The current study aims to examine the efficacy of CBT delivered via videoconferencing (VCBT) for GAD using a randomized controlled trial design comparing an immediate treatment group to a waitlist control. Open access article - no login required
We sought to determine prevalence rates of high risk for psychosis in UK primary care mental health services and clinical outcomes following routinely delivered psychological therapies. Open access article - no login required
This systematic review evaluated feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of digitally enhanced psychological assessments and treatments for paranoia across the paranoia continuum. Open access article - no login required.
This novel review explores the experiences of clinicians and clients when creating a formulation, specifically the barriers and facilitators to collaborating on a formulation. Open access article - no login required.
The current study aimed to systematically search, review and synthesize the literature on CBT and MI training to assess its effect on practitioner behavioural outcomes. Open access article - no login required.
The current study reports findings from a randomized controlled feasibility trial (N = 33; Mage = 11.79 years, SD = 3.08; 63.6% White; 66.7% female) that measured youths’ resting RSA, RSA reactivity, and RSA recovery in response to a pretreatment laboratory challenge. Open access article - no login required.
This study explored working alliance (WA) in a clinic serving individuals with APS to see how WA changed across the course of treatment and its relation to APS. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This study aimed to qualitatively explore the experience of childhood adverse events and coping strategies employed by individuals that promote resilience and better mental health outcomes. Open access article - no login required.
This pilot study explores the effectiveness and feasibility of a group treatment program for youth offenders with cognitive deficits and mental health concerns in youth detention. Open access article - no login required
This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of guided self-help ICBT (GSH ICBT) and unguided self-help ICBT (SH ICBT) against active and passive control conditions in adults with OCD. Open access article - no login required.
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the possibilities and effects of imagery-based interventions that explicitly target negative images in (sub)clinical social anxiety. Open access article - no login required.
Change of threat expectancy as mechanism of exposure-based psychotherapy for anxiety disorders: Evidence from 8,484 exposure exercises of 605 patients. Clinical Psychological Science, 2023
Implications for practice and research:
Implementing waiting-list interventions, offering regular updates on queue position and estimated wait times, and providing information about support services can alleviate the uncertainty of prolonged waits and mitigate dropouts among individuals with learning disabilities and comorbid mental conditions.
To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This editorial presents ten principles for the design and development of effective psychological treatments for psychosis. Open access article - no login required.
This trial found greater intensity of psychotherapy leads to better outcomes of both depression and personality status in people with comorbid depression and personality disorder. Open access article - no login required.
This review synthesized existing studies of group psychological therapy to reduce distress symptoms in healthcare workers. Open access article - no login required.
The current study tests the hypotheses that patients who are high in interpersonal sensitivity benefit less from CBT for symptoms of depression and anxiety, show a slower rate of change in those symptoms, and are more likely to drop out of treatment. Open access article - no login required
Poor sleep is highly prevalent in young people and increases risk of mental health difficulties, yet access to sleep interventions remains limited. This paper evaluates the use of a sleep intervention delivered by non-expert practitioners in a secondary care youth mental health service. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The cornerstone of this study is it’s contribution to our learning about what works for whom – and when it works best. Having personally discussed with many clients and ex-clients the changes to service provision that COVID-19 brought, the recurring main theme is the importance of patient choice and the concern that services who are still working predominantly or exclusively remotely are not offering this. We have gained a lot from digital developments during this period, which has increased access to therapy for many people; but we must not let this overshadow the preferences of others who may need other adaptations to ensure they can access services in a timely and appropriate way.
"Overall, this study has important implications for practice, as it is a novel anti-stigma intervention that has been tested on members of the public in a real workplace setting, with initial results showing potential benefits for both companies and their employees. In comparison to existing workplace interventions, which often target individuals already struggling with mental illness, this intervention was developed with universal implementation in mind."
Patients showed a stronger preference for CAT-GSH, compared to CBT-GSH, and CAT-GSH participants were found to be more likely to complete full treatment. However, findings seem to indicate that preference accommodation did not have an impact on clinical outcomes, and the two GSH versions evaluated were found to be equally effective treatment options for the treatment of anxiety. Hence, CAT-GSH may represent an effective and well-tolerated option that could be offered to anxious patients in primary care settings.
