🥇 Is CBT really the gold standard for depression in primary care? 📊 A new meta-analysis finds CBT doesn't clearly beat antidepressants, exercise, or other talking therapies. 🤔 Maybe it just had the most research behind it. buff.ly/5CDzhw6 #CBT #Depression #PrimaryCare #DodoBird #Psychotherapies

🩺 Atypical depression isn't just a mood story. A large Australian study links it to higher BMI, hypertension, diabetes and metabolic genetic risk. Physical health screening belongs in mental health care. buff.ly/yo7hKNB #MentalHealth #Depression

🎧 NEW PODCAST!! 🎧 Prevention works for #StudentMentalHealth, so why is it still underfunded? 🌱 Nurture-U tested a mental health literacy course, digital CBT and a rumination app. The results were striking. Episode 2 of the Nurture-U Podcast is out now: youtu.be/Hs_h0V66FOs

The EPISODE trial is out. Psilocybin didn't beat placebo on the 6-week primary outcome. 86% of participants correctly guessed their arm. Five people remitted on the high dose. A more honest result than the field has often allowed. buff.ly/FCsHz2z #Psilocybin #Depression

🔍 Trauma-focused therapy for psychosis: delusions respond, hallucinations resist. A new meta-analysis: clear gains on delusions, smaller PTSD shifts, biggest benefits for younger people. buff.ly/0LvUkMm #Psychosis #TraumaTherapy

🏃 People with severe mental illness die up to 20 years sooner than the general population. 💡 Lifestyle interventions work. The third Lancet Psychiatry Commission asks why we aren't delivering them. buff.ly/VvOvCub #MentalHealth #Exercise #PhysicalHealth #LifestyleMedicine

⏰New paper alert! Commonly used anti-inflammatory drug could help people with difficult-to-treat depression. Pilot trial shows tocilizumab may reduce depression symptoms, fatigue, anxiety + increase quality of life. Published in @jamapsychiatry.com News👇 www.bristolbrc.nihr.ac.uk/pilot-trial-...

🔥 About a third of people with depression show low-grade inflammation. 💊 A new RCT tested blocking IL-6 with a single dose of tocilizumab in this group. 🚀 Promising signal, bigger trials next. buff.ly/T7jDggG #Depression #Inflammation

💬 Mental health awareness: progress, but also problems? ⚠️ A new review asks whether campaigns are also inflating distress, driving self-diagnosis, and overwhelming services. buff.ly/lGdvEJY #MentalHealth #Awareness

Half of UK students experience high levels of loneliness. Students from minoritised groups are most at risk. And the single biggest protective factor? Social connection. That's from the Nurture-U study and today we're launching a new podcast aimed at anyone interested in student mental health 🎙️

🔬 Can AI find depression in a brain scan? A new study on nearly 30,000 brains found modest but real biological signals of depression 🧬 Not a clinical test, but a meaningful step ✨ buff.ly/YeD17HI #MentalHealth #Depression #Neuroscience

🫂 Can stronger social connections really help reduce depression? Umbrella review: in-person engagement reduces depression for older adults & those at risk of isolation. Digital alone isn't enough. buff.ly/kcq7lm7 #MentalHealth #SocialConnection #Loneliness

New on The Mental Elf: the first analysis of coroners' Prevention of Future Deaths reports on child suicide finds governance failures, communication breakdowns, and a lack of autism-specific support as recurring themes. Blogged by Valeria Khudiakova 👇 buff.ly/YkoBLLC #Suicide #YoungPeople

New RCT asks whether EMDR can reduce trauma symptoms in people with complex emotional needs, even without a formal PTSD diagnosis 🌤️ Short answer: yes. And the effect sizes are striking. Full Mental Elf summary here 👇 buff.ly/91hrsrm #EMDR #PersonalityDisorder #Trauma #PTSD #MentalHealth

Clinicians & researchers working with adults 44+: a large UK Biobank study (N=77,093) just mapped how sleep timing, duration & daily activity shift across age and sex 🌤️ Here's what stood out 🧵

😔 More than half of people with depression experience chronic pain, yet it's often the last thing discussed in a consultation. 🔬 New umbrella review 📊 Nearly a million people The case for integrated care 🤝 🔗 buff.ly/Q7o50sW #ChronicPain #MentalHealth

Sexual minority older adults are around twice as likely to experience depression as their heterosexual peers. 🌈 Loneliness accounts for 15% of that gap, and it's modifiable. 💙🔍 buff.ly/qKRBX4u #LGBTQHealth #Loneliness #Depression #MentalHealth

