Sexual minorities, suicide and self-harm: new research in England deepens our understanding

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In his debut blog, Liam Mackay summarises a recent study that shows an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm in bisexual and lesbian/gay individuals. The study also highlights common mental health problems, discrimination and bullying as potential contributors to this excess risk.

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What factors predict youth mental health service use?

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In her debut blog, Oleta Williams writes with Nick Meader and Nina Higson-Sweeney to summarise a secondary analysis of NHS administrative data to identify predictors of mental health service use in children and young people.

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What emotions do male prisoners experience prior to suicide and violence?

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In this blog by Hilary Norman, she explores a new study on the emotions that male prisoners experience prior to suicide, self-harm or violence using a novel participatory visual method involving drawing their feelings.

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Young people’s experiences of suicidal distress in their own words

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India Bellairs-Walsh summarise a Scottish qualitative study of young people’s lived experiences of suicide and self-harm, which explores intention, rationality and authenticity, and has many implications for practice.

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How do friendships influence adolescent self-injurious thoughts and behaviours?

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In her debut blog, Bella Brereton writes with Rasanat Fatima Nawaz to summarise a systematic review that explored the associations between self-injurious thoughts and behaviours and school-based friendship networks in adolescents, using sociometric data.

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Sharpening the focus: viewing self-harm images online – harmful and protective?

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Jo Lockwood, Camilla Babbage and Ellen Townsend consider a systematic review exploring the impact of viewing self-harm images online, which finds that images can trigger powerful emotions and may relate to a change in cognition, affect and behaviour.

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Suicide and self-harm in children: prevalence rates cause for concern

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In Mahmoud Arif’s debut blog, he and Rasanat Fatima Nawaz summarise a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry, which estimated the prevalence rates of self-harm behaviours and suicidal ideation in children aged 12 years and under.

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Psilocybin for ‘treatment-resistant depression’: an island of hope in an ocean of uncertainty?

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In this blog, UCL MSc students consider an RCT published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which suggests that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may help reduce depression in people with severe and enduring illness, but side effects are common and more research is needed to look into longer term effects.

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Suicide prevention for autistic people: the importance of belonging, mental health and movement

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Shania Lorenz summarises a recent network analysis on the complex pathways to suicide and suicidal thoughts among autistic people, which may include a lack of caring and supportive friends, feeling like an outsider, movement differences like restlessness, and mental health problems like anxiety.

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Are the kids alright? Emergency help for suicide and self-harm during the COVID-19 pandemic

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In her debut blog, Molly McCarthy appraises a recent Lancet Psychiatry systematic review and meta-analysis exploring the patterns of paediatric emergency department visits for suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and self-harm incidents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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