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But PHQ-9 questionnaire used to monitor primary care patients did reveal benefits across six months A commonly used questionnaire adopted by GPs to monitor the treatment of depression does not provide any immediate benefits to patients, a new study has found. Primary care researchers testing the PHQ-9 assessment, which measures the severity of depression, found it did nothing to improve people's symptoms after 12 weeks.

Comment: Measuring emotional 'emptiness' could help manage a potentially life-threatening experience Dr Shona Herron (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) explains the experience of emotional 'emptiness' and how we should measure it in The Conversation. Imagine a hollowness deep in your chest, a vacant space where feelings should be.

Most children and adolescents in England presenting to their GPs with psychiatric symptoms have low or declining rates of ongoing contact, according to a study led by University of Manchester researchers. The findings, published in Lancet Psychiatry today (13/03/2024) and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Wellcome , could indicate that most children are in a low risk group and won't require long-term support, providing reassurance for children and their parents and caregivers.

Employees rewarded jointly more likely to turn blind eye to team members' bad behaviour. Published on Wednesday 13 March 2024 Last updated on Thursday 14 March 2024 Employers who have introduced team-based rewards systems to foster creativity, collaboration, productivity and sales may want to look again at a system that new research shows can create an unintended, insidious side-effect.

A blood test that can accurately detect when someone has not slept for 24 hours has been developed at the University of Birmingham and Monash University. This level of sleep deprivation increases risk of serious injury or fatality in safety critical situations. Published in Science Advances , the biomarker used a combination of markers found in the blood of healthy volunteers.

A new psychological treatment for children with epilepsy, developed by a UCL-led team of scientists, has been shown to reduce mental health difficulties compared to standard care, a new study finds. Mental health problems such as worries, low mood and behaviour problems are more common in children and young people with brain conditions such as epilepsy, than in the general population - with up to 60% of those with epilepsy having associated mental health disorders and many having more than one mental health condition.

Interventions such as mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), could be an effective treatment option for menopause-related mood symptoms, memory and concentration problems, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders , is the most up-to-date study of its kind, providing a meta-analysis of 30 studies involving 3,501 women who were going through the menopause in 14 countries, including the UK, USA, Iran, Australia, and China.

People who live with social anxiety could be given a helping hand to deal with their stress by the power of good vibrations, new research suggests. Computing scientists and psychologists from the University of Glasgow have worked with socially anxious people to prototype a series of handheld 'comfort objects' in a research study.

An enthusiastic response to food in early childhood may be linked to a higher likelihood of experiencing eating disorder symptoms in adolescence, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL and Erasmus University Rotterdam. The study, published in  The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health , looked at survey data from 3,670 young people in the UK and the Netherlands to investigate how appetite traits in early childhood might relate to the likelihood of developing eating disorder symptoms up to 10 years later.

Problems with our sleep and internal body clock can trigger or worsen a range of psychiatric disorders, according to a new review of recent research evidence. The review, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) , suggests gaining a better understanding of the relationship between sleep, circadian rhythms and mental health could unlock new holistic treatments to alleviate mental health problems.

Psychological distress increased among people with Black Caribbean heritage in the UK, relative to the White population, following the 2014 Immigration Act and the Windrush scandal, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The researchers say their findings, published in The Lancet Psychiatry , suggest a causal link between government policies and a subsequent decline in mental health.

Study finds childhood bullying linked to distrust and mental health problems in adolescence Teens who experience bullying and develop distrust of others are 3.5 times more likely to experience clinically significant mental health issues by age 17. A new study, co-led by UCLA Health and the University of Glasgow, found that young teenagers who develop a strong distrust of other people as a result of childhood bullying are substantially more likely to have significant mental health problems as they enter adulthood compared to those who do not develop interpersonal trust issues.

A new study has found that an on-line rehabilitation programme improves quality of life for adults with long covid. This is the first randomised trial to show a benefit from rehabilitation for people with long covid, and the first high quality evidence confirming the sustained clinical benefit and lack of harm with rehabilitation programmes for long covid.

Around 1.6% of women and girls have symptomatic Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), according to a new review of global studies published in the Journal of Affective Disorders . Researchers led by Dr Thomas Reilly at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry looked at studies from across the world to work out how many women and girls met the strict diagnostic criteria for the condition.

People experience more health and wellbeing issues when they feel overwhelmed by stressful situations rather than seeing them as a challenge, study finds. Published on Monday 29 January 2024 Last updated on Monday 29 January 2024 People who tend to view stressful situations as a threat are more likely to experience health and wellbeing problems, both mental and physical, than those who see them as a challenge, according to new research from the University of Bath.

New research from the Dept of Psychology looked at physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms experienced by people taking antidepressants. Published on Tuesday 16 January 2024 Last updated on Tuesday 16 January 2024 Coming off antidepressants is known to trigger physical symptoms, such as restlessness, fatigue and excessive sweating, but new research suggests people can also experience emotional and social difficulties, and changes in their thinking patterns when they stop taking antidepressants like Prozac.

Children whose irritability does not reduce between three and seven years are at higher risk of depression and self-harm as teenagers, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The new findings, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ( JAACAP ), suggest that interventions helping parents and caregivers to support children with high irritability could help to reduce the future risk of mental illness.

More than 200 genes linked to depression have been newly identified in a worldwide study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in Nature Genetics , found more than 50 new genetic loci (a locus is a specific position on a chromosome) and 205 novel genes that are associated with depression, in the first large-scale global study of the genetics of major depression in participants of diverse ancestry groups.

A new study looking at the mental health of young male prisoners has found that more than 85% had a current mental health condition, however less than 3% had received a clinical assessment (i.e. a comprehensive assessment of mental health and neurodevelopment) while in prison A new study looking at the mental health of young male prisoners has found that more than 85% had a current mental health condition, however less than 3% had received a clinical assessment (i.e.

Increases in symptoms of depression are associated with a subsequent increase in bodyweight when measured one month later, new research from the University of Cambridge has found. The study, published today in PLOS ONE , found that the increase was only seen among people with overweight or obesity, but found no link between generally having greater symptoms of depression and higher bodyweight.