Brain-body health please: new research supports integrated physical and mental health care

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Athina Aruldass finds that management of serious neuropsychiatric disorders should acknowledge the importance of poor physical health and target restoration of both brain and body function.

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Early intervention for psychosis: better outcomes in the short term?

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Emanuele Osimo blogs about the 20-year follow up of the OPUS trial, which tested early intervention services for people with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

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Neuroimaging abnormalities in first-episode psychosis: clinically-relevant or not?

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Joe Pierre considers a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of neuroimaging abnormalities in first-episode psychosis and the clinical relevance for service users presenting with first-episode psychosis.

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The pill and ‘baby blues’: does experiencing depression with hormonal contraception predict postpartum depression?

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Flo Martin explores a recent cohort study of Danish registry data that investigate whether women with a history of depression associated with using hormonal contraception were also at a higher risk of developing postpartum depression.

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Brief interpersonal therapy may help relieve maternal depression during pregnancy

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In this blog, Francesca Kingston summaries a clinical trial from the US Care Project, which investigated whether depression can be reduced during pregnancy and before birth using a brief, safe intervention.

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Gut microbiome disruptions in depression: shifting the focus to metabolic signatures in blood

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Gerard Clarke explores a recent study which looks into the interplay of metabolome and gut microbiome in individuals with major depressive disorder.

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Everyday discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic: the toll on mental health

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A group of UCL MSc students summarise a US study on the association of everyday discrimination with depression and suicidal ideation during the pandemic.

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How do our genes affect our risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in childhood?

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A group of UCL masters students consider a JAMA Psychiatry study which looks at the associations between genetic risk for adult suicide attempt and suicidal behaviours in young children in the United States.

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Psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder: room for more evidence

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In her debut blog, Heidi Stevens reviews a recent US randomised controlled trial on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for adults with alcohol use disorder, which leaves us with more questions than answers.

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Psychiatric Advance Directives: more effective when facilitated by peer workers, according to French RCT

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Rob Allison considers a French randomised controlled trial, which provides support for the use of peer worker–facilitated psychiatric advance directives to prevent compulsory rehospitalisation in people with severe mental illness.

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