BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-08-19DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.10128
David Hayward, Amy Fourie, Donald MacIntyre, Douglas Steele
{"title":"What do general adult psychiatry patients think we should call borderline personality disorder? A cross-sectional study to find the most acceptable diagnostic term.","authors":"David Hayward, Amy Fourie, Donald MacIntyre, Douglas Steele","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.10128","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.10128","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>To determine the most acceptable term for borderline personality disorder (BPD). We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients who know what it feels like to be diagnosed with a mental disorder. The main outcome measures were the proportion of participants offended and confused by alternative terms for BPD.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy-two people participated in the study. Being diagnosed with a condition was more offensive than being diagnosed with a disorder (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 41.18, d.f. = 1, <i>P</i> < 0.01). Fluxithymia offended the fewest participants (13%), but was the most confusing term (31%). Emotionally unstable personality disorder was the most offensive term (63%). After fluxithymia, emotional intensity disorder was the least offensive term, and not especially confusing (11%). Changing BPD to emotional intensity disorder would avoid an offensive event every 3.6 diagnostic announcements.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>The diagnostic term BPD should be replaced with emotional intensity disorder, because this term provides a balance of clarity and inoffensiveness.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"31-35"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150499/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144871253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.25
Adam O'Neill, Catherine A Robinson, Duncan Tree, Michael Clark
{"title":"Mental health social care: scoping and developing new and necessary health and care research system.","authors":"Adam O'Neill, Catherine A Robinson, Duncan Tree, Michael Clark","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.25","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mental health social care is an emerging and evolving field of practice and research within mental health care in the UK. It recognises the significant role played by social determinants in the development of mental illness and distress, and in recovery and well-being. By considering mental health social care as a distinct health and care research system, this paper outlines key priorities for research, funding and capacity building. It argues that mental health social care should be an essential component of mental health service delivery, and calls for a move towards holistic, person-centred care that addresses the social determinants of mental health, alongside biological and psychological factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"88-93"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150518/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144075605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jade Hombo, Lovita Owusu-Mensah, Martin Orrell, Mona-Lisa Kwentoh
{"title":"Black psychiatrists' experience of discrimination and related behaviours in the workplace: UK survey.","authors":"Jade Hombo, Lovita Owusu-Mensah, Martin Orrell, Mona-Lisa Kwentoh","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.7","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>In the UK, Black doctors experience higher levels of discrimination, bullying and harassment compared with other doctors. This study aims to explore the impact of this on perceived well-being and mental health. A UK survey of 109 Black psychiatrists asked about racism, othering, microaggressions, bullying and harassment, plus any links to career progression or mental well-being.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixty-three survey participants (57.8%) had faced workplace microaggressions, 44 (40.4%) had experienced workplace bullying and 41 (37.6%) had faced workplace harassment. Forty-seven (43.1%) participants reported a detrimental impact on their mental health, with 35 (32.1%) considering quitting and 24 (22%) reporting a poorer work performance.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>These experiences are unacceptable and can be traumatic. The impact of racism and discrimination can also undermine effective service delivery. Barriers to reporting can prolong mistreatment and deter professional aspirations among Black psychiatrists. Collective action is needed to drastically improve the workplace environment, including the widespread institutional adoption of an anti-discriminatory stance.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"20-25"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150497/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143498521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inequity in treatment access for child mental health services in England: analysis of administrative national data for 2021-2022.","authors":"Tom Pape, Lauren Rixson, Anees Ahmed Abdul Pari","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.114","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2024.114","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>An equitable child mental health service provides access to treatment proportionally to the need of individual demographic groups. Despite qualitative and survey-based evidence of barriers disadvantaging some demographic groups, it is not well understood how these barriers translate into quantifiable inequities. We calculated the treatment access rate for English children aged 6-16 years in 2021-2022, using the patient-level Mental Health Services Data Set and Mental Health of Children and Young People Survey.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The number of primary school children in treatment needs to increase nationally by 173%, the number of boys by 65% and the number of children from a White ethnic background by 31%, to achieve equity in treatment access. There was no evidence of inequities by area deprivation.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>Child mental health services in England should not only increase overall access rates, but also pay more attention to equity in access across different demographic groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"13-19"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150553/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143027758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-06-27DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.26
Ruth Knight, Ola Demkowicz, Eva Sprecher, Aislinn Gomez Bergin, Hazel Marzetti, Kimberly Petersen, Buket Kara, Vilas Sawrikar, Hannah White, Jackie Parsonage-Harrison, Jeanne Wolstencroft, Tessa Reardon, Anna March, Leanne McIver, Hannah Jones, Tim Clarke, Josefien Breedvelt, Eleanor Chatburn
