BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-05-05DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10218
Emma Salter, Matthew Carr, Frank Reakes, Scott Ankrett
{"title":"Cognitive analytic therapy in child and adolescent mental health services: systematic scoping review of evidence.","authors":"Emma Salter, Matthew Carr, Frank Reakes, Scott Ankrett","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10218","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a relational, time-limited psychotherapy primarily evidenced to support adults with emotional and relational difficulties. The extent of evidence for CAT in younger populations is not known. This paper aimed to collate all published articles describing CAT with under-18-year-olds and establish feasibility and effectiveness of CAT in this population. An initial systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases, with a second search using key terms and author names in the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy website bibliography.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirty-seven articles were found to meet the inclusion criteria, 11 of which contained quantitative studies. Articles described CAT as individual therapy for young people or their parents, group therapy and consultation frameworks for staff and parents.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>The limited evidence published on CAT in under-18-year-olds suggests that it is feasible and accessible. Further randomised controlled studies and publication of practice-based outcomes are required.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147833097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-05-05DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10242
Susan G Simpson, Kirsty Gillings
{"title":"Restrictive intake self-harm in NHS settings: understanding relational dynamics and iatrogenic risk.","authors":"Susan G Simpson, Kirsty Gillings","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10242","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Restrictive intake self-harm (RISH) describes a pattern of severe food and fluid restriction whose functions emerge primarily for reasons other than weight or shape psychopathology. RISH exhibits a distinct phenomenology from anorexia nervosa, rooted in conditional caregiving, attachment disruption and maladaptive internal working models that inhibit direct help-seeking. This paper draws on attachment theory and evidence on the functions of eating-disordered behaviour to argue that three relational configurations (boundary confusion, subjugation of needs and escalating distress signalling) create vulnerability to RISH and shape how individuals use restriction within relational contexts. It further proposes that risk-driven thresholds, hospital admissions and crisis-responsive models that characterise NHS care delivery may inadvertently reinforce these dynamics by validating the belief that suffering is required to access care. Highly restrictive and directive treatment plans for those with RISH can result in the escalation of dietary restriction, trauma and clinical deterioration. Medicalisation of care can also inadvertently reinforce care-seeking behaviour through restriction. A relational framework is therefore essential for understanding RISH, providing interventions that minimise iatrogenic harm and offering relational experiences in which needs can be expressed and met without bodily deterioration.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147833068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-05-04DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10245
Nicholas Griffin, Alexander Smith, Michael Liebrenz
{"title":"'Worthy doctors […] allow me to come forward and lecture on this matter': Thomas De Quincey and the experiential and sociocultural components of substance use.","authors":"Nicholas Griffin, Alexander Smith, Michael Liebrenz","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10245","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article highlights the relevance of the humanities to psychiatric discussions. It considers Thomas De Quincey's autobiographical <i>Confessions of an English Opium-Eater</i> (1821), where the author charts his opium experiences and dependence. The text provides an intersection of subjective and objective evaluations of drug use, and records experiences undertaken before establishment of psychiatric disciplines. De Quincey's self-analysis anticipates psychoanalytic techniques and psychopharmacology. This article raises questions applicable to the medical humanities, such as complexities of the patient's voice, therapeutic creativity and how literature functions as a record of phenomenology. It underlines the relevance of literature for psychiatric practitioners.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147810229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-30DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10247
Maxine Meju
{"title":"Forgotten, but not gone: how the 'Big, Black and Dangerous' stereotype still shapes psychiatry.","authors":"Maxine Meju","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10247","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article challenges the assumption that the longstanding 'Big, Black and Dangerous' stereotype is irrelevant to current racial disparities in psychiatry. Despite its absence from mainstream discussions of inequality, I argue that this stereotype continues to shape inequalities in access, diagnosis and treatment across mental health services. The belief that this stereotype no longer matters is itself part of the problem. Drawing on historical and contemporary evidence, this article argues that meaningful reform requires confronting psychiatry's racist legacy, and advocates for the inclusion of the history of racism in psychiatry within training curricula, alongside compulsory anti-bias education for psychiatrists.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-29DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10246
Aein Wani
{"title":"Caught in the middle: reflections on mental health in South Asian women navigating family expectations.","authors":"Aein Wani","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10246","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10246","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This reflective piece examines under-recognised mental health distress among South Asian women navigating unspoken expectations within extended-family systems. Drawing on clinical experience and a selective review of evidence on stigma, migration-related stress and perinatal disparities, it explores how cultural norms can both protect and constrain emotional well-being. Key insights are that (a) culturally rooted duty and silence mask distress; (b) family networks can be a support and a barrier to help-seeking; and (c) clinicians must balance cultural respect with assessment for individual suffering. Practical recommendations include communication strategies, clinician reflexivity and system-level approaches to reduce ethnic disparities in maternal and mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147760953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-24DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10234
Sian Davies, Ahmad Kamaleldeen Abdou Mohamed, Roshni Bahri, Azjad Yasmin Elmubarak, Erin Turner, Polly Wright
