Amphetamine-like stimulant use: what do we know about who uses them and how drug using careers develop?

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Harry Sumnall considers a systematic narrative review, which looks at the individual, social and environmental influences that shape key phases in the amphetamine-like stimulant use trajectory

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“It doesn’t mean they aren’t after you”: sexual minorities and paranoia

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Sarah Carr explores a recent cross-sectional study on sexual minority status and symptoms of psychosis, which looks at the role of bullying, discrimination, social support and drug use.

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Can contingency management help people with psychosis give up cannabis? The CIRCLE trial

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Ian Hamilton summarises the recently published CIRCLE trial, which looks at the clinical and cost-effectiveness of contingency management for cannabis use in early psychosis.

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Can a ‘personalised psychosocial toolbox’ help people reduce ‘on-top’ drug use during opioid substitution treatment?

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Vicky Carlisle summarises a promising recent RCT on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an adjunctive personalised psychosocial intervention in treatment-resistant maintenance opioid agonist therapy.

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Prevalence of comorbid personality disorder and alcohol use disorder

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People diagnosed with “personality disorders” are likely to also experience alcohol problems.

Dean Connolly summarises a recent systematic review that confirms the very high prevalence of comorbid personality disorders and alcohol use disorders.

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Self-harm in older adults: a forgotten group?

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Karen Birnie, Haridha Pandian and Derek Tracy summarise a recent systematic review in the British Journal of Psychiatry on self-harm in older adults.

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Can smoking cessation improve cognitive functioning in people with psychosis?

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Dafni Katsampa explores a recent prospective cohort study that investigates the association between smoking behaviour and cognitive functioning in patients with psychosis, their siblings and healthy control subjects.

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Lifestyle training for schizophrenia: STEPWISE fails to make a difference

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Ben Janaway writes his debut elf blog on the STEPWISE RCT which is out today in the British Journal of Psychiatry: Structured lifestyle education for people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and first-episode psychosis.

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A psychological victory for the domestic violence and abuse sector: the PATH trial

Young adults who reported depressive and/or suicidality symptoms in adolescence were significantly more likely to have experienced relationship violence in their romantic relationships

Emma Yapp summarises two new studies out yesterday looking at the PATH intervention (Psychological Advocacy Towards Healing), a CBT-informed psychological intervention delivered by trained domestic violence and abuse (DVA) advocates in specialist services.

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Victims of crime with mental illness: differences between Denmark and the US

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Chris Millar writes his debut blog on a recent paper that explores the link between mental illness and being subjected to crime in Denmark and the United States. This blog asks: how much do poverty and the safety net matter? There are some important implications for policy makers.

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