Relationship training for children and family practitioners: does it work?

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Martin Webber looks at a rare social work randomised controlled trial (RCT) on relationship training for practitioners working with children and families and finds that even findings from a study using ‘gold standard’ research methodology have to be carefully examined for reliability.

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Folic acid for depression: RCT finds no effect on reducing incidence of depression or bipolar

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Elly O’Brien summarises a recent RCT of folic acid for depression, which explores whether mood disorders can be prevented in young people at familial risk. The trial finds no evidence that folic acid supplementation reduces the incidence of mood disorders compared to those taking placebo.

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Sustained smoking cessation intervention for hospitalised smokers

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Sally Adams summarises a new randomised controlled trial in JAMA, which tests a sustained care intervention and post-discharge smoking cessation for hospitalised smokers.

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Improving mental health literacy in the classroom: new HeadStrong RCT

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Lisa Burscheidt reports on an RCT of the Headspace mental health literacy intervention and the impact it has on the mental health literacy, stigma, help-seeking and mental health of a group of young people in Australia.

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Depression and cancer: Lancet papers on prevalence and integrated collaborative care

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Kirsten Lawson highlights a trio of Lancet papers on the prevalence of depression in cancer patients and the efficacy of a new treatment programme called ‘Depression Care for People with Cancer’.

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Collaborative care for adolescent depression: new RCT shows promise

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Jennifer Laidlaw writes her debut blog on a recent RCT in JAMA about collaborative care for adolescent depression in primary care. The trial concludes that collaborative care is both feasible and effective in improving outcomes, but Jennifer highlights a number of limitations and questions for future research.

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CBT versus psychodynamic psychotherapy for social anxiety disorder: long live the dodo or time for a change in research emphasis?

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Andrew Shepherd appraises a study of the long-term outcomes of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder, which finds both therapies are efficacious in treating social anxiety disorder in the short- and long-term.

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Cognitive therapy plus antidepressants for depression

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Patrick Kennedy-Williams highlights a new large-scale RCT of combined cognitive therapy plus antidepressants for major depressive disorder. The trial finds that this combination is effective, but only in patients with severe non-chronic depression.

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Reducing benzodiazepine prescribing in primary care

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Liz Hughes summarises two recent studies (1 systematic review and 1 RCT) that both investigate brief interventions for reducing the use of benzodiazepines in primary care.

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Eating disorders: mapping the (lack of) evidence

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Helen Bould summarises a recent review that maps the evidence for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders in young people. Her conclusion? A call to arms for more better quality research to help people affected by these serious illnesses.

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