Acute day hospitals: an option for mental health crisis care?

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Dieneke Hubbeling looks at a recent qualitative study of acute day units for mental health crises, which explores the experiences of service users and staff.

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Problematic smartphone use: what are the consequences for teens and their screens?

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Lucinda Powell explores a recent systematic review and meta-analysis which finds that problematic smartphone use in young people is associated with poorer mental health.

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Dog therapy for dementia: can fluffy friends help with thinking and memory problems?

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Clare Dolan and Sarah Gregory summarise a recent systematic review on the effectiveness of dog therapy for people living with dementia, which suggests that animal assisted therapy may be a useful complementary treatment to help with the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

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We know how to reduce premature deaths from co-morbid mental health and substance use problems, so why aren’t we doing anything about it?

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Ian Hamilton looks at a Swedish 42-year follow-up study, which looks at the impact that psychiatric comorbidity can have on premature death in a cohort of patients with substance use disorders.

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Do you have my back? Perceived social support, loneliness, and its impact on mental health outcomes

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In the lead up to our Loneliness Mental Health Question Time on 3rd Dec 2018, Dr Michelle Lim summarises a recent systematic review on the associations between loneliness and perceived social support and outcomes of mental health problems.

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CBT versus counselling for depression: it ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it

This review focuses on medication, but ignores psychosexual treatment for sexual dysfunction for people with serious mental illness.

Mark Smith channels Ella Fitzgerald whilst reviewing evidence from the 2nd UK National Audit of psychological therapies, which compares CBT and generic counselling in the treatment of depression.

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