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Covid-19, the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is recognised as one of the most challenging global events of the twenty-first Century. The detrimental impact of the pandemic resulted in high rates of infection, morbidity, and mortality, with health-care workers firmly positioned on the frontline of this unparalleled international crisis. An emerging literature detailing the impact of COVID-19 on health-care practitioners identifies high levels of depression, anxiety, and distress. Accordingly, there are calls for the implementation of effective interventions to tackle the impending spectre of psychological morbidities and staff burnout. While it is important to explore new approaches, it is also valuable to examine how existing strategies, such as reflective practice, can be repurposed to specifically address practitioner well-being. This requires a reimagining of reflective practice and a reimagining of the reflective practice contexts in which reflective activity occurs. This paper presents The Reflective Practice Integrative Framework, which illustrates how reflective practice can be used to address the complex aims of supporting effective patient care, while also facilitating practitioner well-being. The Reflective Organisational Learning Framework is also presented which can be used to develop effective reflective practice environments through single, double, and/or triple loop learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the reasons behind the rejection of papers submitted to the Journal of Mental Health, highlighting the increasing number of submissions and the rigorous review process. Topics include the importance of meeting submission criteria, considerations during the scientific evaluation process, and specific guidelines for different types of studies, such as prioritizing international importance and avoiding redundant research on topics like COVID-19.

Violence against nurses is a disturbing trend in healthcare that has reached epidemic proportions globally. These violent incidents can result in physical and psychological injury, exacerbating already elevated levels of stress and burnout among nurses, further contributing to absenteeism, turnover, and intent to leave the profession. To ensure the physical and mental well-being of nurses and patients, attention to the development of strategies to reduce violence against nurses must be a priority. Caring knowledge—rooted in the philosophy of care—is a potential strategy for mitigating violence against nurses in healthcare settings. We present what caring knowledge is, analyze its barriers to implementation at the health system and education levels and explore potential solutions to navigate those barriers. We conclude how the application of models of caring knowledge to the nurse-patient relationship has the potential to generate improved patient safety and increased satisfaction for both nurses and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the anxiety and mental health problem facing editors in preventing the publication of scientific misconduct and fraud and paper mill activities and calls for the protection of the scientific record. It attributes the problem with paper mill-produced manuscripts to pressure on academics, educational workload in universities and funding. It suggests having an authorship policy, investigation of suspected unethical behavior and peer review to combat publishing misconduct.

Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) has been regularly documented as a demanding area of practice within the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of this paper is to share a practice model developed in an under-resourced inner London borough. The HSB forum is formed of a multi-agency group of professionals and runs monthly providing a platform for practitioners to seek consultation for young people they are working with who are displaying HSB's. Initial feedback for the forum from practitioners has been consistently positive and they have valued specifically the opportunity to formulate, have clear directions, and the multi-disciplinary perspective. In addition, most reported feeling empowered to implement the recommendations suggested. Given the shared vulnerability factors between those displaying HSB's and other at-risk young people such as those who are being sexually exploited, this model provides an innovative way that practitioners can be supported by multiple agencies where there is a lack of specialist services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From Longing to Belonging: A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community: Shelly Christensen, ed. (Inclusion Innovations, 2018). xix + 312 pp. Christensen uses her own experiences, research, and disability literature to explore facets of inclusion and exclusion in faith communities. Christensen writes, " I We all have good intentions to be the kind of inclusive community where people with disabilities and mental health conditions feel that they belong. [Extracted from the article]

Recently, the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) published a White Paper on a multidimensional understanding of organizational structures for counseling centers (Mitchell, Oakley & Dunkle 2019). This article provided a historical overview of such structures, argued that there is no one optimal structure for all campuses, provided recommendations for factors to consider in related decision-making, and advocated for collaboration regardless of structure. The authors of this article extend the conversation by elaborating on some of the ethical issues involved in collaboration, as the White Paper did not address the limits of acceptability in such processes. Given that the authors are psychologists, we will be focusing on the Ethical Principles for Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2017) of the American Psychological Association (APA). Similar language can be found in the ethical codes of other mental health professionals, and we note these sources as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life in Europe and globally. The pandemic affects both individuals and the broader society across many domains, including physical and psychological health, the economy and general welfare. The measures taken to counteract the pandemic have significantly altered daily life and, along with the threat of contracting the coronavirus and uncertainties surrounding future developments, created a complex system of stressors with a negative impact on public mental health. This paper aims to outline the ESTSS strategy to address mental health issues related to COVID-19 and focuses on (1) trauma-informed policies, (2) capacity building, (3) collaborative research and (4) knowledge-exchange. To facilitate implementation of a trauma-informed approach and appropriate measures, ESTSS has developed a toolkit of recommendations on mental health and psychosocial assistance to be provided during the different phases of crisis and its aftermath. To promote capacity building, ESTSS offers a certification programme based on a curriculum in psychotraumatology and corresponding on-line training to the European community of mental health professionals. To assure evidence-based approaches and methods tailored to current circumstances, ESTSS has initiated a pan-European research project with international cooperation aimed at studying the mental health consequences of the pandemic, with a focus on