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Written and presented by Neil Thompson, this course offers a sound understanding of the problems associated with stress. Equivalent to a full day’s continuous professional development, the course provides helpful strategies for preventing pressure from overspilling into stress and responding positively to situations where stress has become an issue. It is an ideal grounding for staff and managers alike across a wide spectrum of organisations and settings ... Click here to read more

I have been involved in studying (and tackling) stress for decades. A number of things have stood out for me from my activity in this area. One important one is that there is a danger that, when pressures start to mount, people have a tendency to stop doing things that normally help them cope and keep pressures within manageable limits (and thereby avoid stress). Ironically, this then has the effect of making stress more likely: just as pressures are mounting, we start doing less of the things that counteract stress. For example, the person who really benefits from going to the gym regularly and is able to use that to keep pressures under control may reach the point, once pressures…

Local government plays an important role in all our lives: it provides vital care and social services, influences economic development in our neighbourhoods and is a vital part of the UK’s democratic system. • Local councils spend around £95bn a year • Women make up over 75% of the local government workforce • Women are only 33% of local councillors, 19% of elected mayors and 13% of council leaders. (as of 2016) 'Local and Equal – does local government work for women?' is a year long commission by the Fawcett Society and Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) to answer this question. The commission is jointly chaired by Dame Margaret Hodge MP and Cllr Gillian Keegan, Director of Women2Win, alongside a host…

Integrating music with supportive care of the dying is becoming more common in hospice and palliative care programs. The conscious use of music as an adjunct support service is good example of how the multidisciplinary approach to hospice care seeks to address the total person and their family. There are several ways that music can be of help. This overview will cover the most common uses of music at different stages of the support continuum, ranging from stress relief for the relatively healthy, to bedside support for the acutely dying, the use of music in funerals and memorial services, and as part of supportive care for grief recovery. Because music reaches a deep, non-rational part of the human spirit, it is…