25th January 2015
This content originally appeared on Diana Barran's blog in January 2015 and reflected her views at the time. Caada is the previous name of SafeLives.
Like most of us, I tend to carry around a pile of articles and research findings to read.
Today I caught up on the findings from the Provide conference held in Bristol before Christmas. This programme is led by Prof Gene Feder and includes both pilot trials followed by randomised control trials.
Of particular interest I think are the findings of the PATH (psychological advocacy towards healing) trial. In PATH, women are offered not only conventional advocacy such as given by an IDVA, but also the advocate delivers some psychological therapy. This helps bridge the gap between women experiencing much higher levels of mental illness than the average, but also the reality that even those who do disclose mental health issues are unlikely to get an effective intervention from mental health services. For more information go to http://www.bristol.ac.uk/social-community-medicine/projects/provide/evid...
The study showed firstly that PATH filled a gap and secondly that the intervention gave enduring benefit for over a year.
We are keen to make the links between practical advocacy and longer term ‘recovery’ support. This looks like a promising example. Please let us know if you have emerging good ideas in your area.