People experiencing homelessness are two to four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. 🏠 And crucially, that risk holds even after accounting for mental illness. 💔 buff.ly/cgEapoR #SuicidePrevention #Homelessness #MentalHealth

The first modern-era trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for depression shows impressive early results. 75% remission at 2 months. But this is small, open-label, and has no control group. Bigger trials needed. 🧪 buff.ly/KGmfMhl #MDMA #Depression #MentalHealth

Most mental health problems develop before age 25. Early intervention makes sense, but do they work? Two @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social reviews: promising but patchy. Strong evidence for psychosis. Thinner for anxiety/depression. buff.ly/DZZdMsd #YouthMentalHealth #EarlyIntervention #MentalHealth

We say words can hurt, but do we really take that seriously? 💬 New survey research suggests that verbal abuse in childhood is as damaging to mental wellbeing as physical abuse. Unlike physical abuse, verbal abuse is rising. 📊 buff.ly/NJmDNY4 #VerbalAbuse #MentalHealth #ChildProtection

Postnatal depression affects up to 1 in 4 new mothers in the UK. New research suggests that community singing could offer lasting relief. 🎵 buff.ly/xxnBaSe #PostnatalDepression #MaternalMentalHealth #Singing #MelodiesForMums

🔎 Can you help improve mental health care for autistic people? The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental Health @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social has been commissioned by @england.nhs.uk to identify models currently being used in MH services to improve care for autistic people. 👇🏽 Please read on! 👇🏽

Psychedelic therapy looks impressive in trials, but participants can tell 95% of the time whether they've been given a psychedelic or a placebo. Are the impressive results the drug or the expectation? 🍄💊 buff.ly/WlCvWYO #PsychedelicTherapy #Depression #MentalHealth

People with psychosis are three times more likely to become obese. New research suggests that the first 12 weeks of antipsychotic treatment is the critical window. ⏰💊 buff.ly/QBuX1vf #Psychosis #Antipsychotics #EarlyIntervention #WeightGain #MortalityGap

'They're just being a teenager.' 'It's a phase.' 🙄 How often are emotional distress signals from young people dismissed? Cross-cultural research from Brazil, Nepal and Nigeria has lessons for all of us. buff.ly/k0zarsM #AdolescentMentalHealth #GlobalMentalHealth #Depression

Scrolling TikTok for mental health info may feel reassuring in the moment, but is it accurate? 📱 New review: misinformation rates of 35% on TikTok and generally lower on YouTube (22%). Quality varies widely across all platforms. #MentalHealth #Misinformation buff.ly/z5F7f6g

Active coping could protect young people from depression after adversity 🌱 A new study from Latin America finds that how adolescents respond to stress matters as much as the stress itself. buff.ly/0IjHfA0 #YouthMentalHealth #Depression #Anxiety #LatinAmerica

Can your thoughts actually influence your immune system? A new RCT used neurofeedback to train reward brain activity, then measured antibody responses after vaccination. Intriguing, if preliminary. 💉🔬 buff.ly/XzAUERF #Neurofeedback #Vaccination #MindBodyConnection

350 automated texts over 64 days reduced generalised anxiety from severe to mild. That's a headline worth examining. 📱 buff.ly/shjXFrO #AnxietyDisorders #CBT #DigitalHealth #YoungPeople #MentalHealth

Numbers can tell you how many people have dementia. They can't show you what it's like. 📸 A photovoice study gave cameras to people with memory loss. Their images went on show. The audience left changed. buff.ly/akJVdrz #Dementia #Photovoice #LivedExperience

Asking preadolescents about suicide does not increase suicidal thoughts 🧒 A 12-month study of 8–12 year olds found no evidence of harm, even in those already at higher risk. buff.ly/eRdFfop #SuicidePrevention #ChildMentalHealth

🕐 Who decides what gets researched about body clocks and mental health? Until now, mostly researchers. A new study asked patients, carers and clinicians instead. First ever top 10 research priorities. 👇 buff.ly/H4iYkj8 #CircadianRhythms #MentalHealth #BodyClock

Schools spend the equivalent of 3 full-time staff managing smartphones each year, whether we ban them or not. 📵 Banning phones may cut some costs. But new research shows it won't improve pupils' wellbeing. 🌳 buff.ly/hIupB5k #MentalHealth #SchoolPolicy

