In her debut blog, Emma Sullivan explores a new paper looking at the feasibility of a CBT for insomnia intervention (delivered by non-expert practitioners) for young people with mental health difficulties.
[read the full story...]Unprecedented times: pregnancy and mental health in the era of COVID-19
Siobhan D’Almeida explores a recent paper which finds that pregnant individuals experienced high levels of anxiety and depression during COVID-19.
[read the full story...]Mental health interventions for healthcare staff in infectious disease outbreaks
In her debut blog, Bryony Porter summarises a systematic review exploring interventions to address mental health issues in healthcare workers during infectious disease outbreaks.
[read the full story...]Can eCBTi improve adolescents’ sleep?
Jack Barton marvels at the paradox that the very digital devices that harm our sleep patterns so terribly, may also be a possible solution to insomnia and sleep problems in young people. A new systematic review on digitally-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy (eCBTi) for youth insomnia shows a little promise.
[read the full story...]Insomnia, paranoia and hallucinations: Sleepio CBTi at the OASIS
Jack Barton publishes his debut elf blog on the huge OASIS randomised controlled trial, which explores the effects that improved sleep can have on our mental health.
[read the full story...]Commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs: do they work?
John Baker summarises a review of commonly prescribed medication that covers seven psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, methylphenidate and cholinesterase inhibitors.
[read the full story...]CBT for insomnia in people with active psychotic symptoms
Sarah McDonald appraises the Better Sleep Trial (BEST), a pilot RCT which shows that CBT may be a promising treatment for insomnia in people with active psychotic symptoms.
[read the full story...]CBT for insomnia in psychiatric populations: an effective alternative to hypnotics?
Amy Green appraises a systematic review of CBT for insomnia (CBTi) in people with comorbid mental illness, which concludes that cognitive behaviour therapy could be an effective alternative to hypnotics. However, concerns about the review methodology cast some doubt on the findings.
[read the full story...]Cochrane review finds no good quality evidence for common medicines used to treat sleep problems in Alzheimer’s Disease
People with dementia caused by Alzheimer’s Disease (ADD) (which is estimated to be around three quarters of people with dementia) often suffer from sleep disturbances. These symptoms cause distress to the person with dementia and to their carers, increase the likelihood of admission to a care home, and are also very difficult for care home [read the full story…]
Why do GPs over prescribe benzodiazepines? Synthesis of qualitative studies
Benzodiazepines are used to treat insomnia, anxiety and chronic back pain due to their sedative and muscle relaxing effects. They’ve got a sting in the tail though and can cause memory disruption, loss of coordination and dependence if used long term. It’s therefore recommended that other treatments, such as psychological interventions, are tried first and [read the full story…]