Experiences of support for people who access voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations for self-harm: a qualitative study with stakeholder feedback.

Background: Prevalence of self-harm In England is rising, however contact with statutory services remains relatively low. There is growing recognition of the potential role voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) organisations have in the provision of self-harm support. We aimed to explore individuals' experiences of using these services and the barriers and facilitators to accessing support.

Household factors and prevalence of squalor: meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Background: Severe domestic squalor occurs when a person lives in a dwelling that is significantly unclean, disorganised and unhygienic. The limited previous research has primarily focused on the characteristics of those who live in squalor and the associated risk factors. Robust and reliable studies of squalor prevalence have not been conducted.

Evaluating the impact of sling provision and training upon maternal mental health, wellbeing and parenting: A randomised feasibility trial.

Background: Close body contact interventions such as Kangaroo Mother Care have been shown to improve maternal mental health following birth. Infant carriers ('slings') facilitate hands-free close body contact. No studies have specifically examined whether sling use improves maternal mental health.

Black people's experiences of being asked about adverse childhood experiences in the UK: A qualitative study.

Introduction: The objectives for this study were to explore Black people's experiences of being asked about ACEs by mental health or counselling professionals, both broadly, and also as part of routine enquiry with a commonly used ACE questionnaire. An additional aim was to understand their perspectives on how services should be asking about ACEs.

Methods: This study used a qualitative methodology, with a critical realist reflexive thematic analysis approach.

The association between income inequality and adult mental health at the subnational level-a systematic review.

Purpose: A systematic review was undertaken to determine whether research supports: (i) an association between income inequality and adult mental health when measured at the subnational level, and if so, (ii) in a way that supports the Income Inequality Hypothesis (i.e. between higher inequality and poorer mental health) or the Mixed Neighbourhood Hypothesis (higher inequality and better mental health).

A mixed methods exploration of "Creativity in Mind", an online creativity-based intervention for low mood and anxiety.

Background: Within the current context of a global pandemic, the value of the Internet has been greatly elevated for many people. This study is an investigation into a 30-day online intervention called Creativity in Mind (CIM).

Aims: To provide a preliminary indication of the relationship between participation in CIM and change in mood symptoms and wellbeing.

Why Do We Need Computational Models of Psychological Change and Recovery, and How Should They Be Designed and Tested?

Traditional research methodologies typically assume that humans operate on the basis of an "open loop" stimulus-process-response rather than the "closed loop" control of internal state. They also average behavioral data across repeated measures rather than assess it continuously, and they draw inferences about the working of an individual from statistical group effects. As such, we propose that they are limited in their capacity to accurately identify and test for the mechanisms of change within psychological therapies.

Feasibility and Patient Experiences of Method of Levels Therapy in an Acute Mental Health Inpatient Setting.

This study sought to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a flexible psychotherapeutic approach - the Method of Levels (MOL) - in an acute mental health inpatient setting. A multi methods approach was used. The feasibility of implementation was investigated by examining the referral rate and the attendance patterns of participants.

Are socioenvironmental factors associated with psychotic symptoms in people with first-episode psychosis? A cross-sectional study of a West London clinical sample.

Objectives: To determine whether neighbourhood-level socioenvironmental factors including deprivation and inequality predict variance in psychotic symptoms after controlling for individual-level demographics.

Design: A cross-sectional design was employed.

Setting: Data were originally collected from secondary care services within the UK boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Kingston, Richmond, Merton, Sutton and Hounslow as part of the West London First-Episode Psychosis study.

To Mix or Not To Mix? A Meta-Method Approach to Rethinking Evaluation Practices for Improved Effectiveness and Efficiency of Psychological Therapies Illustrated With the Application of Perceptual Control Theory.

Progress in the development of more effective and efficient psychological therapies could be accelerated with innovative and nuanced approaches to research methodology. Therapy development has been dominated by a mono-methodology attitude with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarded as a "gold standard" despite the concept of a single methodology being ascribed gold standard status having been called into question. Rather than one particular methodology being considered superior to all others, the gold standard approach should be matching appropriate methodologies to important research questions.

The component structure of the scales for the assessment of positive and negative symptoms in first-episode psychosis and its dependence on variations in analytic methods.

A secondary analysis was undertaken on Scales for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms (SAPS/SANS) data from 345 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients gathered in the West London FEP study. The purpose of this study was to determine: (i) the component structure of these measures in FEP (primary analyses), and (ii) the dependence of any findings in these primary analyses on variations in analytic methods. Symptom ratings were exposed to data reduction methods and the effects of the following manipulations ascertained: (i) level of analysis (individual symptom vs.

The simulation heuristic, paranoia, and social anxiety in a non-clinical sample.

Background And Objectives: Quality of reasoning within non-clinical paranoia and mental simulation of future paranoia themed events was investigated by use of a simulation task to determine whether paranoid individuals would be restricted or more adept at reasoning about paranoia relevant material in comparison to a social anxiety group and a group with low paranoia and social anxiety.

