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.