Objectives: Research is lacking into the emotional effects on families of serious chronic illness in infants. We examined the effect of the diagnosis of serious liver disease in infants upon parent psychological symptoms and family functioning. We hypothesized that parent psychological symptoms, family functioning, and father engagement will predict infant emotional outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has a growing empirical base in the treatment of anxiety among adults and children with other concerns. This study reports on the main outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of ACT and traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in children with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) anxiety disorder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFacial emotion identification (FEI) deficits are common in patients with chronic schizophrenia and are strongly related to impaired functioning. The objectives of this study were to determine whether FEI deficits are present and emotion specific in people experiencing early-onset psychosis (EOP), and related to current clinical symptoms and functioning. Patients with EOP (n=34, mean age=14.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe diagnostic boundary between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be unclear, particularly with early onset. We assessed if emotion brain circuits differentiate psychosis versus mania symptoms in a series of six early onset patients. Symptoms were dissociated by direction, awareness condition, and brain regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith a lifetime prevalence of approximately 17% among community-dwelling adults, anxiety disorders are among the most pervasive of contemporary psychiatric afflictions. Traditional Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is currently the first line evidence-based psychosocial intervention for the treatment of anxiety. Previous research, however, has found that a significant proportion of patients do not respond to traditional CBT or exhibit residual symptomatology at treatment cessation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study aims to describe the clinical course of psychotic disorders, including the premorbid history, symptoms and level of functioning in a group of children and adolescents treated by paediatric mental health services, mainly as inpatients.
Method: A sample of 45 children and adolescents with a psychotic disorder (mean age 13.2 years) was assessed using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, parent interviews and file audit.
Objective: The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for self-harm for children and adolescents in a mental health inpatient unit.
Methods: A retrospective file audit of patient files over three years (2006-2009) was conducted to determine risk factors associated with self-harm in children and adolescents admitted to a mental health unit. A checklist of potential factors was based on risk factors found in a review of the literature including demographic information, diagnosis, home situation, environmental stressors, childhood trauma and previous mental health care.
This study describes differences in symptoms in young people with psychosis, with and without a history of trauma. The files of 118 mental health inpatients, aged 8 to 18 years, all reporting hallucinations and/or delusions, were reviewed for a history of trauma. Symptoms reported by inpatients with and without a history of trauma were compared.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this paper is to describe trends in aggression and self harm on a mental health inpatient unit for children and adolescents between January 2006 and August 2009. Various ward interventions and the ward milieu were evaluated as possible explanatory factors for trends.
Method: This was a retrospective study whereby incidents of aggression, self harm and seclusion were obtained from a computerized Incident Information Management System (IIMS) database.