Befriending illness

Preferences for befriending schemes: a survey of patients with severe mental illness

BACKGROUND Befriending has become a widely used method for tackling social isolation in individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), and evidence exists to support its effectiveness. However, patient preferences for befriending remain unclear. We aimed to determine whether patients with SMI want a volunteer befriender and, if so, the volunteer characteristics and character of the relationship ...

Narcissistic fragility in the process of befriending the unfamiliar.

What do we know about our basic sense of belonging to our own society or to our own soul? What determines what is familiar, uncanny, or strange to us? Why is it that what is familiar to one, is strange and unpredictable to someone else? Why is the sense of well-being of one person linked to times of excitement, and that of another to periods of tranquillity? And why does change bring one person...

Befriending Computer Programming: A Proposed Approach to Teaching Introductory Programming

The problems encountered by students in first year computer programming units are a common concern in many universities including Victoria University. A fundamental component of a computer science curriculum, computer programming is a mandatory unit in a computing course. It is also one of the most feared and hated units by many novice computing students who, having failed or performed poorly i...

One-to-one befriending programmes for older people

Befriending for mental health problems: processes of helping.

BACKGROUND One avenue for addressing the social consequences of mental health problems is through befriending, a supportive relationship in which one-to-one companionship is provided on a regular basis. Although there is some evidence that befriending can improve psychological and social functioning, little is known about how it works. OBJECTIVE This qualitative study aimed to understand the ...