psychological trauma and other stress-related reactions. To foster knowledge-exchange, the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT), the official journal of ESTSS, is publishing a special issue on COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper explores institutional leaders’ perceptions of learning and teaching involved in facilitating and assessing Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) survey instruments across Australian regional universities. It focuses on how they understand the function of SET, strategies used to mitigate bias, and potential residual harm. Through adopting a combination of inductive and deductive research processes and a thematic analysis through the ethical lens of nonmaleficence (first, do no harm), we report that leaders in learning and teaching perceive SET as a form of surveillance and Quality Assurance ‘performance’, recognise inherent biases inhabited in SET reports, and identify how these biases negatively impact academics through a lack of systematic harm mitigation strategies. The paper’s critical – and novel – contributions include an increased understanding of how SET inflicts harm towards women and other marginalised academic groups through systematic and authorised microaggressions and how SET contravenes universities’ duty of care to employees. It recommends an expansion of the principle of nonmaleficence beyond potential harm to research subjects, including those who undertake research or evaluation (such as academics), particularly if these impact them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North American rates of adolescent social media use hover between 98 and 100%, with 45% of adolescents reporting being online "almost constantly". Despite its prevalence, social media use is also controversial. If social media is now woven into the fabric of social interactions, what are the mental health implications for youth growing up in "a digital age"? This paper discusses the potential applications of transdisciplinarity by considering the question in three ways: first, the polarized research is presented, suggesting that social media has the power to either positively or negatively direct youths' social and psychological trajectories; second, the dichotomy is challenged; and third, transdisciplinary applications are considered. As a complex, novel, and nuanced topic, the study of social media, peer relationships, and mental health demands a paradigm that is able to accommodate complexity, nuance, and novelty in a critical, reflexive and meaningful way. Transdisciplinarity presents scholars an opportunity to tackle this challenge. This paper discusses the prevailing research surrounding social media, peer relationships, and mental health to challenge the good/bad binary and lay the foundation for approaching this topic from a transdisciplinary lens in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalisation, which tailors to individual preferences, is considered a possible route for improving engagement with digital mental health (DMH) products. Despite claims about the presence and importance of personalised features, evidence about their extent and impact is limited. The study objective was to review evidence from published research to investigate and characterise the contribution of personalisation to engagement and effectiveness.Research papers were retrieved using keywords, with 139 papers being fully examined and 61 meeting our eligibility criteria. Most of the eligible articles reviewing DMH systems have weak to intermediate forms of personalisation (45). Only nine were coded as having strong, adaptive personalisation. Of the 40 articles which evaluated the personalisation effectiveness, 28 were qualitative indicating user preference for personalised features. The 16 controlled, quantitative designs lacked a non-personalised intervention, making it difficult to determine the added value. Effect sizes calculated from available data showed minimal differences in effectiveness compared to non-personalised apps.Our review indicates mixed evidence of personalisation’s performance in DMH interventions. Generally, there is a lack of good quality evidence to isolate specific contributions of personalisation. Opportunities were identified for improved evaluation, however caution is required when implementing more sophisticated methods of DMH personalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music therapy research has traditionally been somewhat fragmented into different research traditions. This paper argues that the burgeoning field of enactivism could provide important theoretical integration to music therapy research and practice. Stressing the interdependence of mind, brain, body, and environment, enactivism has provided theoretical integration in several fields, not least music cognition and psychiatry. This paper is the first focused theoretical contribution that applies relevant enactivist theory to music therapy. After a reflection on theoretical developments in music therapy, we provide a general introduction to enactivism and its multiple origins in human and biological sciences and present its existing contributions to understanding mental illness and musicking. We also make a specific contribution, through discussion of an example of free music improvisation. Providing an enactive analysis of the sense of agency in this practice, we argue that music improvisation, especially in therapy, might work particularly well for people with severe mental illness because improvisation strengthens and flexes the disturbed sense of agency that often characterizes such mental health challenges. Finally, we discuss strengths and weaknesses of the proposed framework and suggest future potential studies to better evaluate the potential contribution of enactivism to the research and practice of music therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hearing voices is a highly stigmatised experience, despite being common across clinical and non-clinical populations. The stigma held by healthcare professions of the clinical populations they work with can have a detrimental impact on the recovery trajectory of people with mental illness, with early career professionals and students thought to have among the most negative attitudes. The current study examined the efficacy of an education intervention to reduce implicit and explicit stigma surrounding voice hearing in psychology students (N = 49). With the world turning to digital delivery methods in the face of COVID-19, the study also examined the impact of intervention delivery mode: comparing online with face-to-face delivery. Results indicated that the education intervention was associated with improvements to explicit – but not implicit – stigma towards voice hearing. Comparisons between education delivery type suggested online and face-to-face delivery methods found no difference in associated reductions to explicit stigma. These findings provide further support for the use of education interventions to reduce stigma surrounding voice hearing and support the online administration of such interventions to allow for more widespread education delivery to a broader audience. What is already known about this topic: Hearing voices is a common yet highly stigmatised experience. Stigma towards mental illness is common among by healthcare professionals, with early career professionals and students holding particularly negative attitudes. Education interventions can be effective in reducing stigma held towards mental