Can Tetris help to reduce the intensity and distress of traumatic intrusive memories?

Sometimes life seems like Tetris: it throws at you several, different and unrelated things, and you try to mix and match them, and fit together everything at your best in a seemingly infinite struggle. 
Trying to clear the stage now and then, and maybe get that winning combo, just before everything becomes too overwhelming...

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Shot on Canon 550D, edit in Lightroom Classic CC.

Tanya Garg blogs a study which finds that visuospatial tasks like playing Tetris, do not reduce the intensity and distress of intrusions after watching a traumatic film.

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Ask about alcohol use in adults affected by divorce, bereavement or illness

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Sally Adams considers a recent Finnish longitudinal study, which examines heavy alcohol consumption before and after negative life events in late mid-life.

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How could MDMA-assisted and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy help people with depression and PTSD?

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Anya Borissova and Philip Brooks consider a recent review exploring MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for trauma-related mental health difficulties.

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Is complex trauma associated with worse outcomes than non-complex trauma?

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Rudo Dube summarises a longitudinal study which finds that people exposed to complex trauma had higher levels of general psychopathology and were more likely to experience conditions such as PTSD, depression and psychotic symptoms.

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“We are family, even when apart”: family separation and mental health in refugees

Silhouette of a angry husband turning back while his wife and daughter are looking at him.Angry father turning back on his family

In her debut blog Elizabeth Hall reviews a study focusing on the impact of family separation on mental health outcomes among settled refugees in Australia.

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Are trauma-informed treatments effective for justice-involved youth?

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Laura Hemming summarises a meta-analysis which struggles to make firm conclusions about the effectiveness of trauma programs for justice-involved youth.

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No evidence that medication can prevent PTSD in people exposed to trauma, according to new Cochrane review

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In his debut blog, Richard Meiser-Stedman explores a recent Cochrane systematic review which finds no evidence for the use of medication to prevent the onset of PTSD in people who have been exposed to a traumatic event.

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ICU survivors at increased risk of suicide and self-harm after discharge

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Charlotte Huggett reviews a recent Canadian population-based cohort study, which examines rates of suicide and self-harm in adult survivors of critical illness.

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Trauma-focused CBT for PTSD in patients experiencing an ongoing threat of trauma

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In her debut blog, Tanya Garg summarises a systematic review that suggests trauma-focused CBT may be helpful for people with PTSD symptoms who are also experiencing an ongoing threat of trauma.

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The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health #IPVmentalhealth

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Rachel Milligan summarises the recently published Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health, which establishes a roadmap for strengthening responses across mental health services, research, and policy.

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