There is a need to improve the training and supervision of specialist and non-specialist professionals working with trafficking survivors. Further training for non-specialist stakeholders and professionals who are in frequent and close contact with survivors, for example in camps or government accommodations, is also required. Survivors of trafficking are in contact with many organisations and sectors, and they may not disclose their experiences outright; therefore providing training which improves understanding of modern slavery should be a priority for all major psychological, housing, employment, welfare, and immigration support networks and organisations (among others).
The study findings imply dedicated interventions for specific needs at each stage of recovery are required.
A strong cooperative bond between the patient and provider (“therapeutic alliance”) is robustly associated with better alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment outcomes. Although digital treatments for AUD have significant potential, the function of the alliance during digital programs is unclear. We compared the validity of patient-reported measures of the alliance with a digital treatment (“digital alliance”) for AUD and the alliance with their clinician (“clinician alliance”). To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Psychotherapy for self-harm - Hannah Wallace summarises a systematic review exploring people's experiences of psychotherapy for self-harming behaviours.
Healthcare providers are at high risk of occupational burnout, which has negative implications on the individual, their profession, the organisation and their patients. Psychologists are particularly susceptible to the repercussions of burnout due to the emotionally draining nature and content of their work. However, research has failed to outline and evaluate effective interventions for burnout within the profession. This study aimed to investigate the treatment effectiveness of burnout through a systematic literature review. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Low self-esteem can impair daily functioning and is a risk or maintenance factor for several mental health problems. Sexual minority young adults, for example, those identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual, on average have lower self-esteem than their heterosexual peers. Compassion-based interventions for low self-esteem might be especially beneficial for sexual minority young adults, whose higher levels of shame and self-criticism are likely to be contributing to maintenance of their low self-esteem.
Emotion regulation is an integral part of the schema therapy model. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the evidence on the associations between early maladaptive schemas (EMSs), difficulties with emotion regulation and alexithymia.
The usefulness of therapists' self-disclosure (TSD) in psychotherapy remains controversial, and little is known regarding the potential risks and benefits of TSD in times of global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic and in teletherapy. We examined two independent samples of therapists (N = 1705; Study 1) and patients (N = 772; Study 2) on their perceptions of increases in TSD during the transition to teletherapy early in the COVID-19 pandemic (spring 2020).
Although this study suggested that long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy in combination with treatment as usual was not cost-effective compared with TAU, there may be more explanations to this. Given the sustained long-term effects over the follow-up period and the trajectory of treatment benefits in the LTPP+TAU group, it seems plausible that the timescale of this study was too short to accurately portray the long-term benefits of LTPP.
The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise qualitative evidence on young people's conceptualisation, utilisation and experiences of the therapeutic alliance in individual psychotherapy or counselling and its role in bringing about change.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and other sexual and gender diverse (LGBTQ+) persons frequently lack access to mental health service organizations (MHOs) and therapists who are competent with LGBTQ+ clients. Existing continuing education programmes to better equip therapists to work with LGBTQ+ clients are often not widely accessible or skills focused, evaluated for effectiveness and inclusive of MHO administrators who can address the organizational climate needed for therapist effectiveness. A virtual, face-to-face, multi-level (administrators and therapists) and multi-strategy (technical assistance, workshop and clinical consultations) LGBTQ+ cultural competence training—the Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community (SGDLC)—was tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial.
Bouldering psychotherapy (BPT) for depression has proven effective, but nothing is known about its potential predictors of response. This study should identify predictors of response to BPT, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and an active control (home-based exercise programme; EP) using a literature-based model.
The association between loneliness, negative cognitions, and emotions indicate that cognitive behavioural therapy techniques focused on the ‘here and now’, such as cognitive restructuring and exposure, may be helpful to enhance satisfaction from in-person social interactions. This may be particularly helpful for people with psychosis to navigate fears of rejection and facilitate a connection with individuals outside their close social circles. It would be interesting to explore how these techniques might alter neural sensitivity to social reward and increase social motivation.
The integration of smoking cessation treatment in NHS Talking Therapies would help people with mental health conditions who smoke receive evidence-based support for both at the same time and location. However, more funding and staffing of these talking therapies would be necessary if the intervention was implemented. There are already long-wait times of twenty-three weeks (162 days) for an initial consultation for NHS Talking Therapies (NHS, n.d.). Making another population eligible for these services would potentially overwhelm these services and increase wait times. With the evidence in mind, it would be useful for clinicians to gather information on smoking and substance use during the initial mental health assessment and inform their practice.
