Medical cannabis for mental illness: current use is not supported by research #MHQT

sharon-mccutcheon-798864-unsplash

As we prepare for our Cannabis #MHQT event on Wed 26 Sep, Luke Sheridan Rains dissects a narrative review that asks: Is cannabis treatment for anxiety, mood, and related disorders ready for prime time?

His answer is that current evidence does not support the use of medical cannabis for mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression.

[read the full story...]

CBT for anxiety: new meta-analysis confirms significant improvements to target symptoms

CBT plus taper is effective at reducing benzodiazepine use in the short term (3 months) but this effect is not sustained at 6 months.

Inês Pote summarises a recent meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials of cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety and related disorders.

[read the full story...]

iCBT for OCD in young people: study suggests it’s cost-effective, but more research needed

pexels-photo-248029

Alastair Canaway on a recent RCT that looks at the cost-effectiveness of therapist-guided internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy for paediatric obsessive–compulsive disorder.

[read the full story...]

Guided self help and cCBT for OCD: OCTET finds low adherence and uncertain fidelity

unhappy-man-1169946_1280

Alan Underwood reports on the new OCTET trial published last week, which fails to find any support for the use of low-intensity guided self-help or computerised CBT for people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

[read the full story...]

OCD risk may increase following perinatal complications

photo-1475178278683-8c225ae5ec3e

Alan Underwood summarises a population based cohort study of 2.4 million Swedish children, which highlights links between perinatal risk factors such as smoking during pregnancy, and later development of obsessive compulsive disorder.

[read the full story...]

Antidepressants and psychotherapy for OCD in adults: network meta-analysis

8463032564_da7e05776a_k

Alan Underwood summarises a recent network meta-analysis of medication and talking treatments for OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) in adults.

[read the full story...]

Maternal anxiety disorders in the postnatal period: what do we know?

8641847152_d625b5f1f9_k

Janes Iles and Annette Eneberi summarise a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of current research evidence on anxiety disorders and their prevalence amongst postpartum women.

[read the full story...]

IAPT: does improved access lead to increased complexity?

2701753359_1b8ef6a8d6_b

Mark Smith presents the early findings of the PROMPT naturalistic cohort study, which looks at the clinical characteristics of patients assessed within an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service.

[read the full story...]

Psychiatric disorders: what’s the significance of non-random mating?

7960674098_2070f1fe64_b

Marcus Munafo considers the implications of a recent Swedish population study, which explores patterns of non-random mating within and across 11 major psychiatric disorders.

[read the full story...]

Lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in people with bipolar disorder

shutterstock_303720545

Alan Underwood appraises a recent meta-analysis that finds anxiety disorders are three times more common in people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

[read the full story...]