illness in healthcare professionals. What this paper adds: This paper supports the use of an education intervention to reduce psychology students' explicit stigma towards voice hearing. It also provides support for education interventions to be delivered in both online and face-to-face formats. This may allow education interventions to be delivered to broader audiences in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper raises and addresses issues to do with leadership and child psychotherapy, beginning with a report on a systematic review of papers about leadership in the Journal of Child Psychotherapy (JCP). The authors establish that leadership is expressed implicitly rather than as an important issue in its own right with relevance to clinical work, service development and the ongoing viability of psychoanalytic child psychotherapy. When reviewing the limited literature available, the authors classify them into five types of article: tribute to leaders past; clinical leadership; threat to survival and call to action; organisational leadership; and exemplary papers describing professional leadership. The authors query why the leadership literature is sparse and inexplicit and respond by using the theme of 'dual citizenship' to explore the issue from a psychoanalytic and organisational perspective. The psychoanalytic perspective explores tensions and barriers that may be profession-specific in relation to leadership. The organisational perspective explores the wider literature on leadership, starting with the concept of 'wicked problems and clumsy solutions'. The authors introduce and describe a 'leadership stance' that is compatible with psychoanalytic practice in context. This requires opening up leadership activity to the same scrutiny and reflective practice as clinical work, which provides ways of containing organisational and career anxieties and perplexing clinical problems. This paper is a call to action in regard to integrating leadership into the training and the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of education, work discussion groups focus on teachers' emotional experience with their students and offer a safe environment in which professionals can freely interact and explore the dynamics and relationships in their workplace. A psychoanalytic therapist usually leads them. They are considered particularly important for preschool education, as young children provoke intense emotional reactions in adults. Although the effectiveness of work discussion groups in preschools has been positively evaluated, their application is considered financially unaffordable. This paper presents the function of a work discussion peer group in preschool education, that is with a preschool teacher as facilitator. To do so, the facilitator's point of view is presented in this paper in the form of a reflective account. A group consisting of six kindergarten teachers was formed. It met for seven sessions. After each group meeting, the facilitator kept a reflective diary. The topics of the meetings included the facilitator's struggle to be seen as a peer, the group dynamics, the development of the group and the importance of supervision, which are all discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The AV1 robotic device has a growing evidence base, both internationally and in the UK, for supporting pupils with physical/emotional health needs. The device allows pupils to access their school lessons remotely through telepresence technology. Previous papers have highlighted the growing relevance to the education field, although, to date, there is no published UK academic research. In consideration of this, the purpose of the present paper was to explore the views of school staff who have trialled the AV1 device in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were held with 10 staff members from different school settings before data were analysed thematically. Key themes related to potential for impact, opportunities/challenges, and wider socio-economic considerations. Implications are considered in relation to (1) future research and professional practice, and (2) the introduction of a proposed implementation framework to support practitioners when trialling the AV1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green Care therapies are defined as the engagement of a patient with the nature, exposing patients to a nature based therapeutic setting that may facilitate their recovery. Such therapies became popular at the end of the twentieth century. This therapeutic approach may include therapeutic horticulture, nature therapies, care farming, facilitated exercise, and animal-assisted therapies with farm animals (AATF). This paper describes the processes of planning and creating an AATF-based clinical intervention wherein persons with TBI interacted with ducks (in twice weekly, 1-hour groups) for 12 wk at a TBI rehabilitation facility. The discussion includes site identification, stakeholder engagement, intervention design and human and animal safety procedures. The research methods, theoretical framework, ethical consideration, and risk reduction strategies for human participants and ducks are discussed. Also, description of challenges and blueprints of possible solutions for other researchers interested in developing similar initiatives. This program will serve as a study site for examining effects of AATF-based interventions on self-efficacy, depression, and anxiety in persons with TBI. If the study suggests that AATF interventions with ducks may lead to positive changes, the proposed study will be followed with studies that include larger samples at multiple sites. Findings in this paper may contribute to the implementation science body of knowledge. Because of that, the information in this paper may benefit the researchers outside of the healthcare arena. From that perspective methods described in this paper may help to develop studies that focus on policy development, program expansion, or individual project implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite advances in HIV-treatment, adolescents and young adults (AYA) with HIV (AYAHIV) face myriad challenges. They are less likely than children and older adults to be virally suppressed and are at higher risk for mental health conditions compared to their peers who do not have HIV. AYA are also developing in the context of numerous biomedical, neurocognitive, and psychosocial developmental changes. Normative challenges during this time can be exacerbated by HIV and can result in significant physical and mental health problems. Yet, many AYAHIV have shown resilience with positive assets and resources and few health or mental health problems. Historically research has had a risk-focused approach to understanding AYAHIV needs. This paper discusses the rationale for a shift from a risk-focused only approach to one that examines AYAHIV needs from both a risk and resilience perspective. This paper presents: (1) epidemiological data on AYAHIV; (2) conceptual models for understanding both risk (e.g., poverty, stress, trauma, limited resources) and resilience/protective factors (e.g., family and peer support, future orientation, problem-solving skills); (3) global data examining risk and protective factors for physical and mental health challenges; and (4) promising interventions that incorporate elements of resilience to improve overall outcomes among AYAHIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health is a significant area for social work education and practice as