Method: Participants (N = 63) were divided into the three groups based on paranoia and social anxiety scores. They were presented with the beginning and end of an imaginary situation and were asked to describe, step-by-step, what they imagined would happen between those two points.

Individual psychological therapy in an acute inpatient setting: Service user and psychologist perspectives.

Objectives: The acute inpatient setting poses potential challenges to delivering one-to-one psychological therapy; however, there is little research on the experiences of both receiving and delivering therapies in this environment. This qualitative study aimed to explore service users' and psychologists' experiences of undertaking individual therapy in acute inpatient units. It focused on the relationship between service users and psychologists, what service users found helpful or unhelpful, and how psychologists attempted to overcome any challenges in delivering therapy.

More haste less speed: A meta-analysis of thinking latencies during planning in people with psychosis.

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of psychosis, with slowed processing speed thought to be a prominent impairment in schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis. However, findings from the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) planning task suggest changes in processing speed associated with the illness may include faster responses in early stages of planning, though findings are inconsistent. This review uses meta-analytic methods to assess thinking times in psychosis across the available literature.

Substance use and at-risk mental state for psychosis in 2102 prisoners: the case for early detection and early intervention in prison.

Aim: Prisoners exhibit high rates of substance use and mental health problems. In the present study, we sought to gain a detailed understanding of substance use amongst young prisoners to inform early detection and early intervention strategies in a prison setting.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 2102 prisoners who were screened by the London Early Detection and Prevention in Prison Team (LEAP).

Family intervention in a prison environment: A systematic literature review.

Background: The prison population in England and Wales is approximately 85,000, and elevated rates of mental health difficulties have been reported among the prisoners. Despite frequent recommendations for family interventions to optimise prisoner outcomes, the evidence for its use and impact in prison remain unclear.

Aim: The aim of the study is to conduct a systematic review of published literature on family interventions in prisons.

Mental simulation and experience as determinants of performance expectancies in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

People with schizophrenia demonstrate both impairment in mental time travel and reduced expectancies of performance on future tasks. We aimed to reconcile these findings within the Kahneman and Tversky (1982) simulation heuristic framework by testing a key prediction that impaired future simulation would be associated with reduced performance expectancies in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SZSPEC). A total of 54 individuals (30 people with SZSPEC and 24 healthy controls) generated mental simulations of everyday scenarios; after each response they rated performance expectations, distress and the similarity of the scenario to experience.

Psychological Therapy for At Risk Mental State for Psychosis in a Prison Setting: A Case Study.

There is a very high prevalence of psychosis in U.K. prisons; moreover, a significant number of prisoners meet risk criteria for psychosis.

The Feasibility and Acceptability to Service Users of CIRCuiTS, a Computerized Cognitive Remediation Therapy Programme for Schizophrenia.

Background: Cognitive remediation (CR) is a psychological therapy, effective in improving cognitive performance and functioning in people with schizophrenia. As the therapy becomes more widely implemented within mental health services its longevity and uptake is likely to depend on its feasibility and acceptability to service users and clinicians.

Aims: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a new strategy-based computerized CR programme (CIRCuiTS) for people with psychosis.

Treating Multiple Incident Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an Inner City London Prison: The Need for an Evidence Base.

Background: Mental health problems have been found to be more prevalent in prison populations, and higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been found in sentenced populations compared to the general population. Evidence-based treatment in the general population however has not been transferred and empirically supported into the prison system.

Aims: The aim of this manuscript is to illustrate how trauma focused work can be applied in a prison setting.

Measuring community functioning in schizophrenia with the Social Behaviour Schedule.

Background: Current emphasis on community integration requires reliable and valid measures of social behaviour; existing assessments largely overlap with symptoms or provide little detail on functioning. This study aims to re-assess the Social Behaviour Schedule (SBS) to fulfil this measurement role.

Methods: Internal consistency, construct validity and test-retest reliability were investigated in 421 community out-patients with schizophrenia.

Effects of age and cognitive reserve on cognitive remediation therapy outcome in patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: Older people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia seem to show fewer benefits following cognitive remediation therapy (CRT). It is not clear whether cognitive reserve modifies the relationship with age.

Methods: A total of 134 individuals with schizophrenia were pooled from one randomized control trial and one observational trial.

The relationship of metacognition with jumping to conclusions among persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Background: Jumping to conclusions (JTC) is a reasoning bias in which persons arrive at conclusions with relatively little data. It is prevalent in schizophrenia and tied to outcomes. To understand the correlates and the roots of this phenomenon, this study explored whether deficits in mastery, a domain of metacognition which reflects the ability to use knowledge about oneself and others to cope with psychological problems, was linked to a heightened tendency to jump to conclusions.

The effect of working alliance on adherence and outcome in cognitive remediation therapy.

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) for schizophrenia has been effective in improving cognitive and global functioning outcomes. It is now important to determine what factors maximize benefit. The quality of relationship--or working alliance--between clients and therapists may be one such factor that improves outcome.