Andre Tomlin

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André Tomlin is an Information Scientist with 20 years experience working in evidence-based healthcare. He's worked in the NHS, for Oxford University and since 2002 as Managing Director of Minervation Ltd, a consultancy company who do clever digital stuff for charities, universities and the public sector. Most recently André has been the driving force behind the Mental Elf and the National Elf Service; an innovative digital platform that helps professionals keep up to date with simple, clear and engaging summaries of evidence-based research. André is a Trustee at the Centre for Mental Health and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London Division of Psychiatry. He lives in Bristol, surrounded by dogs, elflings and lots of woodland!

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New report from the Alzheimer’s Society makes recommendations for the commissioning of dementia services

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Mental health commissioners will be interested in this new report from the Alzheimer’s Society and MHP Health Mandate, that was published just before Christmas.  It follows on from the publication of the Department of Health’s Dementia Commissioning Pack back in July 2011. The report looks at the current policy landscape and how it relates to [read the full story…]

New guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders

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The 8 year old NICE guideline on eating disorders should be updated fairly soon. In the meantime, researchers in Germany have published a new clinical practice guideline on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. The guideline contains evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders. The guideline is available in [read the full story…]

Mental illness following childbirth can help predict bipolar disorder in later life

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We know that it can take many years for people with bipolar disorder to be accurately diagnosed, following an initial episode of mental illness. This cohort study carried out by researchers from Denmark, the US and Wales, set out to study to what extent psychiatric disorders with postpartum onset (following childbirth) are early manifestations of [read the full story…]

Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy may help young children with post traumatic stress disorder

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Recent studies have shown that pre-school children can be affected by post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that the condition can last for years even after treatment. Good quality randomised trials have shown that trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy can be a very effective treatment for older children and adolescents with PTSD, but there have been [read the full story…]

Happy Christmas to all Mental Elf readers and followers!

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We elves have a busy time of it over the festive period, what with the present-wrapping, gift-giving, evidence-sifting and blogging.  It’s a wonder we don’t become crippled by stress and end up completely Christmas crackers. I’m taking a few days off over the holiday period to unwind and relax in the woods with my elfin [read the full story…]

Should we be treating seasonal affective disorder with antidepressants?

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Seasonal affective disorder (winter depression) is a type of depression that recurs in the autumn and lasts until the spring. It is similar to regular depression except sufferers are usually very tired and have an increase in their appetite. It is more common in countries with few daylight hours in winter. People with seasonal affective [read the full story…]

New meta-analysis shows no substantial differences between second generation antidepressants for depression

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A large number of systematic reviews and guidelines have been published in recent years to assist clinicians in prescribing the best antidepressants for treating depression. This new meta-analysis conducted by researchers from Austria and the US, sets out to compare the benefits and harms of second generation antidepressant drugs in the treatment of major depressive [read the full story…]

Mental health problems and colon cancer: a double-whammy that leads to poor cancer outcomes

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We know that mental health problems often go hand in hand with other physical health complaints. Older adults with cancer and mental health issues are especially vulnerable as they tend to suffer from behavioural, socio-economic and biological changes that act as barriers to effective healthcare. This retrospective cohort study conducted by researchers from the University [read the full story…]

Fewer than one in ten people with schizophrenia show sustained improvement over 3 years

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This large prospective observational study followed 1,635 chronically ill patients with schizophrenia for a 3 year period. The aim was to identify the best baseline predictors of recovery. Sixty-two factors were assessed as possible prognostic variables, including patient-reported variables, clinician-rated variables and medical record based resource utilisation. Here’s what they found: The likelihood of a [read the full story…]

Direct interventions may help reduce psychological distress in carers of the terminally ill

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Caring for someone who is terminally ill can often lead to considerable personal distress. In some cases caregivers may suffer from hopelessness and negative mood, in others they may experience anxiety disorders, clinical depression or other mental or physical health problems. This Cochrane systematic review assesses the effects of supportive interventions that aim to improve [read the full story…]