The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme aims to provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with depression and anxiety disorders. The NHS Information Centre have published the first set of key performance indicators for the programme, which aim to provide the Department of Health, IAPT services, commissioners and members of the public with information on [read the full story…]
There are a number of studies that show the positive impact that cognitive behavioural therapy can have on the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This randomised controlled trial conducted by researchers in Denmark sought to shed some light on the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioural therapy compared to individual CBT. 110 outpatients with OCD were [read the full story…]
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a group of behavioural symptoms that include inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. ADHD is often thought of as a childhood problem, but it can be a lifelong condition, and many children continue to have symptoms as a teenager and adult. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of children with ADHD [read the full story…]
The Mental Health Foundation are marking the first National Dementia Awareness day by relaunching three of their patient information booklets that have recently been updated with the latest legislation and contacts. The booklets are all available as free PDF downloads from the Mental Health Foundation website and paper copies are available for a small fee. The [read the full story…]
This new 70-page report from Alzheimer’s Disease International warns that in countries such as England, 50-80% of dementia cases are not being recognised in primary care. It highlights the fallacy that as people get older they naturally have problems with their memory, and goes on to recommend that primary care staff who see people with [read the full story…]
First generation typical antipsychotics (e.g. chlorpromazine and haloperidol) have historically been used a great deal to treat people with schizophrenia. More recently, second-generation atypical antipsychotics (e.g. risperidone and olanzapine) have been more frequently used. For many, these drug therapies help to reduce psychotic episodes and the overall impact of the illness, but not all patients [read the full story…]
The British Association for Psychopharmacology regularly publish consensus guidelines on the pharmacological treatment of mental health conditions. In the last two years these publications have included guidance on insomnia (PDF), dementia (PDF) and bipolar disorder (PDF). The latest guideline from the BAP is on the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia and as usual it’s available in full-text [read the full story…]
The Government have launched a consultation exercise that aims to engage with people who use care and support services, carers, local councils, care providers, and the voluntary sector about the priorities for improving care and support. The consultation will run from today until early December and will feed into the White Paper and the progress report on [read the full story…]
The NHS Confederation Mental Health Network have updated their publication on key facts and trends in mental health. The 8-page PDF contains information about the prevalence of mental disorders, employment and housing, stigma and discrimination, current NHS spending, service activity, quality, safety and user experience. Here are some of the headlines: The largest increase in [read the full story…]
Every once in a while the Cochrane library publish an overview of reviews to summarise the evidence for a specific intervention. Such an overview has recently been made available to bring together all of the Cochrane reviews that assess the effectiveness and safety of pharmacological interventions in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal. The overview brings [read the full story…]