the profession focuses on enhancing the social functioning and well-being of individuals, groups and communities. The field of mental health requires professionals from multidisciplinary fields who undergo rigorous training to acquire the necessary professional knowledge and equip themselves with specific skills. The current paper attempts to situate and reflect the author's experiences of working with post-graduate social work students in University of Delhi. Through case vignettes, the author presents diverse mental health challenges faced by the students and analyses wide-ranging psychosocial factors that play a significant role in this context. The paper also discusses the implications posed by such challenges on social work education while attempting to make number of suggestions to promote positive mental health among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently increased time spent at home signified the importance of understanding on the link between housing and mental health. This paper examines how housing qualities affect depression and suicide ideation for each age group (i.e. young adults, middle-aged and older adults) and gender. With South Korea population-based panel data, fixed-effect models and a partial least squares structural equation model were used. A functional problem was a major risk factor for depression in women, whereas a structural problem was a key risk factor for men's depression. For older adults, living in basement and vulnerability to natural disaster were detrimental to mental health. Functional problems increased the likelihood of suicide ideation in the middle-aged. The mechanisms of the housing qualities-mental health nexus were varied by age and gender. This paper proposed policy suggestions including a tailored housing policy and provision, a housing rating system for health and a support system for noise control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychedelic and entheogenic compound that has been used for centuries by Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon, Caribbean, and more recently in communities in Northern Mexico in ceremonial practices and to connect with nature. In recent years, there has been growing interest in 5-MeO-DMT to treat mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In response, there has been an increase in scientific research of the efficacy of 5-MeO-DMT in treating such conditions. Little is known about the compound's historical use; this paper will explore and examine the known writings about the origins and original use of 5-MeO-DMT. Additionally, this paper will present the limited data and accounts regarding the use of 5-MeO-DMT and the intersection of those accounts in historical and cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including mental health disorders, and opioid crisis.

This paper argues that contemporary Western societies' fixation on different elements of capitalist production, consumption and distribution lies at the heart of the crisis in mental health and wellbeing increasingly experienced by individuals within key state institutions. The paper weaves together Lefebvre's and Marcuse's theoretical insights to explore the generation of (time-)spaces in contemporary societies, focussing on higher education and specifically on the lived experiences of postgraduate researchers. The insistence that welfare states, turned into workfare states, treat the symptoms through drugs and sedation, shows the reach of consumption and distribution as a means to address the problems caused by production. Against this backdrop, the paper draws on empirical data from a recent study undertaken by the authors examining the challenges to mental and physical health that postgraduate study posed at a university in the English Midlands. The obliteration of the social, cultural and political determinants of this malaise is expedient to place the onus of corrective measures on the individual through a series of self-help strategies, which again, privatise the atomised self to its lowest common denominator: the cerebral, emotional self. If the body becomes sick in industrialisation, is it any wonder the mind becomes sick in cognitive capitalism? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2010, government policy in England has positioned further education almost exclusively as employment-orientated training for school leavers whilst also imposing severe budget cuts. During this period, values-based pedagogies that foreground social justice for students, many of whom come from low-income households, have been undermined. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is evidence that the mental health and well-being of further education students has suffered but little is known about the pandemic's effects on teachers.This paper presents analysis of primary research data drawn from interviews with a small sample of further education teachers and managers in the English West Midlands about their mental health and well-being during the pandemic. The paper frames the research data by acknowledging that both mental health nursing and further education teaching are currently riven by contradictions with an epistemological basis anchored in meritocratic and neoliberal policy. Using Lefebvrian theory, our analysis suggests that for further education staff, the pandemic has sharpened the tensions experienced in an already precarious professional role. Key findings were that the further education funding regime drove a 'business as usual' management attitude during the pandemic, and an intensification of work and the erosion of pedagogical practice negatively affected staff's mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health conditions are a significant global health concern. To address this concern, sport settings are increasingly being viewed as environments in which to support individual mental health and wellbeing. Not all sports settings are, however, conducive to supporting mental health. Efforts to improve mental health in sport settings are likely to be less effective if the club culture, policy, and environment do not promote behaviors known to support mental health. Understanding the extent to which sport clubs offer environments conducive to mental health and wellbeing is important for mental health initiatives targeting sport clubs. Currently and to our knowledge, there is no known instrument that captures member/participant perceptions of how supportive the sport setting is regarding mental health and wellbeing. This study explored the content validity, internal construct validity and external construct validity of the Supporting Mental Health in Sport Instrument (SMHSI) intended to measure the extent to which sport clubs provided a supportive environment for mental health promotion. A process of reliability analysis, principal component analysis and Rasch analysis was conducted confirming the psychometric fit of the items to the overall construct. The instrument could distinguish between two sport club environments providing different levels of mental health support, demonstrating external construct validity. The instrument can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the sport club context to support mental health, to identify suitable club targets for mental health programs, to better determine training needs, or to better understand the impact of mental health programs on wider club contexts. Lay summary: Mental health promotion in sport clubs is becoming increasingly popular. The effectiveness of these