This study tested two hypotheses: (a) that there were significant group-level associations between post-ECT clinical outcomes and pre-ECT clinical variables and (b) that it was possible to develop a method for predicting illness remission for individual patients using machine learning. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
We report the effect of quality of therapy delivery on outcomes in a randomized, controlled trial of behavioural activation (BA) and guided self-help (GSH) for depression in adults with intellectual disabilities. Open access article - no login required
Study found that a digitally augmented psychological therapy with therapist support could be as effective as normal treatment. This has cost and resource implications.
This study reports on young people's session experiences over time and by key demographics for headspace youth mental health services. Open access article - no login required
'It remains staggering that the patients that might need psychological therapy the most, i.e. patients with high risk for suicidality remain excluded from most of the trials. This limits the insights into the effectiveness of most common offered interventions in daily clinical practice on suicidality.'
...emphasizing the necessity of scrutinizing anxiety theory against larger data sets... To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Children born to parents with a mental illness have been shown, over and over again, to be at an increased risk of developing mental health problems early in life. A recent comprehensive meta-analysis that gathered data from all over the world, including data from 3 million individuals at familial risk and 20 million control individuals, left no doubt about the increased risk... To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Closed-Loop Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
In this multicenter randomized controlled trial, rTMS was compared with the next pharmacological treatment step in patients with treatment-resistant depression. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Study of the effects of psychoanalytic therapy versus cognitive–behavioural therapy for chronic depression in adults with a history of childhood trauma. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This study examines psychological, social and environmental risk and protective factors that may explain changes in depression and anxiety among adolescents. Open access article - no login required
...little is known about the experience of intrusive cognitions in adolescents, particularly in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study sought to gather fundamental data on these phenomena (i.e., frequency, characteristics and appraisals of intrusive cognitions) in adolescents with MDD and PTSD. Open access article - no login required
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
Despite the widespread use and perceived efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) as an anxiolytic, few controlled studies have evaluated the effects of CBD on anxiety-relevant indications, and only one has done so in the context of trauma-related symptoms. The current study was designed to address this gap in the literature. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
We conducted a systematic review to provide a comprehensive overview of the empirical research on the bidirectional temporal associations between prolonged grief symptoms and symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety. Open access article - no login required
The authors performed a target trial emulation to compare the risk of mania among individuals with bipolar depression treated or not treated with antidepressants over a 1-year period. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The authors compared the associated risk of incident depression between first-time users of low-, medium-, and high-dose levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine systems (LNG-IUSs). To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The authors sought to assess the prosocial, entactogen effects of ketamine. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This study, from Sweden, finds adult children of parents with AUD have a raised risk of mood and anxiety disorders even after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and parental mood or anxiety disorder. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This study, from Australia, examines associations between becoming a caregiver and depressive symptoms among men. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
As cannabis policies become more permissive, there is a reasonable concern that this may increase rates of CUD and contribute further to the incidence of other mental health disorders. However, several strategies can be implemented to offset these harms.
The goal of the current research was to clarify the mixed findings regarding the relation between pleasure deficits and internalizing psychopathology. Open access article - no login required.
The current study employed network analytic techniques to examine how subjective views surrounding the cause of depressive symptoms altered actual symptom presentation networks. Additionally, the interaction between depressive symptoms and various etiological beliefs was examined. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
We are a large and diverse group of national and international clinicians, lived experience and social community advocates, all working together to innovate the current approaches available for women with menopausal mental ill health. Open access article - no login required.
The objective of this study was to perform a well-powered genetic study of TRD. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
...focussing on the lived experiences of regional Australian youth with recent experience of climate-related disasters alongside clinical insights from those involved in their care. Open access article - no login required.
This paper aims to provide insights about why Deaf people are twice as likely as hearing people to experience mental health problems. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
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.
Online symptom checkers are a way to address patient concerns and potentially offload a burdened healthcare system. However, safety outcomes of self-triage are unknown, so we reviewed triage recommendations and outcomes of our institution's depression symptom checker.
To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Implications for practice and research:
Providers should encourage antidepressant use with statins for depression that is comorbid with physical conditions.
Research can clarify which population subgroups taking both medications demonstrate improved outcomes.
To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Clinical practice with young children benefits from knowledge about the prevalence of depressive disorders in childhood and that the well-established sex differences seen for depression in adulthood may not appear until adolescence.
Further research is needed to address possible changes in the prevalence of childhood depressive disorders around the world and following the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether these changes are differentially distributed across individuals and communities.
To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
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 meta-analysis estimates the effects of patient preference on clinical outcome, satisfaction and adherence regarding treatment of depression and anxiety. Open access article - no login required.
...the paper seeks to clarify distinctions between: (i) threat detection and response, (ii) safety and safety seeking, (iii) safeness and (iv) their social and non-social functions and forms. Open access article - no login required
This study aims to examine the associations between social capital derived from online versus in-person networks and mental health indicators among gamers. Open access article - no login required
To determine the treatment effect of resistance training in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in young people. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
This meta-analysis evaluated the relationship between overweight/obesity and depressive disorders in children and adolescents. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The identified relationship between parental mood disorders and offspring anxiety disorders provides valuable insights that mental health practitioners can integrate into their practice. Understanding these risk factors and underlying mechanisms aids mental health professionals in tailoring treatments and interventions according to the family background and specific needs of their clients.
The current study investigated the association between paternal postnatal depressive symptoms and parenting behaviours. Open access article - no login required.
This item explores adolescents’ use of social media to manage stress and loneliness at a time of restricted social contacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Concludes that there is little uptake of psychological interventions for depression. Strategies currently in development that could change this include single session interventions and task sharing which involves using lay counsellors to deliver the intervention. Digital interventions could improve access to treatment and have shown some positive outcomes.
In this blog I will give a brief overview of this field, and what can be done to further improve the effects of these treatments. I have also presented a more extensive overview in the webinar that you can watch below.
Prevention of new depressive disorders is very much needed because current treatments can only reduce the disease burden of depression to a limited extent.
Research has shown that preventive interventions are effective, especially in indicated prevention, but also selective prevention. However, the impact of these interventions is limited because the uptake is low.
A new generation of randomized community trials are needed to examine suites of innovative preventive interventions.
Several useful points for clinicians emerge from this paper. The first-hand experiences compiled here reveal some common experiences among people living with depression which are not reflected in diagnostic criteria or checklists for lay people. While sleep, weight and appetite disturbances are noted in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as indicative of depression, this paper suggests that the somatic nature of the depressive experience is more pronounced than this. Experiences such as aches and pains, a sense of heaviness, and a body that lacks physical energy may be important markers of depression, and it is therefore unhelpful to view the mind and body as separate. The importance of fatigue has also been stressed by adolescents experiencing depression
This qualitative systematic review shows that antidepressants might not always help depression. For this patient population, it may be important for health professionals to work with patients to explore other treatments for managing their depression. Treatment could include cognitive behavioural therapy, which was shown in a systematic review to be an effective intervention for TRD at short-term, mid-term, and long-term follow-up (Li et al., 2018).