhaps we can keep a more open mind and feel a bit more confident to be observant and ask questions. There is a lot of overlap between different mental health problems and of course many people have more than one so the picture can be unclear.

  • Glad you found your way to the counsellor

  • I'm really pleased that has come across clearly - i think we often misjudge young people and see their irritability as something else, rather than a symptom of depression

  • All of those issues (poverty, unemployment, hormonal changes) certainly seem to increase the chance that someone will experience depression

  • Agree that many teachers do not feel well equipped to support children and young people with mental health problems - there is more training available now and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust (see links provided later or google) will do training for schools on this topic (in the UK). Their website also has a lot of practical information for schools and...

  • Yes this is really important - where a school can take a 'whole school' approach to mental health this can help everyone learn and benefit, including teachers and parents.

  • Interesting point - there are obvious cultural differences of course but i was at a talk that Sarah Jane Blakemore gave yesterday and she was making the point that adolescence, and risk taking and social developments associated with it, is a period of development that is seen across cultures and even across mammals. Very interesting

  • Yes it's very likely that there are real benefits as well as risks associated with adolescent brain development - becoming independent and moving away from your parents is all about taking managed risks

  • This is definitely a very complicated topic!

  • hi Lisa - i'm not sure where you are based - perhaps you could use a desktop computer at your local library?

  • Hi Joan, thanks for joining us again - hope you find this one useful

  • It’s always optional.

  • Yes that is so often the he case Anne and the consequences can be grim

  • I think I’d be on the look out for complete withdrawal from things that he used to enjoy and engage in. Lack of interest in usual activities. This needs to last several weeks and not be related to a single specific experience - So a clear change from what you are used to would be a starting point for thinking about depression.

  • I agree Jo.

  • Welcome across the miles

  • Hi Sam - we will focus on depression and low mood here but you might find our other course on anxiety and depression useful -

  • Hi Juergen. Great to ‘meet’ you. It would be great to discuss research with you sometime

  • Hi!

  • Thanks and welcome. It will be great to get your input and hear your views

  • Thank you!

  • Hub aneila. That’s a very common concern and I hope the course will be really useful

  • Shirley Reynolds made a comment

    Thank you all for sharing your reasons for joining us - I hope we hear more from you as we go through the course. There is so much varied experience that we can all learn from each other.

  • I think we can do that. And a great opener. Thank you

  • Welcome to the course everyone - we look forward to hearing from you over the coming weeks and to the discussions we will have on this forum

  • You are welcome back anytime Sue!

  • Great idea - i hope someone who is expert in OCD does exactly that

  • Hi S - we didn't expect most people to have a look at the papers, let alone read them as they were there really for the few who really want the fuller picture. So don't worry about that! Glad you enjoyed it overall

  • Thanks both of you - glad you liked most of it and i appreciate your feedback on the bits that were more frustrating

  • Thank for making that point Susie - empathy, warmth and respect are crucial elements of all therapy - that Carl Rogers was a genius and we have all learned from him

  • Good luck Rebecca - hope it goes well

  • Thanks Maria, i'm sorry that was frustrating for you - we appreciate the feedback and I'm sure you can understand that completing the full story of therapy for all the examples is not possible in the time we have....