Risk assessment tools are widely used in psychiatric hospitals and criminal justice systems to help predict violent behaviour and inform sentencing and release decisions. Yet their predictive accuracy remains uncertain and expert opinion is divided, according to a new systematic review published in the BMJ. An international team of researchers led by Seena Fazel from [read the full story…]
Another week, another new type of publication from NICE. The local government public health briefings are aimed at local authorities and their partner organisations in the health and voluntary sectors, in particular those involved with health and wellbeing boards. Three briefings have been launched today on: Tobacco Physical activity Workplace health These briefings will be relevant [read the full story…]
The government has published the mental health implementation framework, which sets out what organisations can do to make the 6 high-level objectives of the mental health strategy No Health without Mental Health a reality. The 6 objectives of the strategy are that: More people will have good mental health More people with mental health problems [read the full story…]
Many people struggle with anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, social phobia, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Moreover, about 30% of us have an anxiety disorder at some point in our life (Kessler et al 2005) but most people never receive treatment. Self-help interventions may provide a solution when people are unable or unwilling to [read the full story…]
Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy is a popular topic for research at the moment. We’ve seen a number of systematic reviews and large scale trials published over recent years, but the vast majority focus on adults with depression, so it’s hard to know how applicable the results are to adolescents. Of course, most young people are [read the full story…]
This week in The British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers in Norway have published results from their randomised controlled trial studying the effects of vitamin D on depressive symptoms in otherwise healthy adults. The study, directed by Dr Marie Kjaergaard and a team of doctors out of the University Tromsø in Norway, found that vitamin D [read the full story…]
People with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often struggle to interact socially in the same way as everyone else. Recognising emotions and communicating can be very difficult for them. One approach that has grown in popularity is social skills groups, which aim to improve social competence, communication skills and quality of life for people with ASD. [read the full story…]
Citalopram (brand names: Cipramil and Celexa) is an antidepressant drug in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It was one of the first SSRIs to come onto the market over 20 years ago and is available as tablets and as oral drops that are taken in a juice drink. There are lots of antidepressants [read the full story…]
Forty years ago, autism was regularly referred to as childhood schizophrenia and the links between the two conditions have continued to this day. Recent studies have shown that the features of autism spectrum disorders sometimes precede the onset of childhood-onset schizophrenia. This cohort study published by researchers from Cardiff University looks at the relationship between [read the full story…]
It seems logical that people who work long hours and have a stressful job are more likely to suffer from depression, yet epidemiological studies that have investigated the links between long working hours and depression have reported inconsistent findings. The Whitehall II prospective cohort study followed nearly 3,000 British staff from across 20 civil service [read the full story…]
