Psilocybin-assisted therapy for difficult-to-treat depression: underwhelming, but still vital?

feat

The EPISODE trial of psychedelic-assisted therapy for ‘treatment-resistant depression’ finds only modest effects, with a few clear responders, but lingering methodological questions.

[read the full story...]

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy proves cost-effective for hard-to-treat depression

Work,From,Home,Concept,With,Cropped,Top,View,Image,Of

What happens when talking therapies or antidepressants don’t work? This new RCT tested whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), delivered via Zoom, could help people with hard-to-treat depression, and whether it’s worth the cost. The results will interest NHS decision-makers.

[read the full story...]

Ketamine, depression and childhood trauma: new evidence from a community study

Concept,Of,Ketamine,Write,On,Sticky,With,Stethoscope,Notes,Isolated

Can ketamine help people with treatment-resistant depression, regardless of childhood trauma history? This new study suggests that trauma load and severity may not influence treatment outcomes.

[read the full story...]

The genetic link behind sleep problems, cognitive dysfunction, and neuroticism in ‘treatment-resistant depression’

feat

A big new study suggests that certain genetic traits—like insomnia risk and neuroticism—may make depression harder to treat, while protective traits include education and cognitive ability.

[read the full story...]

Psychedelics and mental health: Can the field deliver on its promise?

posting psychedelics

Experts from across clinical trials, psychotherapy and regulation have been reflecting on the big challenges facing the field of psychedelics and mental health, following a late 2024 webinar hosted by IAMHRF. This new commentary explores where psychedelic mental health treatments might be heading and what needs to happen next.

[read the full story...]

Quetiapine may pip lithium to the post for augmentation in ‘treatment resistant depression’: results from the LQD study

Close-up,Detail,Shot,Of,The,Legs,Of,Two,People,Running

Kirsten Lawson and Douglas Badenoch review the new randomised controlled trial by Cleare et al, published today in The Lancet Psychiatry, directly comparing the clinical and cost effectiveness of lithium and quetiapine as augmentation treatments for patients with ‘treatment resistant depression’.

[read the full story...]

New and emerging treatments for major depressive disorder

Sprouts of hope for treatment resistant depression?

Kirsten Lawson summarises a new ‘state of the art review’ in the BMJ which focuses on novel and emerging pharmacotherapy and neuromodulation for people with ‘treatment resistant depression’.

[read the full story...]

The experience of treatment-resistant depression: we need to rethink treatment for people who do not respond to antidepressants

christina-victoria-craft-WHSnkIwWpec-unsplash (1)

Amelia Talbot summarises a qualitative meta-synthesis exploring people’s experiences of living with ‘treatment-resistant’ depression.

[read the full story...]

Long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression: not cost-effective compared to treatment as usual

Psychotherapy,And,Psychology,Help,And,Escape,From,Despair,And,Emotional

In her debut blog, Ella Tuominen considers the Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS), which evaluated the cost-effectiveness of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for treatment resistant depression compared to treatment as usual.

[read the full story...]

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

sinitta-leunen-08yfmU-PQUU-unsplash

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.

[read the full story...]