Hafal Expert Patient Trainer Dave Smith’s latest Western Mail column is online today.

The latest edition of the Mental Health Wales journal, which features an exclusive interview with Health and Social Services Minister Lesley Grifiths AM, is now available online.

A report into a homicide carried out by a mental health service user in the Tremorfa area of Cardiff in June 2009 has “highlighted concerns in relation to the adequacy of the care and treatment” provided to the user.

A study published in leading medical journal “The Lancet” has claimed that one in 12 people self-harm in their teenage years.

Mental health service users in Wales have won the legal right to holistic care planning. Years of campaigning by service users and carers have resulted in new Regulations which give patients in Wales the right to a Care and Treatment Plan covering all areas of life.

A report evaluating the effectiveness of school-based counselling in Wales has found that young people, teaching staff, local authorities and counsellors have all expressed high overall levels of satisfaction with the service.

In his fourth annual report Children’s Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler has said that although there has been progress in the provision of mental health services for young people in Wales during the last year “we still have a long way to go before all young people across Wales can confidently expect to receive appropriate treatment in a timely manner as close to their homes as possible.”

“Together for Health” a five year vision for the NHS which promises a “new comprehensive approach to mental health care” has been launched by Health and Social Services Minister, Lesley Griffiths AM.

The decision to close big mental hospitals and treat patients in the community has failed to help the most vulnerable, according to a major new report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).

An excellent new website, “Epic Friends”, has been set up to help young people with a serious mental illness.