UEL Psychology Seminar Series - Professor Kamaldeep Bhui - 12th November 2014

We are so pleased to have Professor Kamaldeep Bhui for our next Psychology Seminar Series.

UEL Psychology Seminar Series
Date: 12th November 2014
Time: 13:00-14:00
Venue: Arthur Edwards Building Room 2.06

Professor Kamaldeep Bhui
Professor of Cultural Psychiatry & Epidemiology
Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London & East London Foundation Trust

Title:
Interventions to Improve Therapeutic Communications: a systematic review of interventions for black and minority ethnic patients and clinicians in specialist mental health services.

Abstract:
This paper considers the evidence on interventions that improve therapeutic communications and identifies interventions that seem most effective; patient preferences are taken into account as is the quality of each of the studies that included trials, observational studies, case series and case studies. Intervention components that maximise engagement, empowerment, and better outcomes are considered, especially cultural consultation and ethnographic methods. The implications for clinical practice, care services, public mental health and commissioning will be presented.

Biography:
Professor Bhui works as a clinical academic psychiatrist in London and is the Centre Lead for Psychiatry. His research and practice interests on health include social exclusion, work characteristics, cultural psychiatry, epidemiology, health services research and psychological therapies. He qualified in Medicine at the United Medical Schools of Guy's & St Thomas, and subsequently has worked at the Maudsley, Institute of Psychiatry, Guy's King's, St Thomas' Medical Schools.

His current research projects include studies of residential mobility and the effects on mental health of Somali refugees, explanatory models of mental disorder, work characteristics and ethnicity. He is Director at the Cultural Consultation Service at Barts (Culturalconsultation.org) and Director of MSc Psychological Therapies and MSc Transcultural Mental Healthcare at QMUL and MSc in Mental Health and Law. He is also the co-founder of Careif (www.careif.org), an international mental health charity based in London that promotes work for young people and their health through culture, sport and arts. Professor Bhui is President elect of WACP & Congress President for the Third World Congress of Cultural Psychiatry 2012 (www.wacp2012.org). He is editor of British Journal of Psychiatry, International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, Ethnicity and Health, and on the editorial board of Transcultural Psychiatry.

Session Chair: Professor Rachel Tribe

Congratulations to all of our School Prizewinners 2013-14

We would like to congratulate all of our School Prize Winners 2013/14. These prizes are awarded to those students who obtain the highest marks, the best performance and work hardest to graduate, across all of our programmes.

Congratulations to all!

School of Psychology Prize Winners 2013/14

Dean of School Prize Winner

Florentina Oaie                                              BSc Psychology

Shelley Roseaman                                         BSc Forensic Psychology

Nina Fricker                                                   BSc Counselling

Helen Devonshire                                          Prof. Doc. Clinical Psychology

Emily Dixon                                                  MSc Clinical & Community Psychology

Tarli Young                                                    MSc Applied Positive Psychology

               

BPS Undergraduate Prize Winner

Lisha Blubert                                                 BSc Psychology

                               

John Radford Prize Winners

Elaine Maakah                                               BSc Psychology

Laura Brady                                                   BSc Psychology

Mohammad Sahraei M. Moradi                     BSc Psychology

Victoria Douglas-Smith                                  BSc Forensic Psychology

Aileen Gibson-Steel Memorial Prize Winner

Michelle Apostolides                                      BSc Psychology

Providing protection in the 21st century - what role for the UK?

UEL Psychology Seminar Series
Date: 22nd October 2014
Time: 18:00-19:00
Venue: Arthur Edwards Building Room 2.06

 

Mr. Maurice Wren
Chief Executive
Refugee Council

Title:
Providing protection in the 21st century – what role for the UK?

Abstract:
The global refugee crisis that is presently unfolding requires a truly global political and humanitarian response. Yet the dominant political imperative in Europe is to constrain access to refugee protection for the purpose of retaining or achieving domestic political credibility. In the UK, this creates tensions: between the Government's celebration of the UK's proud history of proving protection to refugees, and it's resistance to any policies leading to a rise in the number given protection; between the Government's acknowledgement that spontaneous asylum applications will continue to increase, and its determination to limit the cost and visibility of the asylum process; and, within Government, between the Home Office's prioritisation of assertive border controls, and the FCO and DfID's appreciation of the UK's international obligations as a global player.