promotion efforts may be compromised by the contexts in which they are delivered. This paper describes the properties of the Supporting Mental Health in Sport Instrument designed to measure the contextual support for the promotion of mental health in sport clubs. This instrument can be used by sport organizations and researchers to measure the extent to which sport club environments are supportive of the mental wellbeing of members and identify suitable targets for mental health programs. Mental health organizations looking to use sport club settings to deliver mental health interventions can use the instrument to tailor their mental health programs and resources as well as better understand the context in which their intervention is being delivered. Organizations and researchers looking to promote mental health in sport club settings can use the instrument to determine the impact of programs on the wider sporting context. Organizations and researchers can direct scarce funding and resources toward supporting sport clubs that demonstrate greatest need in relation to improving their culture and environment to better support mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at an increased risk for experiencing mental health issues compared to their peers without disabilities. Further, there are limited resources available to help accurately assess mental health disorders and that are accessible for adolescents with ID. This paper describes the iterative development and pilot testing of the Diagnostic Interview for Adolescents and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities (DIAAID). The authors utilized Evidence Center Design and Universal Design principals to develop the DIAAID; a multi-informant diagnostic interview. The DIAAID development resulted in the creation of 15 adolescents disorder interviews and 24 caregiver disorder interviews. Preliminary results suggest that the DIAAID is a feasible and accessible diagnostic interview for adolescents with ID and their caregivers. Lessons learned from DIAAID implementation and future areas research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis review explores the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the light of evolving threats to planetary health, particularly the dangers posed by the climate crisis and its emerging mental health impacts, in the context of a climate-vulnerable country such as the Philippines. This paper describes the country’s mental health system, outlines the chronic systemic challenges that it faces, and discusses the intensifying and widening impacts of climate change on mental health. Integrated mental healthcare must be part of the climate adaptation response, particularly for vulnerable populations. AI holds promise for mental healthcare in the Philippines, and be a tool that can potentially aid in addressing the shortage of mental health professionals, improve service accessibility, and provide direct services in climate-affected communities. However, the incorporation of AI into mental healthcare also presents significant challenges, such as potentially worsening the existing mental health inequities due to unequal access to resources and technologies, data privacy concerns, and potential AI algorithm biases. It is crucial to approach AI integration with ethical consideration and responsible implementation to harness its benefits, mitigate potential risks, and ensure inclusivity in mental healthcare delivery, especially in the era of a warming planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) refers to positive psychological changes arising from adversity. PTG in psychosis is an emerging area of focus, however the individualistic conceptualisation of PTG has been questioned. We extend these debates to consider environmental influences on PTG in psychosis.Methods: In this paper, we outline the application of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model to PTG in psychosis.Results: The Bioecological Model comprises six ecological systems; 1) biophysical (individual characteristics), 2) microsystem (immediate environment), 3) mesosystem (system interactions), 4) exosystem (impact on individual despite minimal participation), 5) macrosystem (cultural/societal influences), and 6) chronosystem (time).Discussion: PTG in psychosis research has predominately focused on the biophysical ecosystem. We argue that extending PTG research to address the other systems will be advantageous, providing an ecologically valid conceptualisation of PTG and the development of a causal model of PTG in psychosis. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UK young adults saw sharp mental health declines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines whether living with siblings helped moderate this negative effect. We compare the outcomes of young adults (age 19), i) who were living with parents and siblings, with ii) those who were living with only parents, and iii) with those who were living away from parents. We used data from the Millennium Cohort Study COVID-19 survey, linked with the mainstage survey (N = 2,578), and captured mental health with: the Shortened Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress scale. As young men and women may be differently affected by sibling co-residence, we vary living arrangements effects by gender. While average young adult mental health deteriorated during the first national lockdown, there were variations by gender and living arrangements. For young men, living with siblings was associated with improved mental health on both measures during the first COVID-19 lockdown. For young women, living with parents was associated with lower psychological distress than living away from home, but siblings provided no additional benefit. Data from later in the pandemic suggests that, as young adults became more accustomed to social restrictions, the importance of family living arrangements declined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health of police officers is a critical yet under-researched area. They face unique operational and organisational stressors, including exposure to violence and trauma, as well as bullying, managerial conflict, and a lack of support in the workplace. This paper explores the multifaceted challenges impacting police mental health through thematic analysis of an online questionnaire completed by 98 members of An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) in Ireland. We found, inter alia, the existence of a culture of bullying and a lack of managerial support within the institution. Furthermore, exposure to traumatic events as part of the policing role was found to have a negative impact on the mental health of most respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing uptake of the metaphor of a “tsunami” of mental health problems related to COVID-19, reflects widespread concern for pandemic-related mental distress. Mental health may be compromised by such things as loneliness and depression linked to social isolation, as well as fear of infection from coronavirus. Of interest to question is the veracity of this concern and how the alleged decline in mental wellness might affect one of society’s most important issues: Namely, the issue of parenting. Owing to the novel nature of this subject matter, scoping review was selected to substantiate critical commentary in this paper surrounding parenting, the COVID-19 pandemic and the disabling effects of mental health difficulties. Findings suggest that there is no linear, formulaic or