Counsel of despair

Fisheries: hope or despair?

Recent work suggesting that fisheries depletions have turned the corner is misplaced because analysis was based largely on fisheries from better-managed developed-world fisheries. Some indicators of status show improvements in the minority of fisheries subjected to formal assessment. Other indicators, such as trophic level and catch time series, have been controversial. Nevertheless, several de...

Despair on disparities.

In this issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Sokka et al (see page 1666), by analysing the data from the Quantitative Standard Monitoring of Rheumatoid Arthritis (QUEST-RA) cohort, with over 6000 patients from 25 countries, warn us of possible disparities in the health of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This international team of researchers found a clear association between gross dom...

Can general practitioners counsel?

It has been suggested that general practitioners are in a prime position to counsel patients presenting with psychosocial problems. While many doctors use counselling skills in their consultations few have received training in counselling and the difference between the use of counselling skills and the process of counselling is not always understood. This paper examines the differences between ...

Despair and Hope

The Independent Counsel Mess