Biological and cognitive theories explaining panic disorder: A narrative review.

The current narrative review summarizes and examines several theories of panic disorder (PD) including biological theories, encompassing neurochemical factors, metabolic and genetic theories, respiratory and hyperventilation theories and cognitive theory. Biological theories have informed the development of psychopharmacological treatments; however, they may be limited in their utility given the efficacy of psychological treatments. In particular, behavioral and, more recently, cognitive models have garnered support due to the efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) in treating PD.

Using a digital personal recovery resource in routine mental health practice: feasibility, acceptability and outcomes.

Background: Digital technologies enable the dissemination of multimedia resources to support adults with serious mental illness in their self-management and personal recovery. However, delivery needs to accommodate engagement and accessibility challenges.

Aims: We examined how a digital resource, designed for mental health workers and consumers to use together in session, would be used in routine practice.

A Group-Facilitated, Internet-Based Intervention to Promote Mental Health and Well-Being in a Vulnerable Population of University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial of the Be Well Plan Program.

Background: A growing literature supports the use of internet-based interventions to improve mental health outcomes. However, most programs target specific symptoms or participant groups and are not tailored to facilitate improvements in mental health and well-being or do not allow for needs and preferences of individual participants. The Be Well Plan, a 5-week group-facilitated, internet-based mental health and well-being group intervention addresses these gaps, allowing participants to select a range of activities that they can tailor to their specific characteristics, needs, and preferences.

A cross-sectional investigation of the mental health and wellbeing among individuals who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 international border closure in Australia.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Australian government implementing strict international border closures. However, research has not yet investigated the mental health status of individuals impacted negatively by these international border closures.

Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional online survey of 3968 adults who reported being negatively affected by the border closure during June and July 2021.

The Implications of the Diving Response in Reducing Panic Symptoms.

Increased CO sensitivity is common in panic disorder (PD) patients. Free divers who are known for their exceptional breathing control have lower CO sensitivity due to training effects. This study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of cold facial immersion (CFI), breath holding and CO challenges on panic symptoms.

Mindfulness-based online intervention to improve quality of life in late-stage bipolar disorder: A randomized clinical trial.

Adjunctive psychological interventions improve outcomes in bipolar disorder (BD), but people in latter stages likely have different clinical needs. The objective here was to test the hypothesis that for people with ≥10 episodes of BD, a brief online mindfulness-based intervention (ORBIT 2.0) improves quality of life (QoL) relative to a Psychoeducation control.

Interpersonal attachment, early family environment, and trauma in hoarding: A systematic review.

The formation of intense emotional attachments to objects, difficulty parting with possessions, and the extreme accumulation of clutter are key features of Hoarding Disorder (HD). Although substantial literature implicates processes such as dysfunctional beliefs and maladaptive emotional cycles in HD, little is known about the vulnerability factors that lead to their development and hoarding symptomatology. The current review sought to systematically collate and integrate findings from studies investigating the relationship between hoarding symptoms and three proposed vulnerability factors: i) interpersonal attachment, ii) early family environment, and iii) traumatic or adverse life events.

Using the Intervention Mapping Approach to Develop a Mental Health Intervention: A Case Study on Improving the Reporting Standards for Developing Psychological Interventions.

Replicating or distilling information from psychological interventions reported in the scientific literature is hindered by inadequate reporting, despite the existence of various methodologies to guide study reporting and intervention development. This article provides an in-depth explanation of the scientific development process for a mental health intervention, and by doing so illustrates how intervention development methodologies can be used to improve development reporting standards of interventions. Intervention development was guided by the Intervention Mapping approach and the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Contemporary treatment of anxiety in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of outcomes in countries with universal healthcare.

Background: Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent mental health conditions and are managed predominantly in primary care. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological and pharmacological treatments in countries with universal healthcare, and investigated the influence of treatment provider on the efficacy of psychological treatment.

Method: PubMed, Cochrane, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched in April 2017 for controlled studies of evidence-based anxiety treatment in adults in primary care, published in English since 1997.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological interventions to improve mental wellbeing.

Our current understanding of the efficacy of psychological interventions in improving mental states of wellbeing is incomplete. This study aimed to overcome limitations of previous reviews by examining the efficacy of distinct types of psychological interventions, irrespective of their theoretical underpinning, and the impact of various moderators, in a unified systematic review and meta-analysis. Four-hundred-and-nineteen randomized controlled trials from clinical and non-clinical populations (n = 53,288) were identified for inclusion.

Proposed diagnostic criteria for compulsive buying-shopping disorder: A Delphi expert consensus study.

Background And Aims: Consensus in acknowledging compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) as a distinct diagnosis has been lacking. Before research in this area can be advanced, it is necessary to establish diagnostic criteria in order to facilitate field trials.

Methods: The study consisted of the following phases: (1) operationalization of a broad range of potential diagnostic criteria for CBSD, (2) two iterative rounds of data collection using the Delphi method, where consensus of potential diagnostic criteria for CBSD was reached by an international expert panel, and (3) interpretation of findings taking into account the degree of certainty amongst experts regarding their responses.

Object attachment in buying-shopping disorder.

Buying-shopping disorder (BSD) is considered a behavioral addiction that is characterized by poorly controlled spending of money for consumer goods in unnecessary quantities, beyond budget and without necessarily utilizing them for their intended purposes. Little is known about the role of emotional attachment to the purchased products in BSD. Given the relative lack of empirical data on object attachment in relation to BSD, this narrative review relies on patients' reports and studies concerning erroneous beliefs about possessions and the influence of materialism, identity problems and narcissistic deficits on symptom severity of BSD.

