What was the most important online mental health research conversation in 2019?

Mental Elf Awards

Twitter threads, podcast chats, live streamed YouTube debates, Facebook rants, Instagram stories, academic bun-fights on blog comments…

There are loads of ways to discuss mental health research online. Today, we want YOUR suggestions for which was the best mental health research conversation last year.

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Media reporting of suicide loss: learning from family and friends who have been bereaved by suicide

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Hannah Scott writes her debut blog on a recent qualitative study which looks at the experiences of people bereaved by suicide regarding media reporting of the death.

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Towards a symptom-based diagnosis of psychotic spectrum disorders?

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Stefanie Sturm critically analyses a recent paper that suggests a symptom-based continuum of psychosis explains cognitive and real-world functional deficits better than traditional diagnoses.

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Music to reduce anxiety and increase comfort among older people in care homes

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Hilary Shepherd appraises and summarises a recent Turkish randomised controlled trial, which explores the effect that music can have on the comfort and anxiety levels of older adults living in a nursing home.

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Cardiovascular risk in severe mental illness: is there a right intervention?

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A group of Masters Students from the University of Glasgow Global Mental Health MSc write about the Primrose trial, which looked at the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an intervention for reducing cholesterol and cardiovascular risk in severe mental illness.

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Risperidone and aripiprazole: genotype, metabolism and dosage

CYP2D6 genotyping before starting treatment might be valuable in clinical practice for individualising risperidone and aripiprazole treatment.

Dolly Sud writes her debut elf blog on a recent retrospective analysis, which compares dose changes of risperidone and aripiprazole with patients’ individual genotype.

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Service user experiences of dissociation

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A team of mental health staff from the University of Edinburgh write a joint blog on a recent qualitative study about the experience of dissociation in people with psychosis.

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Nominate your top 3 Mental Elf blogs published in 2019 #MentalElfAwards

Mental Elf Awards

Today, please take 2 minutes to nominate your top 3 Mental Elf blogs published in 2019.

The #MentalElfAwards honour mental health research, researchers and those who communicate research findings in the real world.

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Weekly singing in choir may improve the mental health of cancer carers

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Katherine Tallent writes her debut blog on a recent longitudinal controlled study exploring psychosocial singing interventions for the mental health and well-being of family carers of patients with cancer.

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Carers’ experiences of involuntary admission under mental health legislation

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Juliana Onwumere summarises a recent qualitative review that explores carers’ experiences of involuntary admission of family members or loved ones to mental health inpatient units.

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