{"title":"Meeting of minds: imagining the future of child and youth mental health research from an early career perspective.","authors":"Ruth Knight, Ola Demkowicz, Eva Sprecher, Aislinn Gomez Bergin, Hazel Marzetti, Kimberly Petersen, Buket Kara, Vilas Sawrikar, Hannah White, Jackie Parsonage-Harrison, Jeanne Wolstencroft, Tessa Reardon, Anna March, Leanne McIver, Hannah Jones, Tim Clarke, Josefien Breedvelt, Eleanor Chatburn","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.26","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Child and youth mental health is an international public health and research priority. We are an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral network of UK-based early career researchers (ECRs) with an interest in child and youth mental health research. In this paper, we reflect on ongoing challenges and areas for growth, offering recommendations for key stakeholders in our field, including researchers, institutions and funders. We present a vision from an ECR perspective of what future child and youth mental health research could look like and we explore how the research infrastructure can support ECRs and the wider research field in making this vision a reality. We focus specifically on: (a) embracing complexity; (b) centring diverse voices; and (c) facilitating sustainable research environments and funding systems. We present recommendations for all key partners to consider alongside their local contexts and communities to actively and collaboratively drive progress and transformative change.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"49-55"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150522/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144504792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.10192
Nimesh Naran, Robert Howard
{"title":"Can we diagnose Van Gogh?","authors":"Nimesh Naran, Robert Howard","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.10192","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.10192","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":"50 1","pages":"101-102"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150503/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147855621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-05-13DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.20
Jane Whittaker
{"title":"Speaking and thinking in Latin: some dead languages are alive and thriving in some very modern disorders.","authors":"Jane Whittaker","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.20","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.20","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As psychiatrists, we are hopefully especially attuned to the power of language, especially the words we use when discussing sensations, thoughts and bodies. This article explores some of the heritage of medical language of today, drawing on classical Latin and how this interfaces with our day-to-day practice, with special reference to eating disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"84-87"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150514/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143974672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Use of the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) by mental health volunteers in the UK: examples from South Asian diaspora charities.","authors":"Leya Luhar, Aditi Arya, Raeesah Rafiq, Nandini Chakraborty","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.116","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2024.116","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 to scale up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for low- and lower-middle-income countries. Subsequently, an updated mhGAP intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG 2.0) was released in 2016. This study explores the use and effectiveness of mhGAP-IG 2.0 by mental health volunteers of two South Asian charities in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight volunteers. The core themes identified were mental health awareness, mental health education, empathy and care, social perception and bias within the South Asian community, and personal development. The study identified mhGAP as a tool with transformative potential. Although the WHO originally planned the mgGAP-IG as a tool for low- and middle-income countries with limited mental health resources, this study demonstrates its usefulness even in high-income countries, as a foundation to educate volunteers working in mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"78-83"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150516/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142943742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-07-15DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.29
Joseph Harris, Isabel Clarke, Pedro Aniceto, Lydia Baxter, Marisol Cavieres, Helen Courtney, Catherine Donaldson, Mark Draper, Alison Farr, Kathryn Gaussen, Elke Haworth, Rose Hooper, Holly Jones, Hasina Khatun, Lorna Lennon, Matthew McNaught, Hazel Nicholls, Katherine Pearson, Jodi Pitt, Megan Wilkinson-Tough, Davina Wong, Simon Riches
{"title":"Comprehend, Cope and Connect: a trauma-informed holistic approach to address mental health crisis as a team.","authors":"Joseph Harris, Isabel Clarke, Pedro Aniceto, Lydia Baxter, Marisol Cavieres, Helen Courtney, Catherine Donaldson, Mark Draper, Alison Farr, Kathryn Gaussen, Elke Haworth, Rose Hooper, Holly Jones, Hasina Khatun, Lorna Lennon, Matthew McNaught, Hazel Nicholls, Katherine Pearson, Jodi Pitt, Megan Wilkinson-Tough, Davina Wong, Simon Riches","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.29","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.29","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Comprehend, Cope and Connect (CCC) is a trauma-informed, transdiagnostic and evidence-based psychological intervention for mental health crises that can be applied cross-culturally. CCC has been implemented in acute and crisis mental health settings across the South of England and in services elsewhere in the UK. More recently, it has been taken up and adapted for specialist community settings, including perinatal services, addiction services and primary care settings. A continuously growing evidence base indicates that CCC could be the next step towards solving the national problem of mental health crises. It is now time for CCC to be piloted and researched nationally.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"56-61"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150492/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144636027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BJPsych BulletinPub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-28DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2025.10187
Rob Poole
{"title":"'Diagnostic terms are consequential'.","authors":"Rob Poole","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2025.10187","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2025.10187","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Patients find the term 'borderline personality disorder' offensive and, from a list of alternative labels, prefer 'emotional intensity disorder'. It is suggested that any term will take on a pejorative connotation if professional attitudes do not change as well; and that this requires an alteration in the environment in which professionals operate. This should not look so strongly to compulsion to prevent suicide, but should allow therapeutic relationships to flourish. Blaming clinicians for incidents when they have few choices is counterproductive. The problem reflects a systemic impatience with patients who get better slowly or not at all.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150500/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145628779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}