Stigma in bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder: time for a cultural shift.

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Andrew Shepherd summarises a critical realist analysis that looks at experiences of stigma in people with bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. He concludes that a profound social change in public and professional attitudes is necessary before mental health stigma can be effectively eradicated.

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Are treatments for borderline personality disorder cost-effective?

Dialectical behaviour therapy was specifically developed to help people with borderline personality disorders

Our resident Elf Economist, Chris Sampson, reports on a new systematic review of economic evaluations for borderline personality disorder. Are any cost-effective?

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It’s not what you say: Examining the non-verbal behaviours of psychiatrists and patients

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Chris Pell considers the findings of a recent observational study of non-verbal behaviour and communication in meetings of psychiatrists and patients with schizophrenia.

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Lifestyle changes for cognition and dementia: better than a new drug?

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Should all molecular research institutes looking at neurodegenerative diseases be replaced by parks, playgrounds and cycle paths? Mark Horowitz highlights a recent systematic review of modifiable risk factors associated with cognition and dementia, which suggests that from a public health perspective, there may be some sense in this idea.

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Improving mental health literacy in the classroom: new HeadStrong RCT

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Lisa Burscheidt reports on an RCT of the Headspace mental health literacy intervention and the impact it has on the mental health literacy, stigma, help-seeking and mental health of a group of young people in Australia.

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Online and social networking interventions for depression in young people

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Nikki Newhouse reports on a recent systematic review that brings together 22 studies which investigate a range of online CBT and social networking interventions designed to help young people with depression.

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Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for all common mental health disorders?

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For his ninth Mental Elf blog, Mark Smith reports on a Cochrane systematic review of the effectiveness of short term psychodynamic therapies on common mental health disorders.

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Do you value your Mental Elf?

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Today, as we publish our 1,000th blog, André Tomlin looks back at the last 3 years and reflects on the successes and the future challenges facing the Mental Elf and the National Elf Service. It’s a blog that really needs your comments, so please take 5 minutes to read it and send us your thoughts :-)

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Risk factors for dementia: separating the facts from the myths

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We are grateful to Josephine Neale who has read the 104 page World Alzheimer Report 2014 and summarised it for us in this very readable blog. The report is a comprehensive analysis of the risk factors for dementia, which focuses on a range of protective and modifiable factors.

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Does depression make us lethargic, or does lack of exercise make us depressed?

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Helge Hasselmann highlights a new cohort study in JAMA Psychiatry, which finds a bidirectional relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms; strengthening the case for exercise as a recommended intervention for people with mild depression.

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