Last week, Kirsten Lawson blogged about mindfulness-based stress reduction as a treatment for breast cancer. We have featured a number of blogs on mindfulness in the last couple of years, including a piece about the use of Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). MBCT is recommended by NICE to prevent relapse in people who have already experienced three [read the full story…]
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is widely researched and recommended as an evidence-based treatment for adult depression, but despite the strength of research comparing CBT approaches with other forms of care, there are few recent systematic reviews on this topic. Cuijpers and collaborators provide such a review in a recent meta-analysis published in The Canadian Journal of [read the full story…]
Within the woodland October is a month of themes. Many of you will be familiar with #Stoptober, which always helps any elves who sneak round the the back of the woodshed, to give up smoking. You may be less aware of our #MindfulnessMonday activities that will be sprinkled across the month; showcasing the potential benefits that [read the full story…]
Non-epileptic seizures can have a major impact on the quality of life of people affected. Those with an organic, physical cause may be relatively easy to diagnose, and if the underlying cause can be found, it may of course be amenable to treatment and if that treatment is successful, the seizures may stop. Some seizures [read the full story…]
Alcohol misuse is recognised as one of the major health care issues in the US. Specifically, alcohol misuse is ranked third in causes of preventable deaths (after tobacco and obesity) affecting 30% of the population. Alcohol dependence has 4% prevalence in the US, but hazardous drinking patterns are believed to be evident in 21% of [read the full story…]
Most of us have heard of cognitive dissonance although the term is often used incorrectly. I’m sure when you find out you thought you were using it correctly but weren’t, you’ll feel bad. Cognitive dissonance refers to a state of psychological discomfort that arises from conflicting attitudes or beliefs. For example you may have a [read the full story…]
Childhood sexual abuse has a devastating impact on many of the children and adolescents who are affected by it. It is a significant problem worldwide and has the potential to have serious negative impacts on mental health and physical health. Experiencing childhood sexual abuse often has negative impacts on the individual’s ability to function socially, [read the full story…]
Integrated care is seen as critical to delivering better quality services for patients and service users and a key element of health policies in the UK. However, the evidence base suggests a fragmented picture, with variations in definitions and implementations limiting what can be learned and applied elsewhere. This new report, Crossing Boundaries: Improving integrated [read the full story…]
When two interventions are demonstrably equivalent in terms of clinical outcomes, it is unclear which should be provided. One obvious decision rule in this case is to implement the intervention that is least costly and therefore most cost-effective. A recent economic evaluation by Patel and colleagues estimates the cost-effectiveness of adherence therapy for people with [read the full story…]
The harmful impact of depression extends far beyond the individual sufferer to caregivers, friends and family members. Children of people with depression are more likely to suffer from depression themselves. This may be due to both inherited and environmental factors. This new randomised controlled trial (RCT), published earlier this week in JAMA Psychiatry, set out [read the full story…]