I will discuss the work of the Refugee Council in the context of these tensions, with particular reference to our recent, successful, campaign for the establishment of a Syrian refugee resettlement programme in the UK.

Biography:
Maurice Wren became Chief Executive of the British Refugee Council in March 2013, having previously been the Director of Asylum Aid, an NGO providing legal representation to people seeking refugee protection in the UK (2002 – 2013). Prior to joining Asylum Aid, Maurice held senior positions in the homelessness field at Shelter and the Housing Associations Charitable Trust (HACT).

Maurice was a co-founder of, and expert adviser to, the Independent Asylum Commission (2007-09); an expert adviser to the Centre for Social Justice enquiry into the UK asylum system ‘Asylum Matters’ (2007-08); a co-founder and member of the co-ordination group of Detention Forum (2009-present); and a member of the Home Office and Ministry of Justice’s Early Legal Advice Project Board (2010-2013). He is presently co-Chair of the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum at the Home Office, Chair of the Refugee Week Steering Group and a Trustee of Migrant Voice.

Session Chair:
Professor Rachel Tribe

Article by Lynne Dawkins published in the Newham Recorder

Cigarette smoking kills. We all know that. 82,000 people die every year from their effects in England alone. But the burning question now is, are e-cigarettes a better alternative?

Before answering this, there are two other questions we must consider first.

1. Do e-cigs help cigarette smokers give up?

2. Are e-cigs free from health risks?

In answer to question 1,

Research from a survey conducted at the University of East London (UEL) by Dawkins and colleagues revealed that the overwhelming majority reported using the devices as a way of kicking the habit altogether.

The findings, which were published in the journal, Addiction Journal, show that nearly 75 percent of respondents started using e-cigarettes as a complete alternative to smoking, while 22 per cent said they had started using the devices for other reasons, such as avoiding smoking restrictions (3 per cent).

In one of the most significant findings, 86 percent of those surveyed confirmed they had not smoked cigarettes for several weeks or months since using the e-cigarette, and the majority of people felt their health had improved since using the devices. More recently, in a survey of smokers in England. Brown and colleagues have reported that smokers using e-cigarettes were more likely to have quit smoking than those using traditional nicotine replacement therapies (20% vs. 10%).

In answer to question 2
E-cigarettes may not be absolutely safe for the user, but they are definitely a far less harmful alternative to cigarettes.

And regarding the effects of the vapour on bystanders (passive smokers) there is currently no evidence of harm associated with e-cigarette fumes to on-lookers although this requires continuous monitoring. An extensive review of the effects of toxicants in e-cigarette vapour published this year concluded that the risks of e-cigarettes to the user are very low and exposure to those nearby, is even lower and “thus pose no apparent concern”.

Whilst ingesting nicotine could not be described as a ‘healthy’ activity, the safety issues associated with e-cigarettes tend to be exaggerated. The effects of overly harsh regulation could actually do more harm than good, if it discourages smokers from switching from a less harmful activity. Continued regular smoking on the other hand will kill half of all users.

Link to the full article here

Lynne Dawkins

Social anxiety and heavy situational drinking: Coping and conformity motives as multiple mediators

Social anxiety clinical disorder with a cluster of symptoms ranging from fear of being negatively evaluated, avoidance of situations where one might be judged or evaluated, fear or avoidance of social interactions that may result in negative evaluation. Research has shown that people with clinically elevated social anxiety are more likely to develop a clinical alcohol use disorder than people without such high social anxiety. Understanding more about differences in drinking patterns and motivation to drink alcohol among high social anxiety drinkers remains an important area of research.

Our earlier research (Terlecki, Ecker, Buckner, 2014) showed that people with high social anxiety might experience more drinking problems due to heavier drinking in particular high-risk situations: negative emotional situations (e.g., when feeling sad or angry) and personal/intimate situations (e.g., before sexual intercourse). Understanding why socially anxious persons drink heavily in certain situations could inform alcohol treatment and prevention efforts for these high-risk drinkers. Drinking motives are an individual’s reason for drinking alcohol and they may help explain why socially anxious drinkers drink more in certain situations. People generally drink alcohol to enhance positive feelings, to socialize, to cope with negative feelings, or to avoid social ridicule. People have different reasons for drinking in different situations and research suggests that highly socially anxious drinkers are motivated to drink for different reasons than people in general. Understanding more about socially anxious persons’ motivation for drinking in high-risk situations may help us learn to prevent risky drinking practices that can cause more alcohol problems and alcohol misuse.

