NICE one? Is NHS guidance on substance misuse fit for purpose?

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Ian Hamilton explains why the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have missed a trick by not updating their 2007 guidance on psychosocial interventions for substance misuse.

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Mental health provider views about digital technologies in day-to-day practice

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Victoria Betton considers the findings of a recent North American mixed methods study of mental health providers’ interest in using digital technologies in their day-to-day practice.

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A systematic review and meta-analysis of social media interventions in schizophrenia: too good to be true?

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Chris O’Sullivan explores a recent systematic review that looks at the effectiveness of social media interventions for people with schizophrenia.

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#Mindtech2015 Evidence-based research and fast paced technology development

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André Tomlin presents the text of his debate talk from the #Mindtech2015 conference: Trials or Tripadvisor – “This house believes that robust user review is sufficient to evaluate most digital mental health apps”.

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Is clinical research essential to develop good mental health apps?

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Join a diverse group of mental health service users, researchers, practitioners and developers to discuss this vital issue. We are debating this question in a #Mindtech15 fringe event taking place in London (and on Twitter) at 7pm on Wednesday 2nd December.

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No proof that 85% of mental health apps accredited by the NHS actually work

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Health Economist Simon Leigh argues that the unregulated world of health apps brings cause for concern as well as celebration. Fear not though, he has some suggestions for what to look out for when downloading apps, which may help whilst you’re waiting for the regulators and accreditors to get their act together.

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Social media and suicide prevention

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Claire Niedzwiedz summarises a recent systematic review that provides a narrative synthesis of research into social media and suicide prevention.

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Experience sampling and ecological momentary assessment for studying anxiety disorders

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Alan Underwood publishes his debut Mental Elf blog on a narrative review of experience sampling and ecological momentary assessment for studying the lives of people with anxiety disorders.

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E-markets and micros: evidence for the future of social care?

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Sarah Carr takes an unusual step of appraising a ‘think tank’ research report on e-marketplaces for social care and discusses the work in relation to the broader context of evidence-based policy.

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Do mental health websites improve help-seeking in adolescents?

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Maxine Howard summarises the findings of a recent review of online mental health services for young people, which finds little evidence to suggest that websites increase help-seeking in adolescents.

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