PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY-THEORY RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Psychosis and help-seeking behaviour-A systematic review of the literature
Skrobinska L, Newman-Taylor K and Carnelley K
Many people with psychosis do not seek help which delays access to recommended treatments. Duration of untreated psychosis is associated with poor healthcare outcomes and increased risk of relapse. The reasons why people delay accessing treatment remain unclear. This is the first systematic review to synthesise the literature examining professional and non-professional help-seeking in psychosis across clinical and subclinical populations.
Lost in translation? Qualitative interviews with Australian psychedelic-assisted therapy trial clinicians
Barber M, Gardner J, Liknaitzky P and Carter A
Policy changes in Australia mean that psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is now available to consumers outside of clinical trials. Yet, the regulatory frameworks guiding the practice of PAT are underdeveloped, and the evidence base for guiding clinical practice is diverse and emerging, resulting in anticipated challenges in translation to community practice. Mental health clinicians who have experience delivering PAT in clinical trials are likely to be at the forefront of community practice and training, and influential in discussions about implementation. Yet little is known of their perspectives, preferences, and practices associated with the implementation of PAT.
'Cheering on from the side-lines': The perceived impact of romantic partner's commentary and behaviour on maintaining women's appearance anxiety
Lumsdale GS, Frith H and Hale L
Appearance anxiety (AA) is a probable risk factor for body dysmorphic disorder and a prevalent and debilitating concern. Extant literature suggests that romantic partners' commentary and accommodation behaviour may contribute to women's appearance concerns. The aim of this study is to explore how women experience and make sense of romantic partner feedback about their appearance.
A systematic review and meta-ethnography exploring personal perspectives of recovery among those with lived experience of non-suicidal self-injury
Hudson E, Hemmings B, Hartley S and Taylor P
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant public health concern. Research and treatment interventions largely focus on stopping self-injury. People who self-injure do not necessarily equate recovery to cessation. Qualitative accounts allow greater understanding of personal recovery narratives. This study aimed to synthesise personal conceptualisations of NSSI recovery.
A qualitative study exploring participants experiences of the Mental Imagery for Suicidality in Students Trial
Duxbury P, Taylor PJ, Palmier-Claus J, Boardman B, Pratt D, Parker S and Lobban F
Higher education students experience elevated levels of suicidal ideation, but often face barriers in accessing support. The Mental Imagery for Suicidality in Students Trial (MISST; ISRCTN13621293; NCT05296538) tested the feasibility and acceptability of a six-session imagery-based approach called Broad-Minded Affective Coping (BMAC). This qualitative evaluation explored the experiences of MISST participants and staff.
What is helpful and unhelpful when people try to withdraw from antipsychotics: An international survey
Read J
Antipsychotics remain the first-line treatment for people diagnosed with psychotic disorders despite adverse effects which lead many people to stop their medication. Many stop without the support of the prescriber, who may fear relapse. The objective of this study is to better understand the process of withdrawal from antipsychotics, from the perspective of people taking antipsychotics.
Emotion processes in voice-hearers: Understanding differences in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation and alexithymia
Cusworth K, Paulik G, Thomas N, Preece D, Campitelli G and Mathersul DC
Disrupted emotion processes are commonly linked to the onset and maintenance of auditory verbal hallucinations. However, a comprehensive approach using an extended emotion model has not previously been applied to voice-hearers to distinguish impairments in emotion processes from non-clinical populations. The present study hypothesised voice-hearers, as compared to controls, would have (1) higher reactivity to negative emotions and lower reactivity to positive emotions, (2) more difficulties regulating negative and positive emotions, (3) more maladaptive strategy use, and (4) higher alexithymia.
Visual hallucinations in psychosis: What do people actually see?
Aynsworth C, Waite F, Sargeant S, Humpston C and Dudley R
One in three people with psychosis experience visions. However, little is known about what people see, and current treatments have limited benefits.
The effect of trauma-focused therapy on voice-hearing: An experience sampling study
Burger SR, Hardy A, Verdaasdonk I, van der Vleugel B, Delespaul P, van Zelst C, de Bont PAJ, Staring ABP, de Roos C, de Jongh A, Marcelis M, van Minnen A, van der Gaag M and van den Berg D
Trauma and post-traumatic stress are involved in the aetiology and maintenance of voice-hearing. It has been proposed that trauma-focused therapy (TFT) might affect voice-hearing, but previous studies are limited and remain undecided.
A grounded theory of cognitive analytic reflective practice groups
Priddy S, Kellett S, Goodall S and Cotton R
Whilst cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is increasingly used as an indirect intervention, there is little evidence of how the approach can be applied to reflective practice. This study sought to develop a process model of cognitive analytic reflective practice (CARP) groups.
A qualitative study exploring children and young people's experiences of cognitive therapy for PTSD delivered within the context of a randomised controlled trial
Allen L, Fox A, Copello A, Meiser-Stedman R and Morant N
This qualitative study aimed to explore the treatment experiences of children and young people with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, participating in a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of Cognitive-Therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD).
