scholarly journals Psychedelic science in post-COVID-19 psychiatry

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
J. R. Kelly ◽  
M. T. Crockett ◽  
L. Alexander ◽  
M. Haran ◽  
A. Baker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Optimal Dose ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Transdiagnostic Treatment ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Free Treatment

The medium- to long-term consequences of COVID-19 are not yet known, though an increase in mental health problems are predicted. Multidisciplinary strategies across socio-economic and psychological levels may be needed to mitigate the mental health burden of COVID-19. Preliminary evidence from the rapidly progressing field of psychedelic science shows that psilocybin therapy offers a promising transdiagnostic treatment strategy for a range of disorders with restricted and maladaptive habitual patterns of cognition and behaviour, notably depression, addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder. The COMPASS Pathways (COMPASS) phase 2b double-blind trial of psilocybin therapy in antidepressant-free, treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is underway to determine the safety, efficacy and optimal dose of psilocybin. Results from the Imperial College London Psilodep-RCT comparing the efficacy and mechanisms of action of psilocybin therapy to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) escitalopram will soon be published. However, the efficacy and safety of psilocybin therapy in conjunction with SSRIs in TRD is not yet known. An additional COMPASS study, with a centre in Dublin, will begin to address this question, with potential implications for the future delivery of psilocybin therapy. While at a relatively early stage of clinical development, and notwithstanding the immense challenges of COVID-19, psilocybin therapy has the potential to play an important therapeutic role for various psychiatric disorders in post-COVID-19 clinical psychiatry.

scholarly journals A Selective Increase in OC Symptoms is Driving Information Seeking and Guideline Adherence During the Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisa M. Loosen ◽  
Vasilisa Skvortsova ◽  
Tobias U. Hauser
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Pandemic Wave

AbstractBackgroundIncreased mental health problems as a reaction to stressful life events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, are common. Critically, successful adaptation helps reduce such symptoms to baseline, preventing long-term psychiatric disorders. It is thus important to understand whether and which psychiatric symptoms only show transient elevations, and which persist long-term and become chronically heightened. At particular risk for the latter trajectory are disorders with symptoms directly affected by the pandemic, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.MethodsIn this longitudinal large-scale study (N=416), we assessed how obsessive-compulsive (OC), anxiety, and depression symptoms changed throughout the course of the first pandemic wave in a sample of the general UK public. We further examined how these symptoms affected pandemic-related information seeking and adherence to governmental guidelines.FindingsAll psychiatric domains were initially elevated, but showed distinct adaptation patterns. Depression scores decreased during the first pandemic wave, however, OC symptoms further increased, even after the end of lockdown. These OC symptoms were directly linked to Covid-related information seeking which gave rise to higher adherence to government guidelines.InterpretationThe rise and persistence of OC symptoms, despite the ease of Covid-19 restrictions, shows that OCD is disproportionally and chronically affected by the pandemic. This is particularly worrying with regards to the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on public mental health and indicates that patients with OCD may require particular treatment efforts.

The OCD Project: Educational or Sensational?

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-122
Author(s):  
Lindsay Mae Miller ◽  
Brett J. Deacon ◽  
David P. Valentiner
Keyword(s):  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Reality Television ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Exposure Therapy ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Television Program ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Big Brother

Ninety-two young adults were randomly assigned to watch two episodes of The OCD Project, a reality television program depicting the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder using exposure therapy, or two episodes of another reality television program (Big Brother). Participants in The OCD Project condition (n = 35) endorsed significantly fewer negative beliefs about exposure therapy than participants in the Big Brother condition (n = 42). Participants’ obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms did not moderate the beneficial effects of watching The OCD Project. These results provide preliminary evidence that reality television programs can have a modest psychoeducational benefit and might be used to change attitudes about mental health problems and their treatment.

scholarly journals O10.5. CLINICAL HIGH RISK (CHR) CRITERIA IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS NOT SUSPECTED TO DEVELOP PSYCHOSIS: NO TRANSDIAGNOSTIC SEVERITY MARKER OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S26-S26
Author(s):  
Frauke Schultze-Lutter ◽  
Chantal Michel ◽  
Benno G Schimmelmann ◽  
Maurizia Franscini ◽  
Nina Traber-Walker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Clinical High Risk ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Background Compared to adults, children and adolescents of the community more frequently report clinical high risk of psychosis (CHR) criteria. Yet, little is known about the prevalence of CHR criteria in clinical children and adolescents’ samples. Thus, we studied the prevalence of CHR criteria and symptoms in 8- to 17-year-old inpatients with disorders that have been associated with greater odds to develop psychosis in adulthood, i.e., attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, social and specific phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders and Asperger’s disorder. Methods As part of the multicenter naturalistic Bi-national Evaluation of At-Risk Symptoms in children and adolescents (BEARS-Kid) study, 8- to 17-year-olds of the community (N=235) and 8- to 17-year-old inpatients with any one of the above main diagnoses who were not suspected to be at increased risk of psychosis (N=306) were examined for CHR symptoms and criteria with the Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument, Child & Youth version and with the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes. Results At 6.4%, the prevalence rate of CHR criteria in the community sample did not significantly differ from the 8.2%-rate in the inpatient sample. CHR criteria and symptoms were generally associated with age but not with group membership. Discussion This indicates that, irrespective of their mental health status, children and adolescents present more frequently with CHR criteria compared to young adults of the community for whom a 2.4%-rate of CHR criteria had earlier been reported. Furthermore, these findings contradict assumptions that CHR criteria might be diagnostically puripotential or merely severity markers of mental illness. Yet, more research into these symptoms and their cause and meaning in children and adolescents is needed to understand their significance in this age group and to detect factors that convey their clinical relevance in adulthood.

Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli R. Lebowitz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Child Anxiety ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Supportive Parenting ◽  
Common Mental Health Problems

Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are the most common mental health problems of childhood and adolescence. Parents of anxious children struggle with how to help their child and are faced with constant dilemmas, such as how to respond to their child’s anxiety. This book provides a practical step-by-step guide for parents to help children and adolescents overcome anxiety and OCD in a positive and loving manner. It builds on rich clinical experience and on rigorous scientific evidence for the efficacy of a completely parent-based program called SPACE, or Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. Working through the steps in the book, parents replace accommodating behaviors—which can maintain the child’s symptoms—with supportive responses that convey both acceptance of the child’s genuine difficulty and confidence in the ability to cope.

scholarly journals Using Mind–Body Modalities via Telemedicine during the COVID-19 Crisis: Cases in the Republic of Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 4477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chan-Young Kwon ◽  
Hui-Yong Kwak ◽  
Jong Woo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Health States ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
The Republic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected the world, and its deleterious effects on human domestic life, society, economics, and especially on human mental health are expected to continue. Mental health experts highlighted health issues this pandemic may cause, such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Mind–body intervention, such as mindfulness meditation, has accumulated sufficient empirical evidence supporting the efficacy in improving human mental health states and the use for this purpose has been increasing. Notably, some of these interventions have already been tried in the form of telemedicine or eHealth. Korea, located adjacent to China, was exposed to COVID-19 from a relatively early stage, and today it is evaluated to have been successful in controlling this disease. “The COVID-19 telemedicine center of Korean medicine” has treated more than 20% of the confirmed COVID-19 patients in Korea with telemedicine since 9 March 2020. The center used telemedicine and mind–body modalities (including mindfulness meditation) to improve the mental health of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. In this paper, the telemedicine manual is introduced to provide insights into the development of mental health interventions for COVID-19 and other large-scale disasters in the upcoming new-normal era.

Promising Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Call for Additional Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (41) ◽  
pp. 5690-5697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorrin M. Koran ◽  
Elias Aboujaoude
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Acceptance Commitment Therapy ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Virtual Reality Exposure

Many patients with OCD respond partially or not at all to standard medications and cognitive behavioral therapy approaches, making alternate treatments necessary. We review the preliminary evidence that exists in support of the use of stimulants, high-dose caffeine, opiates, memantine, ondansetron, ketamine, and transcranial magnetic stimulation in some patients with OCD. Although limited by small or modest sample sizes, open-label study designs, and brief follow-up periods, studies suggest that each of these strategies can help some patients who have inadequately responded to first-line treatments. The existing data and the unmet needs of OCD patients justify research attention to further test these treatments’ safety and efficacy. Previously untested drugs also deserve attention, especially as recent research has suggested new possible contributors to OCD pathophysiology. Similarly, psychotherapeutic interventions beyond CBT should be investigated, and treatments with preliminary evidence in OCD, including Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy, and technology-enabled interventions like computerized CBT and Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, should be carefully tested.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review on TeleMental Health in Youth Mental Health: Focus on Anxiety, Depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Laura Orsolini ◽  
Simone Pompili ◽  
Virginio Salvi ◽  
Umberto Volpe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Telemental Health ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Youth Anxiety ◽  
Anxiety Depression

Background and Objectives: The Internet is widely used and disseminated amongst youngsters and many web-based applications may serve to improve mental health care access, particularly in remote and distant sites or in settings where there is a shortage of mental health practitioners. However, in recent years, specific digital psychiatry interventions have been developed and implemented for special populations such as children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: Hereby, we describe the current state-of-the-art in the field of TMH application for young mental health, focusing on recent studies concerning anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and affective disorders. Results: After screening and selection process, a total of 56 studies focusing on TMH applied to youth depression (n = 29), to only youth anxiety (n = 12) or mixed youth anxiety/depression (n = 7) and youth OCD (n = 8) were selected and retrieved. Conclusions: Telemental Health (TMH; i.e., the use of telecommunications and information technology to provide access to mental health assessment, diagnosis, intervention, consultation, supervision across distance) may offer an effective and efficacious tool to overcome many of the barriers encountering in the delivery of young mental health care.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document