The authors of the study conclude that “KAT offers clinically meaningful improvements and demonstrated a desirable safety and risk mitigation profile”. Ongoing ketamine-based medication sessions enhance therapeutic benefits by preventing the 90% relapse rate that is often seen in single-infusion ketamine-based treatments (Kryst et al., 2020).
Hull et al. (2022) take this standpoint to reiterate the use of dissociative and psychedelic compounds for reducing important symptoms of common mental health disorders such as reducing suicidal ideation and behaviour. This could be viewed as an exaggeration, especially since the mechanism of dissociation is still relatively unknown in terms of how it reduces anxiety and depression symptoms (Liu et al., 2020).
This review concluded that people living with depression are at considerable risk of internalising negative stereotypes and discrimination associated with depression. Prominent risk factors were identified, including depression symptom severity and stigma-related factors; but protective factors were also identified, such as quality of life and self-esteem.
The study reinforces findings from the existing literature that, in the context of comorbid anxiety and depression, anxiety seems to have an earlier age of onset. Early identification and intervention for anxiety disorders may therefore help to prevent the developmental of other comorbid psychiatric disorders, such as depression or additional anxiety disorders.
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.
This meta-analysis is very relevant for those working within mental health services and delivering mental health interventions with clients or community members. It suggests that transdiagnostic mental health interventions should be considered as an effective way of treating anxiety and depression, at least in the short term, as they might have an edge over other treatments, especially when treating co-morbidity or mixed anxiety and depression symptoms.
The primary goal of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating habit training into an app-based meditation intervention to maintain reductions in depressive symptoms among autistic adults. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This cross-sectional study aims to systematically assess and compare parenting stress in families of children with various types of disabilities. Open access article - no login required
Dysfunctional attitudes (DA) are higher in depression; however, less is understood about their role in bipolar disorder (BD). This paper aimed to explore the presence of DA in BD in comparison to clinical and non-clinical groups. Also explored were the associations between DA and mood states of depression, mania or euthymia in BD.
The International Anxiety Questionnaire (IAQ) and International Depression Questionnaire (IDQ) are self-report measures of ICD-11 Generalized Anxiety Disorder (ICD-11 GAD) and ICD-11 Single Episode Depressive Disorder (ICD-11 DD). This study tested the psychometric properties of these scales in two samples of bereaved adults from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
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.
Predicting the course and complications of perinatal depression through the identification of clinical subtypes has been previously undertaken using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and has the potential to improve the precision of care and improve outcomes for women and their children. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cpp.2893?af=R
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.
Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and childhood maltreatment have been proposed to constitute a subgroup with worse illness course and outcomes. To elucidate a potential social cognitive vulnerability in this subgroup, this study compared the emotion decoding abilities of MDD patients with and without a history of childhood maltreatment.
If we have a better understanding of how anxiety and depression may develop over the course of childhood and adolescence, and who may be at greatest risk of adverse outcomes in adulthood, this may inform targeted early identification and prevention strategies. The authors suggest that this could beneficially impact policy and practice at certain touchpoints, such as the transition from children’s to adult’s mental health services, which has been highlighted by previous studies as an “international concern” due to the consequences of lack of continuity of care (Hendrickx et al., 2020 p. 163).
Some anxiety disorders may improve or remit without intervention, meaning a brief period of ‘watchful waiting’ may be prudent in certain situations
Specific phobia and panic disorder with agoraphobia do not show signs of improving without intervention, meaning that treatment should be provided as soon as possible for individuals with these conditions.
It’s worth commenting on the finding that only 15% of control participants experienced ‘clinically meaningful’ improvements in their anxiety, meaning 85% will still experience symptoms of anxiety. For those whose anxiety does not improve significantly or remit, this waiting period will not be a neutral limbo – it may be a highly difficult and distressing time for them, and this must be taken into account when considering the implementation of such findings.