The evidence-base for psychodynamic psychotherapy is growing. A meta-analysis by Shedler published in early 2010 showed that the effect sizes for psychodynamic therapy can be as large as for other ’empirically supported treatments’. However, there are fewer high quality studies available that look at the effectiveness of these therapies for young people. This systematic review [read the full story…]
Research shows that using antidepressants (serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SRIs) to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in young people is sometimes problematic. Patients often do not respond to the drugs and so other therapies are necessary to augment the treatment. One such therapy is CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). This 12-week randomised controlled trial took 124 paediatric [read the full story…]
There are a number of cross-sectional studies that investigate antidepressant use in teenagers and young adults. These are interesting, but because they don’t tend to follow-up study participants prospectively over a long period of time, there is only so much we can learn from them. However, now researchers in Finland have published a study that [read the full story…]
This report from the NHS Information Centre contains results from an annual survey of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15). 7,296 pupils in 246 schools completed questionnaires in the autumn term of 2010. The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the National Foundation for Educational Research [read the full story…]
This new best practice guidance from the Department of Health details the procedure for transferring to and from hospital (under the Mental Health Act 1983 in England) any child or young person who is: detained in custody in pursuance of any sentence or order for detention (by a court in criminal proceedings); or remanded in custody [read the full story…]
Researchers from Manchester University have conducted one of the largest randomised controlled trials ever undertaken to investigate self-harm in adolescents. The trial published in the BMJ examined the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group therapy for self harm in young people by randomising 366 patients to: Manual based developmental group therapy programme specifically designed for adolescents [read the full story…]
Teenagers with depression sometimes do not respond to treatment with SSRI antidepressants and this inevitably leads to a higher cost of treatment. This randomised controlled trial (conducted by researchers from Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, Oregon) set out to evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness over 24 weeks of combined cognitive behavior therapy plus switch to a different antidepressant [read the full story…]
This randomised controlled trial published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry looks at the effectiveness of a new cognitive-behavioural parenting-based approach for treating anxiety in young children. Timid to Tiger is an entirely parenting-based approach to managing anxiety in children aged nine years or below. It is based on evidence that anxious children benefit [read the full story…]
Family Nurse Partnership is a preventive programme for vulnerable first time young mothers. It offers intensive and structured home visiting, delivered by specially trained nurses, from early pregnancy until the child is two. The Family Nurse Partnership began in England in 2007 with initial testing in 10 sites. There are now over 50 sites across [read the full story…]
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct a survey which provides robust data on the levels and patterns of alcohol consumption and influences on drinking behaviour in 13-16 year olds. The survey involved 5,700 teenagers from schools in England and data was statistically modelled using binary logistic regression to highlight the strongest influences [read the full story…]