conclusive relationship between the pandemic, mental health and parenting. Rather, present discourses, such as those that embrace a tsunami metaphor, ought to attain more nuance and balance, in the context of protective factors, opportunities and strengths also at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The normal lives of schools were significantly affected by the recent global pandemic. Some countries closed all schools nationally, others such as the USA closed at a local level according to state law. Much of the focus of research in this area is on the effect on children and learning loss, but this paper uses secondary analysis of data from a project on primary/secondary school transition in England to examine the experience of teaching in a pandemic, with a particular focus on pedagogy and professionalism. It presents our findings of a significant impact on teachers' professional lives in England; from the pedagogic difficulties of teaching online, dealing with the anxieties and fears of themselves and others, providing support in ways hitherto beyond their experience, increased and different workloads. Some embraced the positive challenge, but many found their mental health suffered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper uses Ambiguous Loss Theory to explore the anticipatory and ambiguous losses and stressors surrounding the decision to come out as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer. Purposive sampling was used to administer a survey to 429 individuals who identified as LGBTQ+ about their coming out decisions and experiences. Data were coded and three major themes were developed: (1) the need for psychosocial safety (fear of being disowned, shunned or abandoned); (2) experiences of anxiety, depression, emotional stress, and shame; and (3) the pursuit of authenticity, self-discovery and liberation. Findings from the study indicate that coming out for LGBTQ+ individuals in the twenty first century remains accompanied by challenges and fears, both before and after the process, which significantly affects individuals’ health and safety. In the longer term, despite the challenges, stressors and losses identified by participants, most reported that disclosing their sexual orientation had greatly improved their health and mental well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been increasing attention afforded to how a perpetrator of family violence may engage in coercive and controlling behaviour. As a form of coercive control, perpetrators may threaten to take their own life, impacting the thoughts and behaviours of victim/survivors, as well as their decision to leave the relationship. This form of coercive control challenges police in the way they manage and respond to perceived risk. In Victoria, Australia, section 232 of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic) allows police to place a person who shows signs of mental illness under the care of medical practitioners for assessment, to prevent violence towards themselves or another person. This may present challenges in the investigation of family violence matters and serving protection orders (referred to as family violence intervention orders (FVIOs) in Victoria), as police are required to balance the needs of perpetrators, victim/survivors, and the community at large. This article examines the competing priorities of police as they attend a family violence incident where the perpetrator has threatened to take their own life. Drawing from the perspectives of ten specialist family violence officers from Victoria Police, this paper will provide critical insight into the policing of suicide threats in the context of coercive control. Further, it explores how current collaboration with the health sector may reduce police capacity to ensure victim/survivors’ safety through FVIOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has yielded important insight into the characteristics and behaviours of officers who commit misconduct across the UK, USA and Australia. However, there remains little research into illicit substance use by sworn police. Considering substance use by police through the lens of police misconduct, this paper employs correlation and regression analyses using a sample of 489 sworn officers, to analyse whether individual types of misconduct, or the overall volume of misconduct committed, were predictive of an officer returning a positive drug test during departmental random drug testing. Findings suggested that neither individual types of misconduct, or the overall number of complaints received by officers were useful in predicting a positive drug test. However, a current or historical association with a known offender held a strong relationship with returning a positive drug test. Pivotally, holding a second job (outside of the agency) was also a significant predictor of a positive drug test. The findings of this research hold important implications for drug testing policy and procedure of policing agencies, and for understanding which factors may suggest that an officer is at risk of drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital self-harm, the anonymous online posting, sending, or otherwise sharing of hurtful content about oneself, has not received the same amount of scholarly scrutiny as other forms of self-directed abuse. In the current paper, we analyze three independent national surveys of U.S. teens (aged 13–17, M = 14.96) in repeat cross-sectional studies conducted in 2016 (N = 4,742), 2019 (N = 4,250), and 2021 (N = 2,546) to assess the prevalence of two measures of digital self-harm. We examine demographic differences within each sample (gender, race, and sexual orientation), whether experience with cyberbullying was associated with these behaviors, and changes over time. Overall, the prevalence of digital self-harm has been increasing over time, and changes in demographic influences were observed. Implications for identifying, preventing, and responding to digital self-harm are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physicians generally recommend that patients resuscitated with naloxone after opioid overdose stay in the emergency department for a period of observation in order to prevent harm from delayed sequelae of opioid toxicity. Patients frequently refuse this period of observation despiteenefit to risk. Healthcare providers are thus confronted with the challenge of how best to protect the patient's interests while also respecting autonomy, including assessing whether the patient is making an autonomous choice to refuse care. Previous studies have shown that physicians have widely divergent approaches to navigating these conflicts. This paper reviews what is known about the effects of opioid use disorder on decision-making, and argues that some subset of these refusals are non-autonomous choices, even when patients appear to have decision making capacity. This conclusion has several implications for how physicians assess and respond to patients refusing medical recommendations after naloxone resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. service members are at an enhanced risk for developing mental disorders. To address these challenges, while promoting operational readiness and improving mental health outcomes, the Department of Defense directed each service component to develop and implement universal resilience enhancing programs. This paper provides a review of theoretical approaches conceptualizing resilience to trauma, including the theoretical foundations of