Broadbent Amy

Broadbent Amy
Amy is a trainee psychological wellbeing practitioner working for the Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT) programme at the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. She is due to start studying for a 'Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner' programme at master's level at the University of Essex. Amy has previously studied for modules for a 'Clinical Applications of Psychology' master’s degree at Newman University College Birmingham and has a completed a BSc psychology degree from the University of Leeds. Amy has worked in a variety of mental health settings, including: as a CAMHS research assistant for the NHS, social services and University of Cambridge, as a support, time and recovery worker for a CAMHS community home treatment team, a support worker in supported living services for adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours, and a befriender to adults with severe mental health problems for Mind. Amy is hoping to become a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in the future. Her main research interests include investigating the effectiveness of the national IAPT initiative and the effectiveness of CBT on common mental health problems including depression and anxiety. In her spare time, she likes to read books containing personal accounts of individuals' experiences of having mental health problems as well as walk her very lively English springer spaniel.

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Maternal depression may be associated with offspring obesity, according to systematic review

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Maternal depression is a serious mental health condition and does not only affect the mental health of the mother, but also the physical health of her children. One meta-analysis found that up to 19% of women in developed countries experienced an episode of depression in the 3-month prenatal period (Gavin et al., 2005). More specifically, [read the full story…]

Expert review suggests that school-based depression and anxiety prevention programmes are effective in the short term

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It is estimated that 20% of children up to the age of 18 will have suffered an emotional disorder of depression or anxiety (Costello et al., 2003). These two mental health conditions commonly occur together and can significantly influence daily functioning, relationships and education in this age group. Effective and evidence-based psychological treatments have been [read the full story…]

Suicidal ideation and behaviour may increase when adolescents are exposed to schoolmate and personally known suicides

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Suicidal ideation and behaviours are widespread and serious amongst adolescents (Husky et al., 2012). One theory suggests that suicide in this age group is caused by ‘suicide contagion’ (exposure to a suicide may influence an individual to attempt suicide). Ecological studies have indeed demonstrated this and show that suicide rates increase following a highly publicised [read the full story…]

More evidence needed on additional interventions to reduce mortality in older people with depression

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It has consistently been shown that a link exists between older adults who have depression and mortality (Cuijpers & Smit, 2002, Schulz et al., 2002). RCTs have demonstrated that treating depression during later life in primary care settings can result in the remission of depression and its associated symptoms as well as improve quality of [read the full story…]

Computerised CBT is effective for depression in the short-term, but new meta-analysis suggests no long-term functional improvement

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Studies have demonstrated that CBT works at least as well as antidepressants at reducing depression, perhaps even better (DeRubeis et al., 1999). However, it’s difficult for people with depression to access CBT due to lengthy waiting lists. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) scheme has had a major influence on waiting times for people [read the full story…]