Guided self-help (GSH) for anxiety is widely implemented in primary care services because of service efficiency gains, but there is also evidence of poor acceptability, low effectiveness and relapse. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The review showed that robust evidence for the effectiveness of iCBT as an add-on to TAU is still limited, with results not necessarily generalisable to people from different backgrounds based on age, gender, education, and mental healthcare settings. Clearly more research is needed, as remotely delivered, self-guided iCBT has the promise to increase accessibility and be more cost-effective.
To manage ‘treatment-resistant depression’, research has demonstrated that a multidisciplinary approach should be utilised (i.e., administration of medication as well as psychological support). In the current study, psilocybin was administered during a single session of psychological support. More research needs to be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using psilocybin alongside a course of psychological support (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).
There is mounting evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy with a trauma focus (CBT-TF) delivered via guided internet-based self-help is noninferior to CBT-TF delivered face-to-face for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of mild-to-moderate severity. The availability of multiple evidence-based treatment options creates a need to determine predictors of outcome to enable clinicians to make informed treatment recommendations. We examined perceived social support as a predictor of treatment adherence and response among 196 adults with PTSD enrolled in a multicenter pragmatic randomized controlled noninferiority trial.
The aim of this qualitative study is to explore patients' perspectives on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for early stages of psychosis. Therefore, we interviewed participants of the INTERACT study, that quantitatively investigated Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Daily Life (ACT-DL) in combination with treatment as usual, for early stages of psychosis, comparing it to treatment as usual.
Men with intellectual disabilities and/or autism sometimes engage in harmful sexual behaviour (HSB), but it may be harder for them to access treatment, than it is for non-disabled men. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of attending an adapted CBT group, known as SOTSEC-ID, on men with intellectual disabilities and/or autism who had HSB.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STBs) are significant public health challenges that affect a variety of individuals and communities. Despite numerous efforts to discover and refine psychotherapy treatments to minimize STBs, the efficacy of STB treatments remains unclear. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Therapist characteristics are known to affect treatment outcome in general and could also influence the use of systematic client feedback (SCF). The current study explores the effect of feedback orientation, regulatory focus, self-efficacy, attitude towards feedback resources and perceived feedback validity on the use and outcome of SCF in outpatient mental healthcare.
There is little consensus regarding what constitutes an effective therapist when working with adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) who have a mental health problem. This study aims to explore whether clusters of clinical psychologists (CPs) could be differentiated with regards to beliefs as to what defines an effective therapist for adults with ID experiencing psychological distress and seeking treatment. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Measures introduced to mitigate the spread of coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) may have contributed to an increase in waiting times for face-to-face psychological treatments. As adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more likely to encounter barriers when accessing remote therapies, it is important they receive appropriate support while waiting. To understand what care is needed, this service evaluation [aimed to] explored the experiences of service users with ID who have waited for treatment during the pandemic. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Overall, this research brings to light many ways in which access can be improved. However, as the authors mention, it is important to keep in mind that the process of improving access is not a “one size fits all” approach. Instead, programs that aim to improve access should carefully consider their target audience and combine a variety of complementary strategies. In conclusion, the authors talk about practice guidelines. They suggest that each category of healthcare providers would benefit from specific guidelines on improving access to CBT through their specific roles.
Despite limitations, the findings from this study have important clinical and research implications for treating adolescent depression.
For clinicians, it may be beneficial at the beginning of a case of treatment for adolescent depression to develop a set of personalised outcome goals with the patient, with recognition that this is likely to vary greatly between individuals. Treatment could then be jointly chosen by the patient and clinician to ensure these priorities are addressed. This approach could also take into account what the patient thinks their key problem areas are, and what they consider to be valuable improvements. This would also provide a good framework when reviewing clinical decisions of whether to continue or change treatments.
The provision of cCBT through the NHS could help some young people who need support for anxiety and depression to access the treatment they need more easily. This could be of particular benefit to young people who would not otherwise be able to access traditional face-to-face therapies or who would prefer something remote. However, this review makes it clear that the evidence base for cCBT is currently weak and that high-quality future research is needed, so caution needs to be taken by practitioners before recommending cCBT programs.
Psychotic experiences (PEs) are common in help-seeking youths with non-psychotic mental health problems, yet the clinical importance of PEs as potential effect modifiers of psychotherapy interventions has been scarcely examined. We examined if PEs were associated with a differential response to transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) aimed at common emotional and behavioural problems.