Using Internet-Based Psychological Measurement to Capture the Deteriorating Community Mental Health Profile During COVID-19: Observational Study.

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is expected to have widespread and pervasive implications for mental health in terms of deteriorating outcomes and increased health service use, leading to calls for empirical research on mental health during the pandemic. Internet-based psychological measurement can play an important role in collecting imperative data, assisting to guide evidence-based decision making in practice and policy, and subsequently facilitating immediate reporting of measurement results to participants.

Objective: The aim of this study is to use an internet-based mental health measurement platform to compare the mental health profile of community members during COVID-19 with community members assessed before the pandemic.

Cost-effectiveness of internet-based cognitive-behavioural therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Economic analyses of treatments for OCD have been limited. This study analysed the comparative economic benefits and costs of an internet-based CBT (iCBT) relative to internet-based progressive relaxation therapy (iPRT) control. These were benchmarked against current estimates for face-to-face CBT (ffCBT) sourced from literature.

A novel multi-component online intervention to improve the mental health of university students: Randomised controlled trial of the Uni Virtual Clinic.

Background: Of the millions of students enrolled in university, up to 50% will experience a mental disorder. Many of these students do not seek help, and for those who do, university-based services are often over-burdened. Anonymous, evidence-based, online interventions can improve students' access to mental health support.

Predicting engagement with an online psychosocial intervention for psychosis: Exploring individual- and intervention-level predictors.

Background: Individuals with psychosis demonstrate positive attitudes towards utilising digital technology in mental health treatment. Although preliminary research suggests digital interventions are feasible and acceptable in this population, little is known about how to best promote engagement with these resources. Candidate predictors include therapist support, sources of motivation and recovery style.

Comorbid elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes: Results from the International Diabetes MILES Study.

Aims: We examined: (a) the prevalence of comorbid elevated symptoms of anxiety/depression; (b) its demographic/clinical correlates; (c) associations with self-care behaviors, by diabetes type.

Methods: Cross-sectional self-report data of 6590 adults with diabetes (42% type 1; 58% type 2) from the Australian and Dutch Diabetes MILES studies were used. Elevated symptoms of anxiety/depression were defined as GAD-7 ≥ 10/PHQ-9 ≥ 10.

Buying-shopping disorder-is there enough evidence to support its inclusion in ICD-11?

The phenomenon of buying-shopping disorder (BSD) was described over 100 years ago. Definitions of BSD refer to extreme preoccupation with shopping and buying, to impulses to purchase that are experienced as irresistible, and to recurrent maladaptive buying excesses that lead to distress and impairments. Efforts to stop BSD episodes are unsuccessful, despite the awareness of repeated break-downs in self-regulation, experiences of post-purchase guilt and regret, comorbid psychiatric disorders, reduced quality of life, familial discord, work impairment, financial problems, and other negative consequences.

"Blended" therapy: The development and pilot evaluation of an internet-facilitated cognitive behavioral intervention to supplement face-to-face therapy for hoarding disorder.

Mixed findings regarding the long-term efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for the treatment of hoarding has led to the investigation of novel treatment approaches. "Blended" therapy, a combination of face-to-face (f2f) and online therapy, is a form of therapy that enables longer exposure to therapy in a cost-effective and accessible format. Blended therapy holds many benefits, including increased access to content, lower time commitment for clinicians, and lower costs.

Therapist-Assisted Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Progressive Relaxation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a highly disabling psychological disorder with a chronic course if left untreated. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment, but access to face-to-face CBT is not always possible. Internet-based CBT (iCBT) has become an increasingly viable option.

Web-based intervention to improve quality of life in late stage bipolar disorder (ORBIT): randomised controlled trial protocol.

Background: The primary objective of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) is to establish the effectiveness of a novel online quality of life (QoL) intervention tailored for people with late stage (≥ 10 episodes) bipolar disorder (BD) compared with psychoeducation. Relative to early stage individuals, this late stage group may not benefit as much from existing psychosocial treatments. The intervention is a guided self-help, mindfulness based intervention (MBI) developed in consultation with consumers, designed specifically for web-based delivery, with email coaching support.

The cognitive-behavioural model of hoarding disorder: Evidence from clinical and non-clinical cohorts.

The cognitive-behavioural model of hoarding disorder incorporates information processing difficulties, maladaptive attachment to possessions, erroneous beliefs about the nature of possessions, and mood problems as etiologically significant factors, although developmental experiences such as a compromised early family environment have also been proposed in an augmented model. This study examined the specificity and relevance of variables highlighted in the augmented cognitive-behavioural model. Various clinical participants (n = 89) and community controls (n = 20) were assessed with structured clinical interviews to verify diagnosis.

Promoting Personal Recovery in People with Persisting Psychotic Disorders: Development and Pilot Study of a Novel Digital Intervention.

Background: For people with persisting psychotic disorders, personal recovery has become an important target of mental health services worldwide. Strongly influenced by mental health service consumer perspectives, personal recovery refers to being able to live a satisfying and contributing life irrespective of ongoing symptoms and disability. Contact with peers with shared lived experience is often cited as facilitative of recovery.

What Role Can Avatars Play in e-Mental Health Interventions? Exploring New Models of Client-Therapist Interaction.

In the burgeoning field of e-mental health interventions, avatars are increasingly being utilized to facilitate online communication between clients and therapists, and among peers. Avatars are digital self-representations, which enable individuals to interact with each other in computer-based virtual environments. In this narrative review, we examine the psychotherapeutic applications of avatars that have been investigated and trialed to date.