Feedback on Psychological Coping Strategies Post Stroke (Certificate Course)

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Some examples of comments (In-house Training in Specialist Stroke Unit):

"Excellent informative very high quality training, Fabulous."
"High level of content that was relevant to practice, Delivered in a relaxed and informative way."
"A very useful and interesting day and it has done me good to use my brain again to take on some new ideas, Thank you."
"Excellent content, very useful tool to use at work, speaker very engaging."
"Excellent course."
"Thought provoking excellent day, hope that I will be able to use techniques in practice."
"Paul kept attention all day, would want to attend other training days."
"I found it useful and it has raised many points I can use in my day to day work."
"Excellent course- one of the best I have attended for a long time."
"Excellent course and very valuable for practice, would be interested in attending further courses."
"Comprehensive introduction to Psychological support in stroke.. Good information pack, well planned outpaced allowing time for questions."
"Have gained insight into recognising patient problems and how I may be able to recognise and deal with them."
"Very informative and practical very good at keeping pace/attention. In my field I have daily involvement with CVA residents and families."
"I found this course very interesting and doing the physical exercises were good as you learn easier by doing that than just listening. Overall very good course."
"I feel that I have been given some new ideas to help people work out problems themselves rather than giving them limited options."
"Brilliant course and material, brilliant speaker, best course I’ve been to for a long time."
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Brain Training Doesn't Work. Or - Does It?

"Six weeks of computer brain training has little benefit beyond boosting performance on the specific tasks included in the training." That's according to an online study involving more than 11,000 participants conducted as part of the BBC's 'Bang Goes The Theory' science programme.

Adrian Owen of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and his colleagues first measured participants' baseline performance on a range of freely available tests on such measures as reasoning, verbal short-term memory, spatial working memory and paired-associates learning (a test of longer-term verbal memory).

Accoring to the researchers: "The results provided no evidence for any generalised improvements in cognitive function following brain training in a large sample of healthy adults".

The new findings are just the latest to cast doubt on the value of commercial brain training products. A 2008 investigation by the consumer charity Which? concluded that 'none of the claims [of commercial brain training products] are supported by peer-reviewed research published in a recognised scientific journal and involving the specific product'.

The Which? investigators recommended a healthy diet, physical exercise and challenging mental activities, including learning a new instrument or language, or completing crosswords, as the most effective ways to maintain a healthy mind.

What is your take on this story?
Do you thnk that results with children would be entiely different?
Do you think there is an "age limit" on our brain's ability to form new connections as a result of "btrin training"?
Is it possible that some people still benefit from these excersises even though the evidence suggest otherwise?
Does it still make sense to suggest brain training routines to older people in order to "keep their brains active?"
Please share your opinion with us.
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The results of this study will be shared and discussed on Bang Goes The Theory on BBC One at 9pm on 21 April and on the BBC's Lab UK website.
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A.M. Owen, A. Hampshire, J.A. Grahn, R. Stenton, S. Dajani, A.S. Burns, R.J. Howard, & C.G. Gallard (2010). Putting brain training to the test. Nature [In Press].
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Further reading: http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/04/brain-training-doesnt-work.html

Managing Anxiety-Based Problems in Older People - Feedback

Paul Grantham has just finished the first block of trainings on Managing Anxiety-Based Problems in Older People.
The feedback has been very good - with the vast majority of delegates rating the course as "Very Good" or "Good".
Below are some examples of feedback given by delegates after the course:

"Excellent day + very relevant + helpful to my job role." (A.A., Social Worker)
"Very good hands-on information, good video clips, excellent background information." (I.K., OT)
"Lots of useful ideas to work with." (B.B., CPN)
"Interesting stuff! Will test some of those approaches when the opportunity arises." (T.W. RMN/AMHP)
"Very relaxed style. Have learnt a lot of ideas to try. Thank you." (H.P., OT)
"Very interesting concepts that will aid my support work & counselling." (G.L., CMSW)
"Useful - practical techniques, and interventions." (S.B., Nurse)
"I have learnt a great deal. It was very informative. I will use this when working with anxiety and with illness in my workplace." (G.O., OT/Physiotherapist)

This topic is currently only available for in-house training. If you are interested please contact us via info@skillsdevelopment.co.uk

Web Helps to Slow Dementia

Jonathan Leake, Science Editor, Times Online says:

"GOOGLING is good for grandparents. Internet use can boost the brain activity of the elderly, potentially slowing or even reversing the age-related declines that can end in dementia, researchers have found.
Using brain scans, they found the internet stimulated the mind more strongly than reading, and the effects continued long after an internet session had ended.
“We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function,” said Gary Small, professor of neuroscience and human behaviour at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
In the research, Small and his colleagues worked with 24 men and women aged between 55 and 78. Half of them had used the internet a lot; the others had little experience. "

Read More:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6879663.ece#

• Please tell us what do you think?
• Do you know some one who can confirm the case?
• Do you agree on the basis of other information available in the field?
• Are you sceptical about it?
• Should we all start tweeting tomorrow?