Psychosocial Aspects of the Lived Experience of Long COVID: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.

Background: Despite increasing recognition of long COVID, the psychosocial impacts of the lived experience on individuals remain underexplored. This systematic review sought to fill this gap by identifying key themes that describe the psychosocial dimensions of long COVID.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify key themes illustrating the psychosocial aspects of individuals' lived experience of long COVID.

Understanding the role of illness perceptions in the relationship between cognitive and emotional difficulties after stroke.

Emotional difficulties are common after stroke and up to one third of stroke-survivors develop post-stroke depression. Psychological distress in this population remains poorly understood, despite high prevalence and secondary implications. One established predictor of depressive symptoms after stroke is cognitive impairment, however, the mechanism underlying this relationship is unclear.

The cognitive theory of panic disorder: A systematic narrative review.

Background: The cognitive theory of panic disorder proposes that individuals with panic disorder have a relatively enduring tendency to catastrophically misinterpret bodily sensations resulting in panic attacks.

Aims: We investigated whether the evidence is consistent with the theory and its predictions, if updates are required and sought to identify future research considerations.

Methods: We searched Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo, EMBASE, MEDLINE and CINAHL (1986 to July 2024).

The relationship between traumatic childbirth and first-time mothers' social identity and wellbeing: a cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Experiencing childbirth as traumatic is common and can have long-lasting negative consequences for women's mental health. However, fostering a sense of social identity has been shown to protect psychological wellbeing and mental health during life transitions, such as entering parenthood. This study therefore investigated the relationship between traumatic childbirth and first-time mothers' social identity and their psychological wellbeing, and more specifically whether strength of identity as a first-time mother protected psychological wellbeing following traumatic childbirth.

Psychoeducation interventions for people with non-epileptic seizures: A scoping review.

Background: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and other psychological approaches have a growing evidence base for treating Non-Epileptic Seizures (NES). However, communication about the diagnosis can be difficult for clinicians and is not always well received. It is thought that Psychoeducation about NES may improve engagement with treatment such as CBT and may contribute to reductions in the frequency of seizures and improvements in health related quality of life.

Validating the OCS-Plus against a clinical standard: A brief report.

This research aimed to determine the sensitivity and clinical validity of the OCS-Plus, a stroke-specific tablet-based cognitive screening tool, in comparison with the MoCA, a routinely used screening tool, after stroke. Eighty-six patients were recruited from Oxfordshire stroke wards over a 22-month period and completed both screens. Overall, we found that the OCS-Plus has good convergent validity and excellent sensitivity when compared with the MoCA.

Striving to Limit the Impact: Parenting an Adult Child Who Has Multiple Sclerosis-A Grounded Theory Study.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive autoimmune inflammatory disorder. Its impact is felt not only by individuals but also by their families; however, little is known about the effect on their parents. This study of a cohort from the United Kingdom aimed to develop a conceptual understanding of the parental role and how it changes over time when an adult son or daughter has MS via firsthand accounts.

Integrating a virtual reality relaxation clinic within acute psychiatric services: A pilot study.

People with acute psychiatric conditions experience heightened stress, which is associated with worsened symptoms and increased violence on psychiatric wards. Traditional stress management techniques can be challenging for patients. Virtual reality (VR) relaxation appears promising to reduce stress; however, research on VR for psychiatric wards is limited.

The prevalence of non-affective psychosis in refugee populations: A systematic review.

Background: As we face the largest refugee crisis since World War Two, research is increasingly examining the impact of forced displacement. The risk of non-affective psychosis in refugees is evidenced to be significantly greater than non-refugees, and the role of pre-, peri- and post-migratory trauma and dissociation is increasingly implicated.

Aims: To determine the prevalence of non-affective psychosis in refugee populations.

Investigating self-blame and trauma symptoms in parents of young people with anorexia nervosa.

Background: Caring for a young person with anorexia nervosa (AN) has been associated with psychological distress and found to be a traumatic experience. This can have an impact on patient and family outcomes.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether self-blame cognitions contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in parents of young people with AN.

Understanding the Barriers and Enablers for Seeking Psychological Support following a Burn Injury.

Burn injuries can be traumatic and distressing for patients, with a prolonged period of recovery. This qualitative study aimed to explore adult burn patients' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to accessing psychological support in a Regional Burns Service in Southeast England. Participants (five females and six males) were under the care of the burns unit and were not currently accessing psychological support.

