Companion collection – Mental health and wellbeing

  Veterinary surgeon Kirstie Pickles is a passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing who discovered she was autistic in her 40s. Kirstie has recently undertaken training with AT-Autism and Anna Freud to become a co-deliverer of their groundbreaking National Autism Trainer Programme. In this article, Kirstie focuses on the experience of autistic individuals in practice and how simple adjustments can make a veterinary workplace more accessible.

  Veterinary surgeon James Glass speaks candidly about his challenging mental health experiences, his road to recovery and his subsequent PhD research into a better understanding of suicidal thinking and the suicide risk in the veterinary professions.

   Clinical psychologists Sarah Corthorne and Dr Katherine Wakelin present their findings from a randomized control trial which has led to the development of their newly launched Compassion Course for Vets.

 Sarah Keir is a small animal primary-care veterinarian currently providing peripatetic medicine and ultrasound services in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire and in this article she offers some insight into securing your perfect job.

  Do you dream of an extended holiday or taking time to study something in depth? Or perhaps you have a need to have more time for a caring role? In which case, a sabbatical might be what you need. Sarah Keir takes a closer look…

  Following on from Mark Turner’s article in the July 2020 edition of Companion,1 this article, by Sarah Keir, focuses on other more personal aspects of burnout.

  Sarah Corthorne and Katherine Wakelin, psychology researchers at the University of Surrey, take a closer look at self-criticism and self-compassion amongst veterinary surgeons and invite you to improve your self-compassion skills by taking part in their research project funded by a Sarah Brown Mental Health Mind Matters Grant.

The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) is a charity hosted by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health and community trust with a zero suicide ambition. ZSA works in collaboration with NHS trusts, non-profit organizations, local authorities, businesses, and individuals to raise awareness of suicide and its contributing factors. The aim is to break the stigma that surrounds suicide and enable leaders to drive meaningful action to help prevent suicide in the UK and beyond.

 Emma Stansfield, from VDS Training, explores how mental health and wellbeing can be maintained at work. This is the first part in a series of mental health and wellbeing articles and will focus on how individuals can help manage their own wellbeing. Read on to find out what we can, and should, do to stand the best chance of having a fulfilling and enjoyable career, where our performance and wellbeing are optimal and sustained even in the presence of challenges.

 Peter Lewin and his Newfoundlands were the winners of the 2022 Kennel Club Hero Dogs award at Crufts in Birmingham on Sunday 13 March. Together with his team of two-legged helpers, Peter provides opportunities for people with mental health challenges to swim with the dogs – an experience that can lift their mood and persuade them that life is worth living. John Bonner reports...