Category: Research Papers
ManMade Family Independent Evaluation 2016
Author: Tessa Hovarth, Renaisi
Published 2016
This report presents findings of an evaluation of The ManMade Family
programme. This was delivered in Sandwell in 2016. ManMade is an eight week programme designed to support and empower unemployed men to take care of their own mental health and wellbeing. It was developed by Forward for Life and Common Unity in response to high levels of poor male mental health and suicide, associated with gender identity.
The MandMade Family programme successfully supported men to be able to talk more openly about their emotions, to build their confidence and self-esteem, to know where to go for help and to support others in the community.
The MM Family Approach
This programme takes a targeted approach with unemployed men aged 20-60. It looks to improve their resilience and coping skills, reduce health risk behaviours, improve their mental health and reduce risk factors for mental illness.
The approach is based on the New Economics Foundation’s Five Ways to
Well-being. The NEF suggest that mental health needs and vulnerabilities to suicidal ideation are best addressed via a holistic approach which includes internal resilience tools, self-care skills and knowledge of services.
Contact Us
For more information about ManMade or any of the services delivered through Forward For Life, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 07585776800 or email us: info@forwardforlife.org
Does suicide always indicate a mental illness?
Editorial Piece: Abdi Sanati 2009
It is often assumed that suicide is almost always directly linked with poor mental health, and even more so, with a diagnosed mental health problem.
This editorial piece asks us to reconsider this almost taken for granted cause and effect assumption regarding suicide and underlying mental health challenges.
Each year, over 6000 people take their own lives in the UK. There has always been pressure on mental health services to improve risk assessment in order to reduce the suicide rate.
Back in 1992 The Health of the Nation aimed to reduce the suicide rate by 15% and by 1999 The Department of Health National Service Framework sought to cut the suicide risk by a further fifth from this target.
This implies that suicide is mainly seen as a medical or psychiatric issue – a mental illness.
Source details:
Author: Abdi Sanati
Specialist Registrar in Addiction Psychiatry, South West London & St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust,
London, UK
Published in the London Journal of Primary Care 2009; 2:93-4
Do 90% of Suicide Victims Really have Serious Mental Illness?
Commentary paper: Tony Salvatore (2014)
Anyone who turns to the suicide prevention literature for insight on the topic of suicide and mental illness will quickly encounter this statement in some form: Ninety percent of suicide victims had a psychiatric disorder (Goldsmith et al., 2002; Litts et al., 2008; American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2014)
The implication of this contention is almost causal in nature.
In this commentary, Tony Salvatore questions this statement and gives us an insight as to why the 90% statistic still looms large today.
Risk of Suicide After Cancer Diagnosis in England
Research Paper / Henson et al.
JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(1):51-60. Published originally November 21, 2018
This research paper highlights a clear association between cancer diagnosis and risk of suicide.
A diagnosis of cancer carries a substantial risk of psychological distress.
This is the first national population-based study in England on the area of the risk of suicide after cancer diagnosis. This paper also looks at different types of cancer and associated risk factors for suicide.