Mentalizing individuals, families and systems: Towards a translational socioecological approach
Luyten P, Malcorps S, Bateman A and Fonagy P
Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is a spectrum of interventions that share a central focus on improving the capacity for mentalizing. Although MBT was originally developed as a treatment for individuals with borderline personality disorder, its scope and focus have been broadened to become a socioecological approach that stresses the role of broader sociocultural factors in determining the closely related capacities for mentalizing and epistemic trust. This special issue brings together some of the newest developments in MBT that illustrate this shift. These contributions also highlight several current limitations in mentalization-based approaches, providing important pointers for further research. In this editorial, we first outline the broadening scope of the mentalizing approach, and then provide a discussion of each of the contributions to this special issue in the context of the need for further research concerning some of the key assumptions of mentalization-based approaches and their implementation in clinical practice. We close this editorial with considerations concerning future research.
Internalizing symptoms and affective vulnerability among heterosexual and sexual minority young adults
McLeish AC, Hartson KR, Hart JL and Walker KL
Sexual minority young adults report higher rates of anxiety and depression, and affective vulnerability factors (i.e. anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, emotion dysregulation) may help explain these mental health disparities.
Adult stakeholders' perspectives on supporting or undermining the mental health of sexual and gender minoritised adolescents
Samra R, Lucassen MFG, Núñez-García A, Brown KE, Rimes KA and Wallace LM
To explore adult stakeholders' perspectives on what supports or undermines the mental health of sexual and gender minoritised adolescents (SGMA) in everyday life in order to better understand how to foster supportive psychosocial environments for SGMA.
What do they look for and what do they find? A coproduced qualitative study on young people's experiences of searching for mental health information online
Loades ME, Higson-Sweeney N, Teague B, Leas J, Payne-Cook C, Slastikova AV, Peel H, Chamberlain G, Ferguson L, Janes K, Rhodes T, Roupa EC and Biddle L
Many young people (YP) struggle with their mental health and look online for help. To capitalise on their digital presence, we need to better understand how and where they seek information online and what they think of what they find.
"All the horrible emotions have passed, I still remained, and I was safe": A qualitative study of Lesbian and Gay people's lived experience of completing a full Dialectical Behaviour Therapy programme
Harding C, Pratt D and Lea J
Lesbian and Gay people (LGP) experience higher rates of mental health difficulties, including self-harm, suicidal behaviours, as well as inequalities in health care, than their heterosexual peers. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment for self-harm and suicidal behaviours, though there is little research on LGP's experiences of DBT. This research aims to explore LGP's experiences of completing a full DBT programme.
'I'm ruined': Young people's and their mothers' experiences of living with, and receiving a diagnosis of, borderline personality disorder: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Marriner L, Larkin M, Urquhart Law G and Kaur Bhogal S
The adolescent borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis has been widely debated for many years. Strikingly, young people's experiences of both receiving a diagnosis of BPD, and of living with BPD, are largely under-explored. The current study seeks to address these gaps in the literature in a multi-perspectival design utilising young people-parent dyads.
Psychologists' experience of working with people who hear voices and their views on the idea of voice simulation training: A qualitative study
Hignett R, Curran R, Fisher HL and Riches S
Research indicates psychologists typically lack subjective understanding of voice hearing. Voice hearing simulation training has potential to improve understanding, empathy and confidence among clinicians, but psychologists have had limited input into its development. This study investigated psychologists' and a psychotherapist's clinical experience of working with people who hear voices and their views and recommendations for voice hearing simulation training.
'Like walking with someone as opposed to trying to catch up to them'-Dynamics at play when clinicians and young people formulate together
Douglas LJ, Aherne C, Ryan P, Coughlan B and Fortune DG
The aim of the present study was to explore the social process of formulation in talk therapy between young people and clinicians.
Commentary: What young people want from psychotherapy
Gibson K and Stubbing J
In recent times there has been increasing acknowledgement of the importance of attending to the agenda of people with lived experience in psychotherapy research. In particular, young people's voices have been recognised as central to the design and development of psychotherapies that work for them. It is important to recognise the limits of professional agendas and make sure that young people's own priorities are represented in the indicators against which we measure change in research evaluations of psychotherapy. This requires an extension of evaluation research indicators from psychiatric symptomatology, to include aspects of wellbeing that matter to young people themselves. This article joins others in calling for a shift from the focus on symptom change in the evaluation of psychotherapy with youth, to acknowledge subjective indicators identified through research conducted with young people. New indicators might, for example, be centred on the degree to which young people experience increased capacity for acceptance of their emotions, a comfortable sense of identity, improved relational trust, and a stronger sense of their own agency. If psychotherapy is to be meaningful to young people, it is vital that we tailor it to young people's own needs and priorities and evaluate it against the aspects of change that matter to them.
Internet-delivered emotion regulation therapy for adolescents engaging in non-suicidal self-injury and their parents: A qualitative, online focus group study
Christensen SH, Heinrichsen M, Møhl B, Rubæk L, Byrialsen KK, Ojala O, Hellner C, Pagsberg AK, Bjureberg J and Morthorst B
We explore adolescents' and their parents' experiences of internet-based emotion regulation therapy for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).