Antipsychotic medication is widely used to treat behavioural problems in people with learning disabilities. A Cochrane review of the use of these medications for this purpose found very few randomised controlled trials (a method of clinical research in which people are allocated at random to receive a clinical intervention, a placebo, or no intervention at [read the full story…]
This randomised controlled trial published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry looks at the effectiveness of a new cognitive-behavioural parenting-based approach for treating anxiety in young children. Timid to Tiger is an entirely parenting-based approach to managing anxiety in children aged nine years or below. It is based on evidence that anxious children benefit [read the full story…]
Family Nurse Partnership is a preventive programme for vulnerable first time young mothers. It offers intensive and structured home visiting, delivered by specially trained nurses, from early pregnancy until the child is two. The Family Nurse Partnership began in England in 2007 with initial testing in 10 sites. There are now over 50 sites across [read the full story…]
Mothers living in socioeconomically deprived communities are vulnerable to anxiety and depression, but traditional medical approaches often fail to reach them. This prospective randomised controlled trial set out to compare the effectiveness of a lengthened multi-disciplinary team consultation with normal primary care in reducing anxiety and depression in mothers. Ninety four mothers were recruited from three general practices from [read the full story…]
Many published guidelines (including the American Psychiatric Association Clinical Practice Guidelines for schizophrenia), recommend second-generation antipsychotics for the treatment of depression in schizophrenia. This study compared a first-generation antipsychotic (perphenazine) with 4 second-generation antipsychotics (olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone) and the impact these drugs had on the symptoms of depression. The authors used data from the Clinical [read the full story…]
Web-based education support for people with health problems is now widespread, but there is comparatively little research that explores the reasons why people do not complete online courses once they are enrolled. This paper presents data from a randomised controlled trial based in Australia, where 370 participants were randomly allocated to: An online bipolar education [read the full story…]
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa can place considerable strain on families. Parents or partners often care for people with anorexia nervosa and this can be a very distressing experience for them. Carers naturally get very involved, but unfortunately this can sometimes lead to them criticising the sufferer and making the situation worse by contributing [read the full story…]
This small randomised controlled trial conducted in Pittsburgh set out to compare community-provided trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) with usual community treatment for children with intimate partner violence (IPV)-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The trial randomised 124 children (7-14 year olds) to receive 8 sessions of TF-CBT or usual care (child-centered therapy). A number of [read the full story…]
New generation anti-psychotic medications are being used to treat aggressive behaviours in people with learning disabilities, whether or not individuals have a formal diagnosis of a mental health problem. This study set out to evaluate the effectiveness of two such new generation anti-psychotic medications, olanzapine and risperidone. The study looked at how effective these [read the full story…]
