All posts by Lindsey

The shortlist for this year's Mind Media Awards features four powerfully told stories of postpartum psychosis. They are: 

• BBC One documentary, My Baby, Psychosis and Me, which aired in February this year. 
• BBC Radio 4's The Listening Project on Postpartum Psychosis.
• BBC One Eastenders, Stacey Branning postpartum psychosis storyline that APP collaborated on with Mind and Bipolar UK. 
• The Sun Fabulous Magazine article, "Having a baby made me psychotic" featuring APP media volunteer, Kathryn. 

Mind's CEO, Paul Farmer said, "The media we consume, whether through TV documentaries, print news, digital blogs, radio or film, has a huge impact on people’s attitudes towards mental health problems." 

We believe that all four of these sensitively told PP stories go some way to raise awareness of the symptoms, help reduce the stigma surrounding this mental illness and help those who develop Postpartum Psychosis get diagnosed and treated more quickly.

The winners will be announced on 14th November. 

Congratulations to APP trustee Clare Dolman who has been invited to take part in the development of a national ten-year strategy for mental health research. 
 
The recently published Five Year Forward View for Mental Health recommended that the Department of Health, working with others, should set out a ten-year strategy for mental health research. The work has been divided into different areas to cover Basic Research, Translational Research, Population and Health Services Research and Children and Young People.  

Clare, who lectures at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London on service user research, often referring to examples from her own experience of bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, has been asked to be Deputy Chair of the Population and Health Service working group. Clare said,
 
“I’m very pleased to have been asked to take part in this important exercise, especially as it enables me to represent people using mental health services, particularly perinatal services”. 

Overseen by Professor Chris Whitty, the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, these groups will meet over the next few months with a view to publishing recommendations next year.

This week also saw the launch of a paper written by Clare on on decision making in pregnancy for women with bipolar (see photo) which you can find here. Double congratulations!