Cellular immune phenotypes of depression: a gateway to precision medicine 

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In her debut blog, Fabiana Corsi-Zuelli summarises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the role of peripheral immune cells in depression, with a focus on implications for future immunotherapy trials.

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The international prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour in youth

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Lucy Barrass summarises a systematic review published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry that explores the international prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour among young people across global regions.

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Online psychodrama for dementia: “Zooming” our way towards improvement?

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KCL Masters student Azza Elsheikh summarises a recent qualitative study exploring the experiences of online psychodrama for people with dementia.

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Virtual reality therapy for psychosis: positive patient experiences and few side effects

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Steven Parkes considers a randomised controlled trial exploring the satisfaction and side effects of gameChange, a virtual reality intervention targeting anxiety in every day situations for patients with psychosis.

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Interventions to foster resilience in nursing staff may help (a little) in the short-term

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Olga Lainidi summarises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of resilience interventions on the mental health of nursing staff.

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Add on iCBT: weak evidence of modest benefits in depression and anxiety

iCBT can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD and PTSD - could its accessibility help reach more people?

Liesbeth Tip and Antigone Lanitis reflect on a recent systematic review and meta-analysis that investigated internet-delivered psychological treatment as an add-on to treatment as usual in depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

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Mental health services for sexual minorities: experiences of discrimination, barriers to services and priorities for improvement

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In her latest blog, Siobhan D’Almeida appraises a qualitative study exploring the experiences of sexual minorities when accessing mental health services, with a specific focus on the impact to the therapeutic relationship.

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Serotonin hypothesis of depression: balance (and imbalance) is in the eye of the beholder

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The 2022 review by Moncrieff et al on the serotonin theory of depression received a great deal of media coverage. In this blog, Rebecca Wilkinson and Sameer Jauhar shed fresh light on this research and what it means for mental health science and practice.

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The term ‘borderline personality disorder’ is misunderstood by almost everyone; it needs to go

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Many people feel very strongly about the term ‘personality disorder’. It is not the adjective that troubles; it is the noun. ‘Disorder’ is used as from 1980 onwards every mental health diagnosis has been listed as a disorder even if the final word is not mentioned. You cannot make a mental diagnosis without using it, [read the full story…]

Care or punishment? Black service users’ experiences of inpatient mental health care under detention

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Ian Cummins summarises findings from a recent qualitative study by Solanki et al. (2023), which explores the experiences of individuals from Black Ethnic backgrounds detained under the Mental Health Act (1983).

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