Aims and method Community treatment orders (CTOs) are increasingly embedded into UK practice and their use continues to rise. However, they remain highly controversial. We surveyed psychiatrists to establish their experiences and current opinions of using CTOs and to compare findings with our previous survey conducted in 2010.Results The opinions of psychiatrists in the UK have not changed since 2010 in spite of recent evidence questioning the effectiveness of CTOs. Clinical factors (the need for engagement and treatment adherence, and the achievement of adherence and improved insight) remain the most important considerations in initiating and discharging a CTO.Clinical implications Given the accumulating evidence from research and clinical practice that CTOs do not improve outcomes, it is concerning that psychiatrists' opinions have not altered in response, particularly given the implications for patient care.

During their social work education, students engage in a number of stressful learning activities, often simultaneously, which can negatively impact their well-being, mental health and social work practice. Mindfulness practices are beginning to be integrated into social work curricula globally to enhance student self-care along with key social work practice skills and values. This mixed methods study examined the effects of a bespoke six-week online mindfulness-based social work and self-care (MBSWSC) programme on the stress, burnout, well-being, anxiety and depression levels of thirty social work students from two universities in the UK. This study also examined the effects of MBSWSC on a number of mindfulness-based mediators of change in these outcomes. Participant perceptions of the benefits of the MBSWSC programme on their well-being and social work practice are further explored via a thematic analysis of an open-ended questionnaire. Statistically significant changes in all variables were found post-programme except for depression and loss of empathy/depersonalisation, a facet of burnout. The qualitative data provided a deeper insight into the potential benefits of the programme for the enhancement of student well-being, mental health and anti-oppressive social work practice (AOP).

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of user and carer involvement in a new one-year postgraduate certificate course for Mental Health Officers (MHOs) in Scotland, covering the first year of its delivery (2009)(2010).Design/methodology/approach -This was explored in two ways: first, by assessing the level of user and carer involvement against a modified framework; and second, by measuring students' confidence in working with people with mental health issues over the duration of the course, and through interviews with students and service users and documentary analysis. Findings -The findings indicate user and carer ''influence'' and ''partnership'' over the design and delivery of the learning, teaching and assessment strategy, but no degree of ''control'' over any aspect of the course. Teaching provided by users and carers was associated with marked improvement in students' confidence in engaging with and upholding the rights of users and carers in the context of the MHO role. Students reported increased awareness of the lived reality of compulsory treatment. Users reported benefits from feeling they had helped facilitate future good practice.Research limitations/implications -The research design does not allow for causal links to be made between increases in student confidence and user and carer involvement.Practical implications -The study identified substantial barriers to effective user and carer involvement but confirmed its potential as a positive change agent for post-qualifying social work education.Originality/value -This study contributes to the evidence base by demonstrating the value of service user and carer involvement in post qualifying social work education.

This project starts with the contention that social work education must challenge students to reframe their knowledge and assumptions to prepare them for working with oppressed groups and develop emancipatory practice. Using transformative learning theory, constructive developmental pedagogy and related approaches, it explored the extent to which students achieved transformative learning in the context of a communication skills module. The learning and teaching components were changed in three ways: by introducing critical reflection seminars; by encouraging students to discuss their assumptions about practice within lectures; and by making immediate use of student observations about their learning needs to reconstruct the pedagogy as the module progressed. Data were gathered using semi-structured questionnaires, a self-efficacy rating scale, and a focus group. The findings highlight problems in measuring and determining causality for transformative learning but indicate that for a majority of students transformative learning in relation to knowledge and assumptions occurred.

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