Psilocybin for ‘treatment-resistant depression’: an island of hope in an ocean of uncertainty?

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In this blog, UCL MSc students consider an RCT published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which suggests that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may help reduce depression in people with severe and enduring illness, but side effects are common and more research is needed to look into longer term effects.

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Suicide prevention for autistic people: the importance of belonging, mental health and movement

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Shania Lorenz summarises a recent network analysis on the complex pathways to suicide and suicidal thoughts among autistic people, which may include a lack of caring and supportive friends, feeling like an outsider, movement differences like restlessness, and mental health problems like anxiety.

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How do our genes affect our risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in childhood?

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A group of UCL masters students consider a JAMA Psychiatry study which looks at the associations between genetic risk for adult suicide attempt and suicidal behaviours in young children in the United States.

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Promising scalable brief psychological programme to improve refugee youth mental health

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Katie McQuillan reviews a recent randomised controlled trial which suggests that a brief community programme may help improve youth and caregiver psychological wellbeing in young Syrian refugees settled in Jordan.

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Cellular immune phenotypes of depression: a gateway to precision medicine 

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In her debut blog, Fabiana Corsi-Zuelli summarises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the role of peripheral immune cells in depression, with a focus on implications for future immunotherapy trials.

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The international prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour in youth

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Lucy Barrass summarises a systematic review published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry that explores the international prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour among young people across global regions.

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Online psychodrama for dementia: “Zooming” our way towards improvement?

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KCL Masters student Azza Elsheikh summarises a recent qualitative study exploring the experiences of online psychodrama for people with dementia.

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Virtual reality therapy for psychosis: positive patient experiences and few side effects

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Steven Parkes considers a randomised controlled trial exploring the satisfaction and side effects of gameChange, a virtual reality intervention targeting anxiety in every day situations for patients with psychosis.

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Interventions to foster resilience in nursing staff may help (a little) in the short-term

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Olga Lainidi summarises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of resilience interventions on the mental health of nursing staff.

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Add on iCBT: weak evidence of modest benefits in depression and anxiety

iCBT can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD and PTSD - could its accessibility help reach more people?

Liesbeth Tip and Antigone Lanitis reflect on a recent systematic review and meta-analysis that investigated internet-delivered psychological treatment as an add-on to treatment as usual in depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

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