April

The impact of Time Banking on the psychological wellbeing of Croydon’s Depression Alliance is clear from this short article in the Guardian. The key strategy of the employment and wellbeing programme is to ensure local GPs can offer something more than medication to the 700 alliance members taking part – so they are also referring people to the local time banking programme. The positive impact on self esteem and local community as a whole is clear.

Nina Powel’s polemic piece in the Guardian’s Happiness has been consumed by capitalism provides a good introduction to the economics of wellbeing and the general direction society seem to be heading in. The costs to the economy of poor mental wellbeing are also highlighted in this review of the UK government’s new Mental Health Strategy for England.

And finally, has Cameron got it wrong with his focus on making people happier? Yes, according to professor Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology and the "optimism expert who inspired the prime minister". We should instead be focusing less on individual happiness and more on people’s ability to flourish if we are to progress, says Seligman. It’s a valid argument but it will take a lot of work to instil this term in the public mind now that the happiness index has had so much publicity.