The long view: what has really changed with recovery?

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Simon Bradstreet explores a recent qualitative study looking at 20 years in the lives of a group of 20 people with psychosis in Ireland. The research provides evidence on the pros and cons of the adoption of recovery-based approaches from people who are uniquely placed to provide a long-term view.

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Staff training to improve patient experiences of mental health inpatient wards

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Danielle Lamb writes her debut elf blog on a recent RCT that investigates how staff training can improve patient experiences of mental health inpatient care.

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The impact of physical restraint on people in mental health settings

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Rob Allison considers the findings of a recent integrative review that explores the physical and psychological harm inherent in using restraint in mental health inpatient settings.

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“Treat me with respect”. What happens before, during and after coercion?

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John Baker takes a look at a recent systematic review and thematic analysis, which explores psychiatric patients’ reported perceptions of the situations associated with the process of coercion.

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Psychodynamic programmes for personality disorders: residential versus community treatment

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Keir Harding explores a recent study of community-based, step-down, and residential specialist psychodynamic programmes for personality disorders, which includes some surprising findings.

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Could psychiatric inpatient admission cause suicide?

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Alex Langford considers a recent paper about inpatient suicide, which suggests that being on a psychiatric ward may possibly result in people taking their own life.

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Smoke-free policy in psychiatric hospitals associated with reduction in physical violence

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Olivia Maynard reports on a new study in The Lancet Psychiatry that explores the effect of implementing a smoke-free policy on physical violence in a psychiatric inpatient setting, which has some surprising findings.

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The weekend effect in mental health services: new evidence suggests no increased risk of suicide, inpatient mortality or seclusion

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Laura Hemming reviews two recent studies that investigate whether patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital at the weekend had worse clinical outcomes, as well as the specific weekend versus weekday incidences of suicide in very high-risk mental health patients.

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What is the evidence for evidence-based guidelines?

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Andrew Shepherd returns to the woodland with a blog about the evidence-practice gap in specialist mental healthcare; highlighting a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of guideline implementation studies.

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Locked wards vs open wards: does control = safety?

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André Tomlin summarises a 15 year observational study published today in The Lancet Psychiatry, which provides fascinating insight into suicide risk and absconding in psychiatric inpatient units with locked wards and open door policies.

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