In the current study, we examined the mediating role of drinking motives on the relationship between social anxiety and drinking in these high-risk situations among university students (N = 232). We found that clinically elevated social anxiety was associated with greater coping motives (i.e., wanting to drink to cope with negative mood) and conformity motives (i.e., wanting to drink to avoid social scrutiny or evaluation) more so than enhancement motives (i.e., wanting to drink to enhance positive mood) or social motives (i.e., wanting to drink to socialize). Both coping and conformity motives mediated the relation between social anxiety and heavier alcohol consumption in negative emotional and personal/intimate drinking situations. This means that socially anxious individuals with greater coping and conformity motives were most likely to drink heavily in high-risk situations. Our findings also showed that coping and conformity motives were jointly linked with heavier situational drinking among socially anxious drinkers. Our findings suggest that heavy situational drinking among undergraduates with clinically elevated social anxiety can be jointly attributed to desire to manage negative affect and to avoid social scrutiny.



The full paper can be accessed here until November 2014.

Terlecki, M. A., Ecker, A. H., & Buckner, J. D. (2014). College drinking problems and social anxiety: The importance of drinking context. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(2), 545-552. doi:10.1037/a0035770

Our 2014 paper can be accessed here


Meredith Terlecki

ACTION NOT WORDS II: NEGOTIATING MULTIPLE IDENTITIES

WHEN:            Friday 17^th October 2014, 9:30am – 4:30pm (Registration from 9:00am)

WHERE:           University of East London, University Square Stratford, 1 Salway Road, Stratford, London E15 1NF (entrance is on Salway place at the end of Salway road)

Organisers:     Psychologists belonging to various forums interested in issues related to race, culture and diversity from the Divisions of Clinical, Counselling and Educational Psychology including but not limited to BACPG and ERFCF

Sponsors:        Divisions of Clinical, Counselling and  Educational and Child Psychology, British Psychological Society.

Following the highly successful  joint cross-divisional conference on ‘Therapeutic Interventions: Action not Words’  held in October 2013 at the BPS offices in London, a follow up conference will be held on the topic ‘Negotiating Multiple Identities.”

This conference will emphasize and develop knowledge around culture and black and ethnic minority experiences for those involved in all aspects of applied psychology and shaping psychological services for adults, children and young people. We are excited to host a  range of excellent keynote speakers,  and offer ten inspiring workshops.  All workshop facilitators have been drawn from practitioners in clinical psychology, community psychology, counselling psychology and educational psychology.

OBJECTIVES INCLUDE:

To promote the development of psychology services that are relevant and accessible to people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Communities in the UK.

·        To explore the issue of multiple identities with reference to issues of equality and diversity.

·        To identify the role of psychologists in challenging multiple discriminations by  developing  further awareness of discrimination in its many forms and it effects on clients, services, professionals and its overall impact on psychological work.

·        To strengthen the development and application of cultural competence in individual psychologists, groups of professionals, and educational and health institutions to the needs of people from Black and Minority Ethnic Communities.

Key note speakers: Dr Elaine Arnold, Psychotherapist (Migration and its effect on individual identity ), Dr Nimisha Patel, Clinical Psychologist & Professor Rachel Tribe, Counselling & Occupational  Psychologist (Human rights, social justice and psychology), Dr Suman Fernando, Psychiatrist (Globalization of ‘mental health’ and ‘mental illness’. Implications for the Global South) and Dr Matthew Jones Chester, Consultant Neuro-psychologist (Cross-cultural neuropsychology: from bigotry, through bias, to interaction).   

The Conference is ideal for service providers, practitioners, educators, researchers, policy makers, advocates, trainees and anyone with an interest in providing culturally appropriate services to adults, children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Discount rates are available.

For further details and registration please go to: www.kc-jones.co.uk/action Early  booking is recommended to ensure that you obtain a place. We hope that you will come along and join us.