Psychosis spectrum disorders continue to rank highly among causes of disability. This has resulted in efforts to expand the range of treatment targets beyond symptom remission to include other recovery markers, including social and occupational function and quality of life. Although the efficacy of psychosocial interventions in early psychosis has been widely reported, the acceptability of these interventions is less well-known. This study explores the participant perspective on a novel, psychosocial intervention combining cognitive remediation and social recovery therapy.
Despite the therapeutic needs of aging Holocaust survivors, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) of psychotherapy exists for this population, with very few on older adults in general. This RCT aimed to compare the efficacy of Life Review Therapy for Holocaust survivors (LRT-HS) relative to a supportive control group.
Sudden gains, defined as large and stable improvements in symptom severity during psychological treatment, have consistently been found to be associated with better outcomes across treatments and diagnoses. Yet, insights on coherent predictors of sudden gains and on emotional changes around sudden gains in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are lacking.
Personality traits underlying both anxiety disorders and depression are more malleable than previously presumed. This study examined associations between changes in personality traits (i.e. negative affectivity and detachment) and alleviation of anxiety and depression symptoms following cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).
Access to psychotherapy is critical to improving mental health, but only a small proportion of refugees receive treatment in the regular psychotherapeutic care system in high-income countries. In previous research, outpatient psychotherapists reported several barriers to more frequent treatment of refugee patients. However, it is unclear to what extent these perceived barriers contribute to the poor provision of services to refugees.
This research aimed to explore individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) experiences of the therapeutic relationship. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This literature review aims to ascertain the outcomes and perspectives of community-based compassion-focused therapy (CFT) for adults with intellectual disabilities. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing as a treatment for PTSD, trauma, and trauma related symptoms in children with intellectual disabilities: a general review - Author: Chloe Louise Williamson, Kelly Rayner-Smith. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide that negatively impacts quality of life. Talk therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy is an effective treatment for depression. The Internet is an important tool for mental healthcare delivery. Internet-delivered or online talk therapy interventions are associated with lower costs and improved accessibility.
Current reviews do not address the effectiveness of Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) on quality of life (QoL). To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Fully automated mental health apps provide a promising opportunity for increasing access to mental health care and resources. Given this opportunity, continued research into the utility and effectiveness of mental health apps is crucial. Therapeutic alliance (TA) refers to the relationship between a client and a healthcare professional, and has been shown to be an important predictor of clinical outcomes in face-to-face therapy. Given the significance of TA in traditional therapy, it is important to explore whether the notion of a digital therapeutic alliance (DTA) in the context of fully automated mental health apps also plays an important role in clinical outcomes. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
It is really encouraging that CBT performs better than control conditions for reducing depression symptoms up to 12 months later and across many different formats and populations. CBT has been well tested for depression, and whilst there is still much room for improvement (e.g., the effect sizes are much more modest for child and adolescent trials than for trials in adults), we can be reasonably confident, given these findings, that CBT is worth investing in as a treatment approach. That said, one size doesn’t fit all, and again, it is encouraging that self-help CBT, even without human support input, was at least moderately good at reducing depression symptoms.
Self-harm is a major public health concern. Lifetime prevalence is high, and rates of self-harm are rising; however, available interventions do not benefit everyone, and engagement with therapy can be low. Qualitative accounts allow for a greater understanding of what is helpful to individuals. This study aimed to synthesize the experiences of interventions for self-harm, from participants who have participated in these themselves.
In the machine learning subfield of natural language processing, a topic model is a type of unsupervised method that is used to uncover abstract topics within a corpus of text. Dynamic topic modelling (DTM) is used for capturing change in these topics over time. The study deploys DTM on corpus of electronic health record psychotherapy notes. This retrospective study examines whether DTM helps distinguish closely matched patients that did and did not die by suicide. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Concern for symptom exacerbation and treatment drop-out is an important barrier to the implementation of trauma-focused therapy (TFT), especially in people with a psychotic disorder. This study, which was part of a multicenter randomized controlled trial, investigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom exacerbation during eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and prolonged exposure (PE) in a sample of 99 participants with PTSD and psychosis.
The efficacy of psychological interventions delivered under the Mental Health Act (1983) (MHA) in England and Wales is unclear. While meta-analyses have reviewed acute and forensic psychological interventions in wider geographical areas, there has been no review specifically in the unique MHA context.
