Part 3 in a four-part series on solving the toll of depression on populations. Pim Cuijpers focuses on the psychological treatment of depression and gives an overview of a meta-analytic research domain.
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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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Simon D’Alfonso summarises an editorial by Sarah Carr, which places the patient as a “domain expert” in artificial intelligence mental health research.
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Health and social care professionals routinely assess the mental capacity of people to make decisions about their lives, in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act, 2005. A new briefing note for policy makers and mental health professionals looks at how we can mitigate the risk of assumptions and biases in assessments of mental capacity.
Alex Ruck Keene, an expert in mental capacity and mental health law, summarises the briefing and looks forward to the live streamed #MentalCapacity2020 debate at 12pm on Thursday 26th March.
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Douglas Badenoch explores a meta-analysis of follow-up data from clinical trials of antidepressants, which found a small but significant increase in suicide risk.
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Sameer Jauhar and colleagues critically assess the evidence for Open Dialogue, presented in a recent narrative review of quantitative and qualitative studies, which finds that most current studies are highly biased and of low quality, and there is an absence of clear data on effectiveness.
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Ellie Gant summarises a meta-analysis that asks: Was Eysenck right after all? A reassessment of the effects of psychotherapy for adult depression. The paper suggests that we seriously overestimate the benefits of psychotherapy by including biased trials in meta-analyses, and that there’s insufficient reliable research to be certain about the effectiveness of problem-solving therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and behavioural activation.
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Joseph Hayes and Sameer Jauhar set the record straight on antidepressant withdrawal. They show how the recent review by Davies and Read is seriously flawed and does not accurately portray the data. They conclude that we urgently need clearer evidence on the incidence, severity and duration of any symptoms related to antidepressant withdrawal.
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Suzanne Dash explores a recent meta-analysis that looks again at RCTs of cognitive behavioural therapy for depression, to ascertain whether or not the effects of CBT are systematically falling over time.
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Tracey Roberts examines whether a retrospective observational study accurately investigates the effectiveness of second and first generation antipsychotics.
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