Marcus Munafo considers the implications of a recent Swedish population study, which explores patterns of non-random mating within and across 11 major psychiatric disorders.
[read the full story...]Perinatal mental health difficulties: does the internet have the answer?
Jane Iles summarises a recent systematic review of digital interventions for perinatal mental health, which highlights a mixed bag of heterogeneous studies in this field.
[read the full story...]Cannabis and mental illness: it’s complicated!
Suzi Gage considers the findings of a big new US cohort study, which investigates the relationship between cannabis use and various substance use, mood and anxiety disorders.
The blog also features a podcast interview with Suzi Gage talking about this new study and her own work in this field, plus a short conversation with Ian Hamilton highlighting his forthcoming #CannabisMatters event.
[read the full story...]Implementation intentions: helping people achieve their goals
Alan Underwood highlights a new meta-analysis, which suggests that people with mental health problems can benefit if they are prompted to form if-then plans, which specify when, where and how they will achieve their goals.
[read the full story...]Virtual reality as a treatment for persecutory delusions
Suzanne Dash considers the findings of a promising new small randomised controlled trial, which aims to reduce delusional conviction in people with schizophrenia who experience persecutory delusions.
[read the full story...]The harms of psychotherapy: are BME and LGBT communities more at risk?
Keith Laws and Samei Huda mull over a recent national survey looking at patients experiences of the harms of psychotherapy. The study reports that both black and minority ethnic people and lesbian, gay and bisexual people reported higher rates of long-lasting negative effects of psychotherapy.
[read the full story...]Psychotherapy for people with learning disabilities: the views and experiences of IAPT practitioners
Reed Cappleman critiques a recent study of IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Treatments) practitioners’ experiences of providing therapy to people with intellectual disabilities.
[read the full story...]Collaborative care for depression: acceptable, effective and affordable
Ben Hannigan writes his debut blog on the CADET cluster RCT, which investigates the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of collaborative care for depression in UK primary care.
[read the full story...]Personality disorders, IAPT treatment and recovery from depression and anxiety
Mark Smith reviews a recent prospective cohort study, which considers the impact of comorbid personality problems on response to IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) treatment for depression and anxiety.
[read the full story...]Will it hurt? Chronic pain and psychological functioning
Kirsten Lawson examines a recent meta-analysis of psychological functioning in people living with chronic pain. She discovers that anxiety is more common than depression in people with chronic pain and that practitioners should prioritise psychological functioning when caring for patients suffering from chronic pain.
[read the full story...]