Children should be screened for anxiety disorders to prevent them developing severe mental problems in later life.

The following are extracts from an article by Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor in The Independent, Monday, 5th September 2011

Children should be screened for anxiety disorders to prevent them developing severe mental problems in later life. Treating anxiety early would be the single most effective way of reducing the burden of mental disorders – one of the most common causes of disability in the developed world, according to Professor Hans Ulrich Witten, lead author of study of the state of Europe's mental health.

It is estimated that 38.2 per cent – 165 million people – of people in Europe suffers from a mental disorder and that anxiety is the commonest.

The findings of the three-year study, which covered 30 countries and more than 500 million people have been published in the journal European Psychopharmacology.

The incidence of depression has doubled since the 1970s and the average age at onset has fallen from the mid-twenties to the late teens as adolescents lost their sense of security in a changing world, Professor Witten said. 

Anxiety disorders affect 14 per cent of the population and effective treatment at an early stage can reduce the later development of depression by 60 per cent. Professor Witten said: "We screen for dental caries [decay] – why not for anxiety, ... because the potential treatments are so effective?" 

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This book does not propose a 'cure' for autism. Rather, it suggests that psychotherapeutic treatment which is based on a deep understanding of the function of autism can modify and heal the overwhelming need for this powerful inbuilt survival reaction, so that it is used appropriately in a less overall and crippling way.

 By Frances Tustin, Karnac Books, 1990

 This book is by a professional for other professionals, but thoughtful people who are interested in the fundamental aspects of human nature will also find much to interest them. The papers which have been published in various journals or delivered to professional audiences since the appearance of Francis Tustin's previous book Autistic Barriers in Neurotic Patients are integrated with unpublished material written especially for this book, so that they can enrich and illuminate each other. A paper from the early days of her work with autistic children is the focus of this present work, since her awareness of encapsulation as being the major protective reaction associated with the autistic states of both psychotic and neurotic patients, has stemmed from that early paper.

Her theme in this book concerns the protective and preservative aspects of the type of autism which seems to be mainly psychogenic in origin, although there may be a minimal organic and hormonal disturbances. Particularly valuable is her attempt to clarify the specific differential characteristics of this disorder. Based on this clarification, the functions and handicaps that are unique to 'Psychogenic' autism are discussed, and their sources pinpointed.

Mrs Tustin adds to our understanding of autistic children, and the autistic capsule in neurotic adult patients, by showing that the autistic recourse to what she calls autistic sensation objects and autistic sensation shapes has handicapped cognitive, social and emotional development, which are shown to be intertwined. Here is a contribution from detailed psychotherapeutic work with autistic children, and the autistic capsules in neurotic adult patients, which not only help us to understand their tragic handicaps, but also throws light on certain details of the elemental levels of normal psychological development which they have missed. It is a kind of micro-psychology.

If you would like to take part in or know more about this research into mirror therapy, please contact us.

Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects a child's movement control and co-ordination, due to damage to the brain in the period before or just after birth. In spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy movement is hampered by involuntary contractions of the muscles (spasms) at one side of the body (mainly the limbs).

Recent evidence suggests that mirror therapy may reduce muscle co-contraction and thus improve arm mobility in children with Cerebral Palsy. For this therapy you place a mirror vertically on a table, perpendicular to the chest of the child. The child then places (say) the left affected arm at the left side of the mirror and the unaffected right arm at the right side. After a while the child will get the impression that the mirror reflection of the unaffected side represents the left arm. Therapy exploiting this illusion has shown promising results in people suffering from complex regional pain syndrome or one-sided paralysis after stroke.

At the Institute for Biomedical Research into Human Movement and Health (Manchester Metropolitan University) we are investigating the mirror-box illusion. With help from Sparks we want to assess the effects and underlying mechanisms of mirror therapy.

We are always looking to expand our network. If you would like to take part in or know more about this research, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dr. Alex Benham – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Tel: 0161 247 5470)

Dr. Frederik Deconinck – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Tel: 0161 247 5532)