{"title":"Shining the spotlight on lived experience: study exploring the value of forum theatre in medical education.","authors":"Sian Davies, Ahmad Kamaleldeen Abdou Mohamed, Roshni Bahri, Azjad Yasmin Elmubarak, Erin Turner, Polly Wright","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10234","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>A forum theatre-based intervention was delivered to medical students undertaking their psychiatry rotation. A professionally written and acted play titled <i>Revolving Door</i> was adapted for undergraduate education to illuminate the lived experience of a young man with psychosis and his family. A mixed-methods evaluation, comprising a post-intervention survey and focus group, was undertaken to assess to what extent forum theatre can support medical student learning and to identify the aspects that contribute to its pedagogical value.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that forum theatre is an effective pedagogical method that helps medical students to improve their intellectual understanding of a condition or clinical skill and gain insight into the lived experience of patients, empowering them to make meaningful change as future clinicians.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>The study highlights an innovative intervention that champions transformative learning, an aspect that is often overlooked in traditional medical education.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147760967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-22DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10231
Jim van Os
{"title":"The Dutch debate on youth psychiatric euthanasia and suicide prevention.","authors":"Jim van Os","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10231","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10231","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The debate on euthanasia for mental suffering in young people in The Netherlands has become highly polarised, with a novel, apparently epidemiological argument taking centre stage: that psychiatric euthanasia is necessary to prevent suicide. This article evaluates that claim. Using data from 353 young applicants (annual suicide risk 2.9%) and optimistic assumptions (80% sensitivity and specificity), the number needed to treat was 10 and the number needed to harm 9. Thus, ten youths would need to undergo assisted dying to prevent one suicide, and nine would die without a preventive purpose having been served. Empirically and ethically, the prevention argument does not appear to hold; real prevention requires other, previously well-debated factors such as relational continuity, trauma-informed care and social inclusion in response to mental suffering.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-22DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10235
Abby Dunn, Sam Cartwright-Hatton
{"title":"Support for parents in in-patient psychiatric care in English NHS trusts: Freedom of Information survey.","authors":"Abby Dunn, Sam Cartwright-Hatton","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10235","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>Parental hospitalisation harms parent-child relationships and child outcomes. Thus, supporting parent-child connection is enshrined in the Mental Health Act (1983). However, there is no recent evaluation of provision or understanding of the prevalence of parents in in-patient settings.We sent a cross-sectional Freedom of Information request to all 50 English National Health Service (NHS) trusts that provide in-patient psychiatric services, aiming to capture the following: parental admissions; information on parental status; parenting-related policies/procedures/materials; and frequency of children's visits.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Only 5 trusts could report the prevalence of parenthood (<i>M</i> = 13.9% of patients); 11 could report the information they collect on parental status; 28 provided policies; 18 provided materials for parents, carers or children; and 1 held data on child visits.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>Most English NHS trusts do not hold basic information about parents in in-patient psychiatric settings. This suggests widespread failure to meet the requirements of the Mental Health Act, and probably failure to support families and ensure the safeguarding of children.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-21DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10236
Marie Williams, Leah Wooster, Mark Taylor, John Tully, Daniel Whiting
{"title":"Community forensic mental health services in England: mapping provision, structure and function.","authors":"Marie Williams, Leah Wooster, Mark Taylor, John Tully, Daniel Whiting","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10236","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>Community forensic mental health services (CFMHS) in England were developed to reduce reliance on hospital care for this population, but provision varies. It is unclear whether standard setting work has increased consistency. Freedom of information requests were therefore sent to 50 National Health Service Trusts in England, to examine the population, staffing, treatment provision and organisation of CFMHS.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Data were provided for 32 CFMHS, of which 59% were part of secure hospital-based services and 41% were standalone services working in parallel with general services. There was variation in aspects including professional composition, functions, the settings from where CFMHS accept referrals and long-term approach to patients subject to special restrictions under the Mental Health Act 1983.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>CFMHS continue to vary, especially in their interface with services other than forensic hospitals. This may impede standard setting and empirical evaluation. Different approaches to centralising oversight may be needed for standardisation.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147727955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-04-21DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2026.10233
Ava Maidment, Charlotte Hill, Joseph Lloyd Davies, Daniel Lawrence, Ruth Bagshaw, Andy Watt
{"title":"Six-year reconviction follow-up of a medium-secure cohort.","authors":"Ava Maidment, Charlotte Hill, Joseph Lloyd Davies, Daniel Lawrence, Ruth Bagshaw, Andy Watt","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2026.10233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10233","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>We explored interactions between criminogenic risk, discharge routes and reconvictions in a contemporary cohort of people following medium-secure care. Data from the Offenders Index were used to estimate actuarial risk for reconviction and to determine 6-year reconviction outcomes for 205 consecutive discharges from a single medium-secure service (1999-2017). Clinical details were sourced from healthcare records.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Preadmission risk was lowest for people discharged to open settings, but equivalent between those discharged to secure care or prison. Both violent and any offence reconviction outcomes were more frequent for people discharged to prison than either locked units or open conditions at all the three follow-up points (2, 4 and 6 years).</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>Prison discharge negated large reductions in reconvictions observed with alternative discharge routes. Actuarial risk assessment has a place in evaluating the effectiveness public protection provided by secure services.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147727931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}