Editorial

Citation

Freestone, M. (2013), "Editorial", Mental Health Review Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mhrj.2013.55818aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Mental Health Review Journal, Volume 18, Issue 1

Welcome to a new volume of the Mental Health Review Journal. Astute readers will have noticed that our Editorial Team is rather reduced this year due to the departure of Chiara Samele and Nicola Wright. Chiara joined me as Editor in 2007 and is as responsible as anyone for the continued existence of the journal and its current state of excellent health. Nicola joined us later in 2011 but has been a great source of energy, enthusiasm and creativity within the team, including the excellent special issue in the last volume on international issues in mental health. I thank them both sincerely for their invaluable and contributions and support over the years and wish them the very best.

Together with the Institute of Mental Health and our publishers, Emerald, we have decided to restructure the Editorial Team and I would be delighted to hear from our readers if they are interested in becoming involved in the running of the journal. We are seeking to appoint both Editorial Board members to assist in recruiting papers and providing peer reviews, and also – for those with a bit more time to spare – Associate Editors to work alongside the Editor in supervising the review process and providing editorial steer to the journal as a whole. If either role interests you, please do get in touch with me at the e-mail address below this Editorial.

Having made the claim of excellent health for the journal, I am delighted to be in the position of putting content where my mouth is – so to speak – and presenting another group of high quality papers in this issue. Despite their central position in new payment by results metrics, mental health care clusters have been a source of some confusion for myself and colleagues; and Michael Clark and colleagues have provided a description of an invaluable new web site to help clarify the more esoteric aspects of this crucial framework and assist with delivery.

Another particularly tricky aspect of inpatient care is managing the physical health needs of our patients. Working in a residential secure unit where the local fast-food services seem to be on speed-dial, I am delighted to see the presentation of pro-active programmes for weight management such as the one piloted by Irene Cormac and colleagues at Rampton Hospital. In this issue, they provided an updated and expanded version of the evaluation of this programme that appeared in The Psychiatrist in 2008.

A second paper from Rampton’s lively research culture comes from Jon Taylor and Sarah Trout at the new therapeutic community for high-risk patients with learning disabilities. This early discussion of “lessons learned” from setting up the pilot – that will go on to inform a range of new services for such individuals within the prison service and I am delighted to be able to publish some of this early work. A third high security paper by Jonathan Heasley and colleagues presents an evaluation of a night confinement programme; a controversial intervention, perhaps, but one that has saved at least one ward I have worked on and a paper that was well-received by reviewers.

Also in this issue we have a vital and interesting piece of work performed by Laura Dennick, Andrew P. Fox and Alison Walter-Brice evaluating “Mindfulness groups for people experiencing distressing psychosis”.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this collection of papers and look forward to hearing from those of you who would like further involvement in the journal.

Mark Freestone