Walk this way: can a health coaching intervention increase physical activity in people with severe mental illness?

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Gordon Johnston and Michel Syrett prepare for the #HealthSMI event on 24th June by blogging about a recent pilot RCT of a health coaching intervention (Walk This Way) to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in people with serious mental illness.

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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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Involuntary admission for psychiatric care: a review of clinical and social risk factors

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Alice Wickersham summarises a new systematic review and meta-analysis on the clinical and social risk factors for involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation, which has been published today in The Lancet Psychiatry.

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Prescribing lithium for bipolar disorder: are we too scared?

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Deenan Edward and Suhana Ahmed summarise a Scottish study of prescribing for bipolar disorder between 2009-2016, which identified a clear trend towards decreasing lithium use.

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Bipolar disorder and distress: systematic review of first-person accounts

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A group of UCL Mental Health Masters Students summarise a meta-synthesis of qualitative research, which looks at what people diagnosed with bipolar disorder experience as distressing.

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How can digital technology help close the mortality gap for people with severe mental illness?

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Lina Gega from the Closing the Gap Network explores a recent review of digital technology for health promotion, which looks at opportunities to address excess mortality in people living with severe mental illness.

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Risk factors for suicide in people with bipolar disorder

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Dafni Katsampa explores a recent prospective cohort study of risk factors for suicide in bipolar disorder, which finds significant variation in risk factors in men and women.

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Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for bipolar disorder

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Peter McMurray writes his debut elf blog on a systematic review of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for bipolar disorder, which finds a lack of high quality research to support its use in clinical practice.

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Racial disparities in bipolar disorder diagnosis and treatment: time to talk about racism

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Syeda Akther writes her debut elf blog on a recent review looking at racial disparities in bipolar disorder treatment and research. She argues that we need to start having serious conversations about racism that go beyond unconscious bias.

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Improving care for people with bipolar disorder: meeting unmet needs

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Leela Sathyaputri and Jess Fiedorowicz write their debut elf blog on a narrative review of the recent bipolar disorder literature entitled: “Areas of uncertainties and unmet needs in bipolar disorders: clinical and research perspectives”.

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