A narrative systematic review of changes in mental health symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns regarding population-wide impacts on mental health. Existing work on the psychological impacts of disaster has identified the potential for multiple response trajectories, with resilience as likely as the development of chronic psychopathology. Early reviews of mental health during the pandemic suggested elevated prevalence rates of multiple forms of psychopathology, but were limited by largely cross-sectional approaches.

A scoping review of trauma informed approaches in acute, crisis, emergency, and residential mental health care

Experiences of trauma in childhood and adulthood are highly prevalent among service users accessing acute, crisis, emergency, and residential mental health services. These settings, and restraint and seclusion practices used, can be extremely traumatic, leading to a growing awareness for the need for trauma informed care (TIC). The aim of TIC is to acknowledge the prevalence and impact of trauma and create a safe environment to prevent re-traumatisation.

Transition from Child and Adolescent to Adult Mental Health Services in Young People with Depression : On What Do Clinicians Base their Recommendation?.

Background. Clinicians in Child and Adolescent Mental Healthcare Services (CAMHS) face the challenge to determine who is at risk of persistence of depressive problems into adulthood and requires continued treatment after reaching the CAMHS upper age limit of care-provision. We assessed whether risk factors for persistence were related to CAMHS clinicians' transition recommendations.

 

Latent trajectories of DSM-5-TR-based Prolonged Grief Disorder : findings from a data pooling project MARBLES

Background: With the release of the text revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5-TR), criteria for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) were included. This necessitates studying grief trajectories based on these criteria. Objective: This is the first study examining latent trajectories of DSM-5-TR-based PGD symptom levels and testing whether specific risk factors (e.g.

Functional brain changes after alternative pharmacological interventions in posttraumatic stress disorder : A systematic review of clinical trials.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and heterogeneous mental health condition that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event. Clinical trials have used alternative pharmacological agents to treat PTSD, but their associated neural correlates remain unclear. The present systematic review aims to summarize the changes in brain function associated with the use of these alternative pharmacological agents in PTSD.
 

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Dutch Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire

In the Netherlands, scientific interest in psychedelics and their subjective effects has been increasing. The present study examined the reliability, construct and predictive validity of the Dutch 30-item Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30), a self-report measure that has been used to assess subjective and mystical experiences occasioned by psychedelics.

 

Open Science : a practical guide for early-career researchers

The Dutch consortium of University Libraries and the National Library of the Netherlands (UKB), together with the Universities of The Netherlands (UNL), the Dutch national centre of expertise and repository for research data (DANS) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO), has published a practical guide on open science.

Ethical dilemmas of mental healthcare for migrants and refugees

Purpose of review 

This review will discuss the current development of ethical dilemmas in psychiatry in the care of migrants and refugees. The world is in times of increasing conflicts and disasters, which are leading to increased migration and flight. In dealing with patients, psychiatrists have their own codes of ethics. The purpose of developing codes of ethics is to serve educational and regulatory functions and to provide explicit and visible standards for the professional conduct of psychiatrists.

 

Recent findings 

Assessment of a digital intervention program with Holocaust survivors

Objective
This study evaluated a digital intervention program with aging Holocaust survivors. Participants received a tablet device and were coupled with a volunteer who assisted them to use the tablet. The study aimed to assess which characteristics of the Holocaust survivors are linked with more frequent use of digital communication at the end of the program.

 

Natural language processing for mental health interventions : a systematic review and research framework

Neuropsychiatric disorders pose a high societal cost, but their treatment is hindered by lack of objective outcomes and fidelity metrics. AI technologies and specifically Natural Language Processing (NLP) have emerged as tools to study mental health interventions (MHI) at the level of their constituent conversations. However, NLP’s potential to address clinical and research challenges remains unclear.

 

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