programs currently in place. The resilience programs of U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps are described, and available program effectiveness data are reviewed. Gaps between theory and practice are identified and an alternative method of assessing psychological readiness in Army units that is informed by resilience theory is offered as one way to address these gaps and scientific concerns. By comprehensively assessing the stressors affecting Soldiers at regular intervals, military leaders may be able to better identify and mitigate stressors in a systematic way that bolsters individual and unit psychological fitness. An enhanced psychological readiness metric stands to strengthen the validity of current resilience programs, bring clarity to the mechanisms of resilience, and provide a novel way for leaders to promote readiness in their units. Application of this metric within the infrastructure of existing reporting systems stands to improve mental health outcomes for Service Members, enhance the psychological readiness of the force, and reduce healthcare costs over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly complex and unpredictable personnel and operational demands require Special Operations Forces (SOF) members and their families to remain flexible, adaptive, and resilient within ever-changing circumstances. To mitigate the impact of these stressors on psychological health and fitness, researchers and educators at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) developed Special Operations Cognitive Agility Training (SOCAT), a cognitive performance optimization program supported by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF). The goal of SOCAT is to enhance cognitive agility, defined as the ability to deliberately adapt cognitive processing strategies in accordance with dynamic shifts in situational and environmental demands, in order to facilitate decision making and adapt to change. Overall, SOCAT emphasizes optimal cognitive performance across different contexts – as well as across various stages of the military lifecycle – to serve as a buffer against biopsychosocial vulnerabilities, environmental and social stressors, military operational demands, and behavioral health problems, including suicide. This paper reviews foundational research behind SOCAT, mechanisms through which SOCAT is anticipated to build psychological resilience, and describes the process of developing and tailoring SOCAT for active duty SOF members and spouses. Limitations and future directions, including an ongoing, randomized controlled program evaluation, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provision of feedback in forensic mental health assessment has received little attention. The scant research literature suggests that giving feedback is not only infrequent among forensic mental health examiners, but in some circumstances, it is considered inappropriate. This paper puts forth some of the challenges related to the provision of feedback in the context of forensic mental health assessments. It also suggests that in some cases, the provision of carefully vetted feedback could be consistent with the aims of therapeutic jurisprudence and trauma-informed principles. Ultimately, we suggest that feedback is not a unitary construct and that the timing and type of feedback warrant independent consideration that is often seated in practical, clinical, and ethical considerations. We conclude that while feedback is optional, consideration of different scenarios for feedback expands the range of professional options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While positive psychology has been in development for more than 20 years, positive psychologists still face the challenge of finding optimal measurements of well-being. The PERMA framework provides a new understanding of well-being based on years of research. However, whether it adds value in terms of being distinct from the already established measures of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) has recently been under debate. Certain characteristics of PERMA make it unsuited for traditional factor analysis and data analysis techniques. In this paper, we argue that a network approach is more suitable for understanding the interrelated nature of PERMA components. We then show how the components of PERMA and SWB are distinct using exploratory graphical analysis. Our results show that while PERMA predicts SWB, PERMA provides us a more nuanced way to understand the interrelated antecedents of well-being, which we refer to as the web of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen a shift in the number of bereavement studies examining daily grief processes, but our knowledge is still limited due to the lack of dyadic research. In this paper, we explored the change in mental health in the course of a seven-day dyadic diary with bereaved couples who lost their child during pregnancy, labor, or afterward. We conducted dyadic latent growth curve analyses. In the bereaved parents who experienced a pregnancy loss, we found reduced grief (for both partners) and anxiety symptoms (only for women) and no changes in depression symptoms or personal strength levels across the diary days. In the bereaved parents who lost their child during labor or afterward, both partners' grief and depression symptoms and women's anxiety symptoms stayed stable, men's anxiety symptoms decreased, but women experienced a decline in their personal strength. Overall, negative aspects of mental health showed no sign of a dyadic diary's harm to the bereaved parents and even pointed to increased mental health in some respects during the study. However, a feeling of reduced capacity to deal with difficulties during the diary was also observed in women. Our findings indicated that both negative and positive aspects of mental health should be considered to evaluate the impact of diary studies on the participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black Alaskans face serious barriers to health care. This paper reports on qualitative results of a health needs assessment to understand the health challenges facing Black Alaskans. Utilizing exploratory thematic analysis, the findings indicate that Black Alaskans experience barriers such as high cost of care, underinsurance, lack of information and education, a shortage of BIPOC health providers, stigma, negative perceptions by health-care providers, and racism both in the community and in the health-care system. The paper concludes by discussing emerging health equity initiatives to advance responsive care for Black Alaskans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite legislative and policy mechanisms that promote inclusion in education for children with disabilities, many students still experience exclusion from the education setting. For example, autistic children are more likely than their neurotypical counterparts to be expelled or suspended from school or to refuse to attend school on an ongoing basis. This situation gives rise to various challenges for their parents. This discursive paper synthesizes current knowledge on school exclusion involving autistic children, including the causes and consequences of exclusionary practices. The paper also considers the negative impacts of these exclusionary practices on the emotional and psychological well-being of parents and caregivers. Mental health nurses who understand the issues related to school exclusion can better support the educational, social, and developmental