Are crisis responses for children and young people effective?

Screenshot 2024-06-27 at 13.05.12

Beth Cumber summarises the CAMH‐Crisis project – a large systematic review exploring crisis response interventions for children and young people, with a focus on effectiveness, lived experiences and service organisation.

[read the full story...]

Here comes the sun: associations between daily light exposure and psychiatric disorders

matthew-hamilton-tNCH0sKSZbA-unsplash

Emiliana Tonini summarises a large-scale cross-sectional study, which suggests that encouraging individuals to increase their exposure to bright natural light during the day and minimise exposure to artificial light at night may help with our mental health.

[read the full story...]

Are chatbots the answer to minimising inequalities in treatment access?

possessed-photography-HuE1cJo-x34-unsplash

Robert Meadows considers the findings of a recent paper on the use of artificial intelligence chatbots in increasing self-referrals to mental health services.

[read the full story...]

Enhancing mental health care for autistic individuals: bridging gaps and breaking barriers

Yellow,Pencil,Rocket,Breaking,Through,Black,Wall,Obstacle,On,Blue

Today Ruby Jarvis presents two new reviews from the Mental Health Policy Research Unit, which summarise the adjustments that clinicians can make to improve mental health care for autistic children, young people and adults.

[read the full story...]

Antidepressants: what is the Smallest Worthwhile Difference?

Performance,Rating,Or,Customer,Feedback,,Credit,Score,Or,Satisfaction,Measurement,

Linda Gask summarises findings from a cross-sectional online survey that investigated the Smallest Worthwhile Difference necessary for individuals with depression to consider taking antidepressants.

[read the full story...]

Cannabis use disorder associated with increased risk of both psychotic and nonpsychotic unipolar depression and bipolar disorder

Cannabis plant

Jack Wilson critiques a recent Danish longitudinal study published in JAMA Psychiatry, which suggests that cannabis use disorder is independently associated with bipolar disorder and unipolar depression.

[read the full story...]

Functional alternatives to alcohol: desirable effects, but without the harm?

Gaba.the,Word,Is,Written,On,A,Slip,Of,Colored,Paper.

Matt Field summarises a review led by David Nutt, which presents our current knowledge of how alcohol mediates its effects in the brain, and how we can exploit this knowledge to develop functional safe alternatives to alcohol.

[read the full story...]

Inflammation and depression: new insights into sex differences in adolescents

Illustration set of 9 different faces of all sexes and races . Also available in other sets.

Sophie Fairweather explores a recent paper which suggests that the inflammatory cytokines IL-2 and IL-6 are associated with both the risk of developing depression, and with depression severity, although this relationship is modified by sex.

[read the full story...]