Latest Research

Leijten, Patty et al. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Published online Dec 2018.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.07.900 This systematic review of parenting programmes demonstrated that positive reinforcement and praise were more effective at improving child behaviour than parental self-management, relationship building skills and other components of such programmes.  No components were found to be effective for preventing problem ...

LByrne, G., Sleed, M., Midgley, N., Fearon, P., Mein, C., Bateman, A., & Fonagy, P. (2018). Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518807741 This paper introduces the lighthouse parenting programme, a mentalisation-based treatment (MBT) intervention for families at risk of maltreatment.  Based on attachment theory and adult treatment for borderline personality disorder, the results of this pilot study suggest the programme may be useful for improving pa...

Hodes M, Vostanis P. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. First published: 13 December 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13002 Although most refugee children show resilience and function well, those who have experiences war are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13002

Greenberg DM, Baron-Cohen S, Rosenberg N, Fonagy P, Rentfrow PJ. PLoS ONE 13(10): e0203886. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203886 This British study found that despite traditional associations between trauma and later psychosocial adversity, adults who experienced a traumatic event in childhood had elevated empathy levels compared to adults who did not experience a traumatic event. Furthermore, the severity of the trauma correlated positively with various components of empathy. The au...

Weiss, J. A., Thomson, K. , Burnham Riosa, P. , Albaum, C. , Chan, V. , Maughan, A. , Tablon, P. and Black, K. (2018). J Child Psychol Psychiatr, 59: 1180-1191. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12915 This study of 68 children (mean age 9.75 years) with autism spectrum disorder showed that transdiagnostic (not just targeted at anxiety or depression) cognitive behaviour therapy was better at improving measures of emotion regulation (i.e., emotionality, emotion regulation abilities with social skills) and aspec...

Luby, Joan et al. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.  Published online October 2018 This study of 288 children aged 6-11 years referred for a psychotherapy treatment study of depression found rates of non-suicidal self-injury in 21.3%, self-harm in 19.1% and suicidal behaviour in 3.5% in this clinical population.  Children with SI/SB or NSSI experienced a greater frequency of violent life events than children with no SI/SB/NSSI. Children with SI/SB had sig...

Caspani G, Corbet Burcher G, Garralda ME, et al. Evidence-Based Mental Health 2018;21:139-144 This study of 71 children admitted to paediatric intensive care units found that the risk of developing mental health problems was related to markers of inflammation such as white blood cell count and c-reactive protein. These results support the hypothesis that acute inflammation may play a role in determining the development of psychopathology following PICU admission. https://ebmh.bmj.com...

Siskind D, Hahn M, Correll CU, et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2018 Sep 5. doi: 10.1111/dom.13522. (Review) PMID: 30187620 This systematic review of 3 studies of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) found that they are effective and tolerable for antipsychotic-associated body weight gain, particularly clozapine/olanzapine-treated patients. Although a bit too early to say for sure, GLP-1RAs may offer a useful adjunctive treatment for people taking antipsycotic medication. ht...

Birnie KA, Noel M, Chambers CT, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Oct 4;10:CD005179. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005179.pub4. (Review) PMID: 30284240 This updated Cochrane review of 59 trials found evidence for (i) distraction, (ii) hypnosis and (iii) combined CBT plus breathing interventions for reducing children's needle-related pain or distress, or both. Despite the quality of evidence being low to very low overall, these interventions are likely to be useful in clinical practice. ...

Bhattacharyya S, Wilson R, Appiah-Kusi E, et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018;75(11):1107–1117. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.2309 This fMRI study of 33 individuals at high risk of developing psychosis showed that a single dose of cannabidiol normalised dysfunction in three areas of the brain (the striatum, medial temporal cortex and midbrain).  Cannabidiol (CBD) is known to have antipsychotic effects in humans and these results may shed light on its mechanism of action.  Although too early t...