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14 Nov 2025 • Blog, Mental Health

Supporting Neurodivergent Patients and their families

In a recent Practice Plan podcast, special care dental nurse, Lisa Andrews Davies, discussed the work she had done to produce a website to support the parents of children newly diagnosed with ADHD and autism…

9 May 2025 • Blog, Mental Health, Uncategorized

Mental Health Awareness Week – Burnout: how to spot the signs and what to do about it

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week (12th – 18th May), we explore burnout – how to spot the signs and how to prevent it. Sadly, burnout is common among members of the dental profession. A…

14 Jun 2024 • Blog, Mental Health

Gary Nelson muses on Imposter Syndrome in dentistry

Two miners’ strikes, power cuts, the UK’s first female Prime Minister, oh yes, and The Bee Gees were all over the pop charts. And in 1978, psychologists Dr Pauline Clance and Dr Suzanne Imes first…

26 Jan 2024 • Blog, Mental Health

Breaking the taboo of addiction

Despite celebrities and prominent public figures sharing their stories, addiction remains a taboo subject. Which is why it’s brave of qualified dentist Sheetal Jain, to share her experience of learning to live with addiction and…

17 Nov 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

Dan’s becoming a Mo Bro

Not only is it November but it’s also Movember, the month when strange growths start appearing below the noses of usually clean-shaven men! This year, Practice Plan graphic designer, Daniel Roberts, along with his football…

6 Oct 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

999 Comments – have empathy with your customers

Are you lacking in fellow feeling at the moment? Are you feeling inclined to agree with French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre when he said, “Hell is other people”? If so, Area Manager, Gary Nelson, has some…

8 Sep 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

Debunking some myths about suicide

To mark World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September, Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Andy Elwood sets out to bust some of the myths about suicide. Suicide is a big problem in modern society. To…

5 May 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem

Area Manager, Gary Nelson, suggests looking on the bright side as he reflects on the first quarter of 2023. What’s happening? It’s one of the top questions I get asked each week. Usually followed closely…

24 Mar 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

Three years in a month

A throwaway remark at a recent football match became a lightbulb moment for Area Manager, Gary Nelson. Here he explains why. You learn something from everyone you meet, something my dad has instilled in me…

23 Feb 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

In this month of love, love yourself first

Mental Health First Aid instructor, Andy Elwood, explains why it’s important to learn to love yourself so you can love others. Love is an emotion that we can feel in many different contexts. We’re obviously…

16 Jan 2023 • Blog, Mental Health

Remember your why

Happy New Year to you. Let’s tip toe into 2023 without wakening its grumpy brother, 2022, or its long-lost cousin of 2022 and definitely not its evil stepsister, 2020. The first weeks back in any…

6 Dec 2022 • Blog, Mental Health

How to navigate the festive season

Figures from YouGov and the Mental Health Foundation show 25% of people experience a downturn in their mental health over Christmas, and 54% of people are worried about someone else’s mental health over Christmas. In…

21 Oct 2022 • Blog, Mental Health

Asking for help

Area Manager, Gary Nelson looks back at the past couple of years and urges people to ask for support and revive the spirit of community, compassion and caring that was displayed during the early stages…

14 Oct 2022 • Blog, Mental Health

Menopause Awareness – Cognition and Mood

Although World Menopause Day is held every year on 18th October, the whole of the month of October is given over to raising awareness of the menopause and how it affects people. The theme of…

31 Jul 2022 • Blog, Mental Health

Five small ways to lift your mood and spirit

Here, we look at five ways you can lift your own mood and spirit and that of your staff… We can all feel a little bit low sometimes, and that could be down to things…

28 Jul 2022 • Blog, Mental Health

How the pandemic helped Bridge2Aid develop a new sustainable model.

The pandemic forced many charities to halt their activities abruptly. Some organisations used this period of forced inactivity to reassess their activities and look for ways of doing things better. Practice Plan Regional Support Manager,…

13 Jul 2022 • Blog, Mental Health

New World Juggling

Practice Plan Area Manager, Gary Nelson muses on how we’re still juggling, but in a different world. Let me begin if I may with one of my favourite quotes… ‘Isn’t it funny how day by…

6 Jun 2022 • Blog, Dental Landscape, Mental Health

Is there a future for NHS dentistry?

Any NHS dentist thinking about whether to move to private dentistry, is likely to be asking themselves whether the NHS has a future. And if it does, is it a future that they want to…