How valid are hospital psychiatric diagnoses?

equalizer-2818803_1280

Vishal Bhavsar explores a recent study that uses data linkage to electronic patient records to assess the validity of selected mental health diagnoses in English Hospital Episode Statistics.

[read the full story...]

Polypharmacy for major depression: is practice evidence-based?

joshua-coleman-623077-unsplash

Jessica Bone reports on a recent cross-sectional study that looks at the clinical correlates of augmentation/combination treatment strategies in major depressive disorder.

[read the full story...]

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”. Depression and bipolar disorder in people with intellectual disabilities

woman

Kathryn Mitchell and Stephen Moore summarise a recent prospective cohort study in the British Journal of Psychiatry, which looks at the incidence of unipolar and bipolar depression, and mania in adults with intellectual disabilities.

[read the full story...]

Does co-locating welfare advice services improve mental health?

support-desk

Katie Evans from Money and Mental Health considers a recent study looking at the impact of co-located welfare advice in healthcare settings, which found significant improvements in financial outcomes, but less convincing results in terms of health benefits.

[read the full story...]

Smartphone apps for depression: do they work?

attentie-attentie-558964-unsplash (1)

Michelle Eskinazi and Clara Belessiotis write their debut elf blog on a recent meta-analysis of smartphone‐based mental health interventions for depression, which concludes that there is a possibly promising role for apps in the prevention and treatment of sub-clinical, mild and moderate depressive symptoms.

[read the full story...]

Non-medical use of prescription drugs #NonMedicalDrugs

playmobil-451203_1280

Ian Hamilton and Julia Buxton from the University of York preview the #NonMedicalDrugs event that will take place in York on Friday 16th March 2018.

The meeting will bring together people who can offer personal and professional insights of the extent of the issue and how we can support people who develop problems.

[read the full story...]

Blended psychotherapy: barriers and facilitators identified by psychotherapists

rob-hampson-494775-unsplash

Stefan Rennick-Egglestone on a qualitative study of psychotherapists’ views about the barriers and facilitators to implementing blended psychotherapy for depression.

[read the full story...]

SSRIs and suicidality: effects of SSRIs on rating-scale-assessed suicidality in adults with depression

sam-austin-266386-unsplash

Rina Dutta and Patrick McLaughlin summarise a new study looking at the effects of SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) on rating-scale-assessed suicidality in adults with depression.

This study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry supports the conclusion that SSRIs remain a safe and effective treatment in depression for those aged 18 and over.

[read the full story...]

The prevalence of digital self-harm among adolescents

thought-catalog-547048-unsplash

Alexander Foster and Tatiana Salisbury publish their debut blog on a recent study of digital self-harm in adolescents. In case you’re wondering, digital self-harm is the anonymous online posting, sending or sharing of hurtful content about oneself.

[read the full story...]

Antidepressants can help adults with major depression

thought-catalog-567751-unsplash

André Tomlin reports on a new network meta-analysis that brings together the best available evidence comparing the efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressants for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder.

This groundbreaking review of 522 trials is the largest ever meta-analysis in psychiatry, and finds that antidepressants are more effective than placebo for short-term treatment of acute depression in adults.

[read the full story...]