Only a swipe away: App-based support for reducing distress in university students

An abstract scene in blue and black

This innovative Australian trial suggests that different mental health app interventions worked better depending on students’ distress severity. One size doesn’t fit all, but which apps should students choose?

[read the full story...]

A global perspective on personality disorders: common, deadly and underestimated

People,Row,With,Spotlight,Highlighted,One,-,Recruitment,Or,Leadership

Systematic review of 60 studies found personality disorders affect 5.2% in high-income countries, associated with elevated mortality, yet excluded from global disease burden estimates.

[read the full story...]

Resistance training in psychiatric rehab settings is feasible and safe for psychosis

A hand holds up a dumbbell weight

Feasibility trial found resistance training was safe and acceptable for people with psychosis in psychiatric rehabilitation wards, challenging assumptions about patient capabilities and safety.

[read the full story...]

Consensus reached on the meaning of relapse in schizophrenia, or is it?

Variability in relapse definition make comparison across studies harder

A systematic review and Delphi study creates a new consensus statement on the meaning and measurement of relapse in schizophrenia, but until voices of lived experience are more fully engaged, there remains some way to go in reaching a valid consensus.

[read the full story...]

Who’s got the obs sheets? Can QI methods reduce violence and restrictive practices on inpatient mental health wards?

Spotlights light up a dark setting

This large-scale quality improvement project across 55 mental health wards tested Board Relay, Zonal Observations, and Life Skills activities to improve therapeutic engagement. Results showed promising reductions in aggression, restrictive practices, and staff sickness.

[read the full story...]

Racialised experiences of detention under the Mental Health Act: a PhotoVoice study

A white splash on an opaque and dark background

The Co-Pact study uses powerful images and narratives from 48 people to reveal how compulsory admission under the Mental Health Act is experienced by racially minoritised communities. Participants described coercive care, institutional racism, and being “voiceless”, but also what could prevent crisis admissions.

[read the full story...]

Rapid weight gain after SMI diagnosis, but why so few referrals for support?

Medical scales

A 15-year analysis of UK primary care records showed steep and sustained weight gain after an SMI diagnosis, especially among younger adults and people prescribed antipsychotic medication. Yet very few received referrals for weight-management support, raising important questions about practice and policy.

[read the full story...]