Stop, reduce or stay on antipsychotics after first-episode psychosis? 💊 New RCT: dose reduction raised relapse risk in year 1, but improved functioning by year 3. The message: personalised, collaborative care. buff.ly/3Ph5MJ9 #MentalHealth #Psychosis #Schizophrenia

Can you 'catch' suicidality from a close friend? 🫂 A meta-analysis of 1M+ people found that exposure to a friend's suicidal thoughts or behaviours triples your risk (OR 3.22). Effect strongest in adolescents. buff.ly/44zXnte #MentalHealth #SuicidePrevention

Depersonalisation-Derealisation Disorder affects around 2% of people yet there is limited guidance on treatments specifically for the condition. A feasibility trial of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy shows promise. 🌀 buff.ly/NVEYJIH #Depersonalisation #MentalHealth #CBT #Dissociation

📱 Engagement with digital mental health interventions remains poorly understood. Four reviews, no agreed definition. Real-world use of mental health apps falls well below trial levels. One consistent finding: human contact helps. buff.ly/E5Gm7H0 #DigitalMentalHealth

Skin-picking as self-soothing: is emotion regulation the missing piece? 🩹 Adults with skin picking (excoriation) disorder show higher emotion dysregulation 📊, lower distress tolerance 😔, and trouble naming their feelings. Could DBT 🌱 or ACT 💬 help? 🔍 #MentalHealth #BFRB #SPD buff.ly/96McJM2

🌱 Culturally inclusive parenting programme benefits UK families in deprived urban areas RCT of 674 diverse parents: Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities improved wellbeing & parent-child relationships at modest cost. buff.ly/5TSRONA #MentalHealth #Parenting

🔍 Spotting bipolar and psychosis risk earlier using routine clinical records A 28-predictor model correctly identified risk 80% of the time, outperforming existing tools in 127,000 people. buff.ly/MKZDIhZ #MentalHealth #Bipolar #Psychosis

🌿 Medical cannabinoids for mental health: helpful or hazardous? Systematic review of 54 RCTs: limited evidence across most conditions. No significant effect for psychosis, anxiety, PTSD. More adverse events overall (NNTH=7). buff.ly/ZEZzXl3 #Cannabis #MentalHealth #Cannabinoids

👶 What predicts difficult-to-treat postpartum depression? Swedish study of 58,618 women: 6% experienced 'treatment-resistance' within a year. Risk factors: lower socioeconomic status, smoking, pre-existing health conditions, caesarean or preterm birth. buff.ly/LCh9BQL #PostpartumDepression #Risk

🏥 Can crisis planning reduce repeat sectioning under the Mental Health Act? FINCH trial of 80 people: intervention was deliverable, results leaned towards fewer repeat detentions, but study designed to prove feasibility not effectiveness. buff.ly/kqoNcpo #MentalHealthAct #CrisisPlanning

💊 Can metformin mitigate antipsychotic-related weight gain in young people with bipolar disorder? Large trial of 1,565 young people: yes, but effect modest. At 6 months BMI increased 0.05 (metformin) vs 0.64 (lifestyle only). buff.ly/n4xAinz #BipolarDisorder #Antipsychotics #Metformin #WeightGain

🌟 New Hope For Bipolar Disorder 🗓️ Webinar, 11:00-12:30 BST, Mon 30 March 🎟️ Get your tickets now! buff.ly/XZ7l6a8 #BipolarDisorder #Treatment #Research

💊 Study of 3 million adults prescribed opioids found 84% of self-harm events and 81% of suicides didn't involve opioids. Challenges belief that prescribing opioids increases self-harm risk. Higher doses/longer exposure did show association. buff.ly/rDfzB4m #Opioids #SelfHarm #SuicidePrevention

😴 Can changing sleep patterns predict cognitive decline and dementia? Sleep's bidirectional relationship with dementia makes causation unclear. Changes may be symptom, not cause. buff.ly/mvEa5yV #Sleep #Dementia #CognitiveHealth

🧡 Small service evaluation: 12 participants attended compassion-focused therapy groups in two CMHTs. Some showed improvements in self-compassion and depression, but this was a service evaluation without comparison group, not evidence of effectiveness. buff.ly/wgs33Il #CFT #CMHT #MentalHealth

🏥 First NHS evaluation: embedded psychologists improve patient engagement, emotional adjustment, and recovery in new Bristol Major Trauma Centre. Clinicians also valued support for themselves: "quite difficult emotionally for us day in, day out." buff.ly/FvDWUu0 #MajorTrauma #Psychology #NHS