needs of autistic children and the mental health needs of parents or caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying Fineman's vulnerability theory, this paper will explore the role of emotions within the legal profession and the specific vulnerabilities that arise from their traditional and contemporary treatment within law. It will consider how the notion of professionalism in law has traditionally disregarded or excluded emotions as irrelevant or even dangerous in a manner which is philosophically and psychologically flawed as well as damaging to mental health and wellbeing. This approach has created longstanding unacknowledged vulnerabilities for the profession as a whole and individual practitioners. It will then explore how the shifting legal services landscape, and the resultant evolution of the profession, has led to a growing contemporary interest in the use of emotional competencies (often characterised as 'soft skills' or 'emotional intelligence'). These are now increasingly exploited as tools to enhance profitability. However, this leads to a dichotomy as, despite their increasing utilisation, emotions are still not fully acknowledged or incorporated within law's core professional values. This generates further individual and institutional vulnerabilities around mental health and wellbeing which require urgent attention to ensure the health of the contemporary profession. The paper concludes with suggestions for reforms to alleviate these vulnerabilities and promote greater future resilience within law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores my first hand experience of illness during the first weeks of the pandemic, as a PhD student. Through an auto ethnographic lens, I narrate events which occurred during the month of March 2020. My memories, and their interpretation, continued to transform in the subsequent months, coinciding with the analysis of an earlier set of participants data and writing of the thesis. This paper draws upon such experiences to raise methodological and existential questions in relation to design research and healthcare. The short paper is structured in two parts; the first describes a few memory fragments to help the reader connect with that initial experience, whilst the second discusses the methodological and existential implications alongside a personal reflection, as an invitation for further dialogue within our research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the role of precarity theory in bringing new perspectives to public mental health. The paper draws on a qualitative, participatory research study carried out in Glasgow that illuminates the entangled and complex relations between the social, bio-political, cultural, economic, and environmental conditions that produce mental health and ill health. Through the accounts of Sassy Queen, Tony, Simba, John, and Rhianna, we explore the attrition of everyday lives that are lived in constant states of crisis, the forms of precarity that it precipitates, and how this plays out for them concerning how they talk about and experience 'mental health'. Their experience provides an alternative vantage point to understanding mental distress to those which are made possible through recourse to prevalent social determinant and behavioural models of public health. The paper concludes that the operations of the political as everyday biopolitics must become more visible within public health, and this requires interdisciplinary and narrative approaches to fully understand the border zone between macro-level politics and the biopolitics of everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools have been identified as well placed to support students' wellbeing and encouraging the active participation of children and young people in school life is in line with current English legislation. Student-led research has the potential to create a positive, long-lasting impact. This evaluative systematic literature review (SLR) sought to identify the features of effective student participation in the co-production of whole-school wellbeing strategies, with a focus on Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects. Ten papers published between 2011 and 2021 were identified using the PRISMA framework and evaluated for methodological quality and appropriateness of focus. Several factors were identified as impacting on the success of PAR, including group composition, power balance, and sustainability. The paper concludes that carefully planned PAR projects can result in successful collaboration with students to develop whole-school strategies for a range of issues/topic areas. Further research evaluating the long-term impact of such projects on whole-school practice is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Aims Methods Results Conclusions Evidence suggests that financial crises and poor mental health are reciprocally related, but no systematic review has been conducted to synthesise the existing literature on the impact of national and international financial crises on population-level mental health and well-being.The aim of this study was to systematically review the available literature on the global impact of financial crises on mental health and well-being outcomes.After registration on PROSPERO, a systematic search was conducted in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Wiley, and Web of Science for papers published until 21 November 2022. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement, 98 papers were identified as meeting eligibility criteria. Included studies were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and results were presented in a formal narrative synthesis.Our findings show that financial crises are significantly associated with well-being and occurrence of psychological conditions. Several socio-demographic, cultural, and country-specific characteristics played a crucial role in the prevention of population mental health decline in periods of financial crises.Based on the findings of this review, evidence-based recommendations were developed to guide the design of policy actions that protect population mental health during and after financial crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmful sexual behaviour that occurs between siblings (HSB-S) is thought to be one of the most common forms of intrafamilial abuse. Despite an increase in academic papers, and acknowledgement of the prevalence of the problem, there is still a lack of specific assessment and intervention models. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview on the Assessment, Intervention and Moving On (AIM) HSB-S Practice Guidance. The framework draws on the literature and evidence-based models, as well as clinical practice illustrated by the four-case series summarised. Of the four-case series illustrated in the paper positive outcomes were observed. In addition, the intervention includes the practitioner guiding the family to write a structured narrative which supports them to restore family relationships and find a way of moving forward. This guidance will strengthen practitioner's skills and confidence in working with families impacted by HSB-S and provide hope for them that they can heal from this crisis. This paper provides a preview for the AIM HSB-S Practice Guidance illustrated by a case series. The framework will provide practitioners with a clear approach to assessment and intervention when working with families impacted by HSB-S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]