Please note – Trigger alert – this article contains reference to mental health issues
Thanks to Chris Goulden of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Thanks to Chris, I just came across this little gem on the DWP Gov.UK site …
To improve the employment and health prospects for people with common mental health conditions, RAND Europe recommended the government pilot a number of interventions.
The ‘Group Work’ Psychological Wellbeing and Work Feasibility Pilot is a group-based intervention based on the JOBS II model developed by the University of Michigan. It was jointly commissioned by DWP and the Department of Health. This evaluation examines the most effective design and delivery mode of the ‘Group Work’ intervention.
We also piloted another intervention, recommended by RAND Europe, using combined telephone-based psychological and employment related support. The evaluation of the Telephone Support Psychological Wellbeing and Work Feasibility Pilot was also published on 22 September 2015.
Findings from this research will be used to design the intervention and delivery model for the larger scale impact trial, due to start in 2016.
Authors: Meg Callanan, Tze Ming Mok, Triin Edovald (NatCen)
I’ve quickly read through the reports and I must admit I find it all a bit worrying.
The report makes light of the use of the term “psychological” and replaces it with “well – being”
The other worrying thing is that the questionnaire (a main stay of most pilot studies) that the claimant was asked to complete does not seem to be available; although there is plenty of evaluation from work coaches and job centre advisors, who surprise, surprise, think the pilot is wonderful.
Also, considering that this pilot is aimed at claimants with depression and anxiety, there does not seem to be any input from suitably medically qualified mental health specialists.
I’m sure the DWP and RAND Europe (you can read more about them by clicking on the link below) think people with anxiety and depression are just lazy and not motivated and telling them that work is good for them will make them better!
http://www.rand.org/randeurope.html
Don’t let the “not for profit” description on their website fool you, you can be sure that they are receiving millions from the UK government in research and development grants – another bloody private company that our government are throwing tax payers money at!
RAND EUROPE UK LTD
Classification: Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities
Legal Information
That kind of simplistic attitude to mental heath, at a time when a coroner has ruled “beyond any reasonable doubt” that the DWP and IDS WERE responsible for the death of Michael O’Sullivan beggars belief!
The lovely wibbly wobbly old lady 
Reblogged this on L8in.
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Reblogged this on perfectlyfadeddelusions and commented:
They are delusional when it comes to mental health, I’ve had it from maximus.
They don’t give a flying fuck about people with mental health problems.
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Course they don’t … it’s all about the money honey!
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Thanks for this info I live in the Gloucester area and volunteer with a charity who have been given ‘work’ placements by the so-called job centre – there were no jobs to find as the terminals no longer worked with the new software, the nearest online place to actually search for a job was the busy city library where you had to wait for a free PC!
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PS: just taken a quick look at the Rand website and saw this on the front page: “Quoted
“Many refugee children have been out of school for several years, causing incalculable damage to their personal development.”
The quote is from one of their analysts, highlighted from an article: Help Syria Avoid a ‘Lost Generation’ surely we don’t need research / scientific evidence to understand the obvious!!
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They’re probably rubbing their hands thinking, this is an excellent way to make money out of someone elses misfortune, which is all they seem capable of quite frankly!
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The cynical business of war has many money making outlets (jobs for the boys and girls) we even have conferences on international law and armed conflict to give ‘experts’ the opportunity to:
“… share their perspectives. It means that they can compare practices and policies on a range of issues relating to law and armed conflict. This is invaluable as it generates mutual understanding across jurisdictions and between different professions.”
Ref:http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-hrfgconference
But not enough ‘mutual understanding’ to stop the armed conflict and the arms trade in the first place! Just like the job centre analysis, we need non exploitive jobs that are paid at a fair wage and a supportive society not more scientific inquiry into the debilitating effects of an unjust, neoliberal greedy economy that helps to destroy the common bonds between people. Rant over!
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Reblogged this on markcatlin3695's Blog.
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Reblogged this on amnesiaclinic and commented:
Thanks for alerting us.
Very, very worrying – the last thing people with mh problems need.
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Hi Glynnis, just an FYI of related info, the application of behavioural science to government policy from the ‘Nudge Unit’: http://www.behaviouralinsights.co.uk/publications/mindspace/
Mindspace a checklist of influences on our behaviour for use when the government makes policy one of the keys to changing an individuals behaviour is to change their context…..
The Checklist:
Messenger, we are heavily influenced by who communicates information
Incentives, our responses to incentives are shaped by predictable mental shortcuts such as strongly avoiding losses
Norms, we are strongly influenced by what others do
Defaults, we ‘go with the flow’ of pre-set options
Salience, our attention is drawn to what is novel and seems relevant to us
Priming, our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues
Affect, our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions
Commitments, we seek to be consistent with our public promises, and reciprocate acts
Ego, we act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves
More on the Nudge Unit (or The Behavioural Insights Team): http://www.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2015/09/20150915t1830vOT.aspx
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Thanks Michelle – VERY interesting X
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