Although studies have shown that client feedback can improve treatment outcome, little is known about which factors might possibly moderate the effects of such feedback. The present study investigated potential therapist variables that might influence whether frequent client feedback is effective, including the Big Five personality traits, internal/external feedback propensity and self-efficacy. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Unfortunately, there are no implications for clinical practice just yet. Nonetheless, this line of research does have the potential to help detect those patients who might benefit from a particular form of treatment. Crucially, for the goal of precision medicine to be realised, we need to be able to detect not only who will respond to CBT, but who will respond to other treatments
COVID-19 had an immediate impact on the way Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services in the United Kingdom were delivered, requiring services to move to remote therapy. While remote therapy has been shown to be effective, little is known about the effects associated with moving to remote therapy delivered during COVID-19 within IAPT services.
Why you should read this article:
To enhance your knowledge of the use of canine-assisted therapy in healthcare settings.
To learn about a project that involved introducing a therapy dog to anxiety management groups for young people.
To consider the effects that the presence of a therapy dog may have on young people.
To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This study aims to longitudinally investigate the effects of individual's factors on subsequent burn-out/psychological distress in a sample of mental health practitioners, testing if higher attachment anxiety and avoidance and lower reflective functioning (i.e., certainty and uncertainty of mental states) and well-being at baseline may lead to a greater psychological distress and burn-out 1 year later.
Whether ACT-DL is beneficial in the long-term for only a sub-group of people experiencing symptoms of early psychosis or all of them seems a question of secondary importance when preliminary evidence shows that it is effective for negative symptoms. Furthermore, the confirmation that providing therapeutic intervention in combination with ACT components is likely to help delay or manage the negative symptoms of early psychosis is imperative for clinicians and health care providers.
Reminiscence therapy is a common psychosocial intervention in mental health nursing. Numerous secondary studies have explored the effects of reminiscence therapy interventions in older adults, and while the effects are significant, conflicting results remain. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
In this study, we combined the results of two controlled trials and examined the relationships between working alliance, telepresence, cognitive change, and treatment outcome. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Third wave cognitive behavioural therapies are increasingly used with children and adolescents. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effectiveness of four third-wave interventions (acceptance and commitment therapy, compassion focused therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and metacognitive therapy) for youth. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Research suggests that leaders are effective when they are ingroup prototypical (represent the identity of the group they seek to lead). However, it is unclear whether leaders should represent the group's current identity (“who we are”) or aspired identity (“who we want to be”). This study investigated which of these forms of prototypicality best predicted leadership effectiveness in group psychotherapy.
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is being investigated as a treatment for a range of psychiatric illnesses. Current research suggests that the kinds of subjective experiences induced by psychedelic compounds play key roles in producing therapeutic outcomes. To date, most knowledge of therapeutic psychedelic experiences are derived from psychometric assessments with scales such as the Mystical Experience Questionnaire. While these approaches are insightful, more nuanced and detailed descriptions of psychedelic-induced changes to subjective experience are required. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Numerous randomized controlled trials have shown cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to be effective in treating social anxiety disorder (SAD). Yet, less is known about the effectiveness of CBT for SAD conducted by psychotherapists in training in routine clinical practice. In this study, 231 patients with SAD were treated with CBT under routine conditions and were examined at pre- and post-treatment as well as at 6 and 12 months follow-up.
Maladaptive therapist schemas are hypothesised to generate difficulties within cognitive behavioural therapy practice, training and supervision. Without adequate identification and management, they negatively affect the cognitions and emotions of the therapist, leading them to behave in ways that risk ruptures or therapy and supervision being delivered in a sub-optimal fashion. Consequently, there is a need to synthesise the research that has been undertaken to date on the content, prevalence, identification, and management of maladaptive therapist schemas. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Compassion-focused imagery (CFI) is a technique used to facilitate self-compassion by constructing and exploring imagery of a compassionate ideal. It is commonly used in Compassionate Mind Training, as part of a wider skills training intervention. This review aimed to explore the effectiveness of CFI on psychological outcomes when used as a brief standalone intervention across clinical and non-clinical adult populations. Population-specific effects were also explored. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Developing effective treatment options for negative symptoms of psychotic disorders remains a major unmet treatment need and area for further research. In a recent uncontrolled study by Swanson et al., (2021), Metacognition Training (MCT) for negative symptoms was found to lead to fewer negative symptoms, less stigma and increased self-rated reflective ability. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
A combined service as outlined by Belcher et al’s study would certainly be of value to service users, and potentially improve the capacity of IAPT practitioners to deliver treatment interventions effectively.
