Enhancing Insight in Patients With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Case Study on Avatar Therapy Using Virtual Reality.

Treatment efficacy for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with poor insight is low. Insight refers to a patient's ability to recognize that their obsessions are irrational and that their compulsions are futile attempts to reduce anxiety. This case study presents the first application of virtual reality-assisted avatar therapy for OCD (VRT-OCD) in a patient with contamination OCD and ambivalent insight.

Diverging paths: Modeling the relation between adverse effects, attitudes, perceived adherence, and treatment effect in an internet-based cognitive-behavioral intervention for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background And Aim: The efficacy of internet-based interventions (IBI) for various psychiatric disorders is widely established, but little is known about the mechanisms or possible influencing factors. One of the most prominent problems in IBI is low adherence, but the relationship between adherence and level of improvement is still unclear. Patients' attitudes and beliefs about IBI as well as the experience of adverse effects-another widely neglected topic-may also influence the effectiveness of these interventions.

Does metacognitive training for psychosis (MCT) improve neurocognitive performance? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Metacognitive training for psychosis (MCT) offers benefits for addressing hallmark deficits/symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders including reductions in cognitive biases and positive/negative symptoms as well as improvements in social cognition and functioning. However, differing results exist regarding the relationship between MCT and neurocognition. A comprehensive understanding of the nature of this relationship would significantly contribute to the existing literature and our understanding of the potential added value of MCT as a cognitive intervention for psychosis.

Towards the DSM-6: The intersection of OCD and psychosis. Expert perspectives on insight in the diagnosis of OCD.

In 1994, the DSM-IV added the specifier "with poor insight" to the diagnostic criteria of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The DSM-5 went one step further and now allows clinicians to diagnose OCD "with absent insight/delusional beliefs," thereby blurring the long-standing distinction between OCD and psychosis. The present study surveyed OCD experts as to their opinions on the insight specifier and the future classification of OCD.

[Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior Disorders: Classification, Diagnosis and Treatment].

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) such as trichotillomania and skin picking are disorders at the interface of psychiatry/psychology, dermatology and dentistry. The disorders can be both either a consequence or a cause of severe somatic disorders. If BFRBs remain undetected and untreated, they tend to become chronic with at times serious somatic complications.

Reducing self-stigma in psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological interventions.

The burden of self-stigma in psychosis has been widely studied, leading to the development and implementation of self-stigma reduction programmes to ameliorate its impact. In order to successfully improve self-stigma in psychosis, we must evaluate the effect of available interventions to help clinicians select the most appropriate approach for their patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of self-stigma reduction interventions in people with psychosis while considering the interventions' characteristics as an important moderator of their effect.

Comparing strategies for the mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 airborne infection risk in tiered auditorium venues.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that reliable risk assessment of venues is still challenging and resulted in the indiscriminate closure of many venues worldwide. Therefore, this study used an experimental, numerical and analytical approach to investigate the airborne transmission risk potential of differently ventilated, sized and shaped venues. The data were used to assess the magnitude of effect of various mitigation measures and to develop recommendations.

Treatment Preferences in Acute Psychosis: A Comparison of Patient and Staff Perspectives on Symptom Prioritization and Biopsychosocial Interventions.

Patients with acute psychosis are often confronted with the prejudice that they refuse all treatment due to lack of insight. This study examined and compared the aims and preferences for treatment of patients with acute psychosis and of psychiatric inpatient staff. A total of 142 inpatients being treated for a psychotic disorder on either a locked or an open ward indicated which of a range of symptoms they want to be treated and which of various biopsychosocial treatment options they would like to receive.

Quo vadis DSM-6? An expert survey on the classification, diagnosis, and differential diagnosis of body-focused repetitive behaviors.

Background: Many conditions we now call body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) have been subject to research for several decades, most notably trichotillomania and skin picking. However, the American Psychiatric Association did not combine these conditions into a single category, body-focused repetitive behavior disorders (BFRBDs), until the fifth edition of the DSM (2013). Several aspects of the disorder remain uncertain and controversial.