Different cognitive behavioural processes underpinning reassurance seeking in depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background And Objectives: It has been suggested that reassurance seeking may play an important role in the development and maintenance of common mental health problems such as OCD and depression. We considered the extent of reassurance seeking in depression and OCD relative to a healthy comparison group and tested the hypothesis that reassurance seeking is primarily motivated by threat in those suffering from OCD and by interpersonal concerns in those suffering from depression.

Methods: The frequency and intensity of reassurance seeking and the motivation for seeking reassurance was measured using the reassurance seeking questionnaire in 28 people with OCD, 18 people with depression and 29 healthy controls.

What tools should be used to identify women in need of additional support in pregnancy?

Objective: This study aimed to identify and inform recommendation of self-report and interview-based instruments that are feasible, reliable and valid to evaluate the quality of the maternal-fetal relationship (MFR).

Background: Several constructs predicting parent-infant interaction and later infant adjustment are used to assess mothers' thoughts and feelings towards their unborn baby, including reflective functioning, mind-mindedness, representation, and fetal attachment. As yet, there is no existing review comparing the quality and accessibility of instruments across each of these constructs.

A systematic review and narrative synthesis of mental imagery tasks in people with an intellectual disability: Implications for psychological therapies.

Mental imagery is recognised for its role in both psychological distress and wellbeing, with mental imagery techniques increasingly being incorporated into psychological interventions. In this systematic review and narrative synthesis (PROSPERO 2021: CRD42021240930), we identify and evaluate the evidence base for the phenomenon and phenomenology of mental imagery in people with intellectual disabilities, to ascertain the applicability of such interventions for this population. Electronic searches of nine databases and grey literature identified relevant publications.

The experiences of adolescents diagnosed with functional gastrointestinal disorders: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.

The aim of this study was to provide a qualitative perspective of adolescents' experiences of functional gastrointestinal disorders. In-depth semi structured interviews were conducted with eleven adolescents aged 11-16. The transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Aligning formal and functional assessments of Visuospatial Neglect: A mixed-methods study.

The occurrence of visuospatial neglect acts as a key predictor of recovery outcome following stroke. However, the specific behavioural profiles associated with various neglect subtypes are not well understood. This study aims to identify real-world functional impairments associated with neglect, to determine whether functional impairment profiles differ across patients with egocentric and allocentric neglect, and to investigate how neglect severity predicts functional impairments.

Waiting list eradication in secondary care psychology: Addressing a National Health Service blind spot.

Objectives: Waiting times for secondary care psychological therapy remain a 'blind spot' in serious mental illness (SMI) provision, and their reduction is a priority within the National Health Service (NHS) Five Year Forward View. The paper describes the eradication of waiting times within a community-based NHS service and the effectiveness of strategies whilst examining help-seeking behaviour, compliance and therapeutic need.

Methods: Analyses are reported for treatment compliance and therapeutic outcomes for 208 waiting-list cohort individuals seen by the SMI psychology service over an 18-month period between October 2014 and March 2016.

Moderators and mediators of outcome in treatments for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in adolescents: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: To critically appraise papers reporting on moderators and mediators of recommended psychological treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) in adolescents.

Method: A systematic search of databases was conducted including PsycINFO, Embase, MEDLINE, AMED, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Studies were included where a randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared therapies for AN or BN and reported on moderators or mediators of treatment effect.

The relationship between sense of coherence and post-traumatic stress: a meta-analysis.

: Antonovsky's concept of sense of coherence (SOC) - as a global orientation reflecting an individual's feeling of confidence in both the predictability of their internal and external environment and their ability to cope with stressful and challenging situations in life - shows a negative association with symptoms of post-traumatic stress. However, single studies varying in study characteristics provide heterogeneous effect size estimations. : The purpose of the current study is to investigate the relationship between SOC and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity for the first time on a meta-analytical level.

What is the relationship between dissociation and self-harming behaviour in adolescents?

Deliberate self-harm in adolescents is an increasing clinical problem, but there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms causing or maintaining this behaviour. One proposed mechanism is that of dissociation. However, the role this mechanism may play is unclear: although some suggest that adolescents engage in self-harm to end the aversive experience of dissociation, others propose that self-harm is used to purposefully trigger a dissociative state to avoid emotional pain.

Adolescents' Help-Seeking Behavior and Intentions Following Adolescent Dating Violence: A Systematic Review.

The review aimed to systematically identify and summarize empirical work examining adolescent victims' help-seeking behaviors and intentions in relation to their own experience of adolescent dating violence (ADV) and to critically evaluate the literature. Three main objectives were addressed: identify factors associated with help seeking, identify help-seeking source (who adolescents disclose to), and explore the barriers and facilitators for help seeking. Results were separated into actual help seeking and help-seeking intentions.