However, in any pilot initiative that follows this research, it will be essential to consider the implications for practitioners in terms of role boundaries and capacities. IAPT practitioners already work to strict protocols and time parameters; introducing new elements to their information-giving role needs to be sensitively considered, and staff need to be equipped with relevant information and expertise before being given new duties.
These three papers suggest telemental health could be used in future response-planning to an emergency which renders face-to-face care unsafe. For it to be widely incorporated into routine care going forward, a personalised approach must be considered, which applies the ‘good’ aspects of telemental health, mitigates the ‘bad’ aspects and avoids the ‘ugly’ inequality gap it has the potential to widen. This has implications for how services could adapt and improve to accommodate telemental health.
The authors addressed an important gap in research: is iCBT as effective in practice as in theory? The exclusion of studies using randomised control trials enabled the authors to gather a synthesised understanding of what iCBT would look like in more widespread practice. However, this research used quantitative articles only. Including qualitative research allows for the inclusion of service-user voices.
With what has been published so far, it is too early to say what the efficacy is, so it is important to read this review as stimulating hypotheses and further research.
Compassion is oriented towards perceiving and relieving suffering. Hence, its development is beneficial for mental health. Many interventions aimed at cultivating compassion in patients have been empirically supported. This meta-analysis analyses the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) in decreasing self-criticism, a vulnerability factor that has been related to several mental health problems, and in increasing self-soothing.
This umbrella review provides a nice summary of a large body of evidence. The review is informative for those who are unfamiliar with the children and adolescent mental disorders literature. But it is also informative for those who have detailed knowledge of the data in some mental disorders who may have gaps in knowledge for other disorders. Or those who just want to check their knowledge of the evidence is up to date.
The meta-analysis has shown that professionals with minimal professional training can reduce PTSD symptoms, as effectively as doctoral trained clinicians. This indicates a potential future workforce development with the ability to appropriately train professionals in TF-CBT.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with significant individual and relationship impairment for people with PTSD and their romantic partners. Conjoint treatments, such as cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD (CBCT), are designed to address individual and relationship factors, yet significant barriers impede accessing in-person therapy. Couple HOPES (i.e., Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction) is a coach-guided, online couple intervention for PTSD based on CBCT that was designed to address these barriers. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Recent years have seen escalating media, public and scientific interest in psychedelic medicine. Australia and New Zealand have been late to this research; however, in the past 2 years, rapid developments suggest that this is changing. Here, we argue for the need to critically review existing evidence in this field to guide future directions. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Evaluation of radically open dialectical behaviour therapy in an adult community mental health team: effectiveness in people with autism spectrum disorders – ERRATUM - Volume 46 Issue 5
DBT BPD long term - Dafni Katsampa and Francesca Payne summarise a qualitative study exploring the long-term benefits of dialectical behaviour therapy.
Transference (meant in this context, as the patient relational patterns expressed towards the clinician) and therapeutic alliance play a crucial role in the treatment of personality pathology. To date, no empirical study examined the association between these two dimensions of the clinical relationship and patients' personality maladaptive traits in psychotherapy. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Psychologists frequently deliver indirect psychological interventions in mental health inpatient settings to support staff to reflect upon and improve their clinical practice. However, research into these interventions is sparse. Therefore, this study aimed to undertake a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the indirect psychological interventions used in mental health inpatient settings. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The focus of the present research is to investigate the impact of therapist responsiveness at the very first session of therapy on the evaluation of therapeutic alliance from the therapist’s perspective and from patient’s perspective in the context of guideline-based treatment for borderline personality disorder. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Schools play a key role in adolescents' experiences with managing ME/CFS. However, little is known about the experiences of adolescents with ME/CFS (and their families) in schools. This paper is an incidental qualitative study, which combines data from two independent ME/CFS studies: study 1 researched ethnic minority adolescents with ME/CFS; study 2 explored Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for adolescents with ME/CFS who had not recovered after one year. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The aim of this paper is to describe the therapeutic intervention and effects of EMDR in a pool of COVID-19 survivors referred to an integrated psychological/psychiatric outpatient service. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Recently, Goldfried suggested that one main reason for the underdevelopment of psychotherapy as a scientific enterprise was the lack of acknowledgment of past contributions. In this article, this issue is illustrated by analyzing the particular case of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Mindfulness-based interventions are widely used to target pain, yet their neural mechanisms of action are insufficiently understood. The authors studied neural and subjective pain response in a randomized active-control trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) alongside long-term meditation practitioners. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.