Telemedicine-based antibiotic stewardship program in pediatrics: study protocol of a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial-the TeleKasper study.

Background: Overuse and misuse of antibiotics is one of the driving factors of antimicrobial resistance, a growing global health threat. The use of antibiotics is particularly high in children. Even though the implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) in pediatrics has been shown to reduce antibiotic use, this implementation has been limited to large university hospitals in Germany.

Assessing Patient Satisfaction With Metacognitive Training (MCT) for Psychosis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials.

Objectives: Metacognitive training (MCT) for psychosis is a group intervention that combines cognitive-behavioural therapy and psychoeducation. It has proven efficacy in reducing psychotic symptoms and correcting cognitive biases implicated in the development and maintenance of psychotic symptoms. However, other outcomes, such as patient satisfaction with the intervention, have not been well studied despite their importance for adherence and overall success.

COVID-19 and mental distress among health professionals in eight European countries during the third wave: a cross-sectional survey.

Even during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic health professionals were facing mental health challenges. The aim of this study was to examine the mental health of doctors, nurses and other professional groups in Europe and to identify differences between the professional groups. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in 8 European countries.

How can imaginal retraining for modifying food craving be improved?

Imaginal retraining (IR) is an emerging intervention technique in which people imagine avoidance behaviors towards imagined foods or other substances, such as throwing them away. Although IR shows promise in reducing initial craving for a range of substances, including alcohol and tobacco, effects appear less robust for craving for energy-dense foods. This raises the question of how IR for food craving can be improved.

Are psychotic-like experiences associated with aberrant prosocial decision-making behavior?

Introduction: Deficits in social functioning and decision-making are well-documented in schizophrenia, but their relationship with positive symptoms and social conflicts is poorly understood. We created a new paradigm based on the Dictator Game (DG) to explore differences in social decision-making between individuals experiencing high levels of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), particularly hallucinations and delusions, and controls with less PLEs.

Methods: A large community sample ( = 1,161) completed a DG in an online study whereby extreme groups were built based on the subscale of the CAPE.

Barcamps or unconferences as an emerging paradigm in medical education: Insights from a pilot and feasibility mixed methods study.

Medical education is experiencing a paradigm shift towards more interactive and collaborative pedagogical approaches. Barcamps, also known as unconferences, offer an interactive, participant-driven learning approach. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of using barcamps as an educational model in medical education.

Adverse Events of Psychological Interventions: Definitions, Assessment, Current State of the Research and Implications for Research and Clinical Practice.

Background: The effectiveness of psychological interventions is undisputed. But while in other fields of health care the safety of interventions is studied alongside effectiveness, adverse events (AEs) have only recently been assessed in clinical studies of psychological interventions. This critical review summarizes the definition, assessment and current research status of AEs of psychological interventions.

Household transmission of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 under conditions of hybrid immunity-a prospective study in Germany.

Purpose: We investigated the protection offered by vaccinations and previous infections for the household transmission of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: 34,666 participants of the German DigiHero cohort study with two or more household members were invited to a prospective household transmission study between June and December 2022. In case of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test in a household, symptom diaries were completed for at least 14 days.

The long shadow of early-change patterns: a 3-year follow-up after the use of a web-based intervention for mild to moderate depressive symptoms.

Web-based interventions can be effective in treating depressive symptoms. Patients with risk not responding to treatment have been identified by early change patterns. This study aims to examine whether early changes are superior to baseline parameters in predicting long-term outcome.

A Self-Guided Internet-Based Intervention for the Reduction of Gambling Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Most individuals with problem gambling or gambling disorder remain untreated due to barriers to treatment. Limited research exists on alternative treatments.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of a self-guided internet-based intervention for individuals with gambling problems and to identify potential outcome moderators.

Randomized Controlled Trial on Imaginal Retraining for Problematic Alcohol Use: A Dismantling Study.

Imaginal retraining (IR) is an approach-avoidance procedure that has shown promising results in previous studies. The aim of the present study was to dismantle the efficacy of IR's components in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). We conducted a RCT with nine conditions comprising eight intervention groups and a waitlist control group (WLC).