{"title":"Superstitions of composure: the Ayn Rand cult and the pop-psychology of self-esteem.","authors":"Marie Kolkenbrock","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2024.17","url":null,"abstract":"Ayn Rand is known as an advocate of rugged individualism and unregulated capitalism, which has led to a scholarly focus on her influence on neoliberal and right-wing politics. This article focuses on the psychologically unrealistic conceptualisation of self-esteem in Rand's ethics, which arguably prevails in today's self-help culture. Rand endorsed Nathaniel Branden, her acolyte and lover, as official therapist for her circle. In this role, he promoted the positive effects of living according to Randian principles on mental health. Rand's so-called objectivism therefore provides not only a questionable philosophical framework for neoliberal politics but also, and perhaps predominantly for its followers, a set of guidelines for the project of self-optimisation. The fact that Rand's ideal of radical self-sufficiency is ultimately psychologically unliveable makes its use in applied psychotherapy ineffective and harmful. The article offers a cultural-historical case study about the ideological entanglements of philosophy and pop-psychological concepts and of clinical malpractice.","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140715005","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}
{"title":"Shrinking to Fit By John Eagles impspired. 2023. £10.99 (pb). 303 pp. ISBN 9781915819420","authors":"Stephen Potts","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2024.11","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140728551","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}
I. Varvari, Tom Dewhurst, Corinne Jones, R. Haslam
{"title":"The new Foundation Programme Mental Health Curriculum: foundation doctors' perceptions of its importance and their competency: pre-post psychiatric placement evaluation study.","authors":"I. Varvari, Tom Dewhurst, Corinne Jones, R. Haslam","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2024.18","url":null,"abstract":"AIMS AND METHOD\u0000The new 2021 UK Foundation Programme Curriculum mandates foundation doctors to acquire mental health competencies. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psychiatry placements in facilitating competency attainment, foundation doctors' perceived importance of acquiring these and their preferred teaching methods. Utilising Kirkpatrick's evaluation framework, the study employed a pre-post intervention design assessing the impact of psychiatry placements on 135 foundation doctors across three cohorts from August 2021 to March 2022.\u0000\u0000\u0000RESULTS\u0000Initially, foundation doctors assigned high importance to mental health competencies. Post-placements, this perceived importance improved slightly, whereas that of clinical skills scenarios slightly decreased. Significant confidence increases were observed in recognising and assessing specific psychiatric disorders. Foundation doctors favoured small seminar groups and on-the-job ad hoc teaching. Qualitative insights underscored the need for context-specific teaching.\u0000\u0000\u0000CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS\u0000Psychiatry placements enhance foundation doctors' confidence and perceived importance of mental health competencies as specified by the curriculum. Addressing clinical scenario gaps through context-specific teaching and transferable skills development is essential. Customised teaching approaches, especially small seminars and ad hoc teaching, hold promise for effective mental health training.","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140731065","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}
{"title":"Worrybot by Simon Packham. UCLan. 2023. £7.99 (pb). 256 pp. ISBN 978-1915235473","authors":"Muk Noong Cheng","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2024.21","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140752393","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}
Awais Aftab, John Z Sadler, Brent M Kious, G Scott Waterman
{"title":"Conceptual competence in psychiatric training: building a culture of conceptual inquiry.","authors":"Awais Aftab, John Z Sadler, Brent M Kious, G Scott Waterman","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2024.12","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Building a culture of conceptual inquiry in psychiatric training requires the development of conceptual competence: the ability to identify and examine assumptions that constitute the philosophical foundations of clinical care and scientific investigation in psychiatry. In this article, we argue for the importance of such competence and illustrate approaches to instilling it through examples drawn from our collective experiences as psychiatric educators.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140334612","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}
{"title":"Mental health service use and costs associated with complex emotional needs and a diagnosis of personality disorder: analysis of routine data.","authors":"Joseph Botham, Alan Simpson, Paul McCrone","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2023.41","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2023.41","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims and method: </strong>We aimed to estimate the costs of care for people with a personality disorder diagnosis and compare service use and costs for those receiving specialist input and those receiving generic care. Service use data were obtained from records and costs calculated. Comparisons were made between those who received care from specialist personality disorder teams and those who did not. Demographic and clinical predictors of costs were identified with regression modelling.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean total costs before diagnosis were £10 156 for the specialist group and £11 531 for the non-specialist group. Post-diagnosis costs were £24 017 and £22 266 respectively. Costs were associated with specialist care, comorbid conditions and living outside of London.</p><p><strong>Clinical implications: </strong>Receiving increased support from a specialist service may reduce the need for in-patient care. This may be clinically appropriate and results in a distribution of costs.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10985721/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9613375","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":"A new insomnia treatment service: the benefits and challenges of establishing a trainee-led service.","authors":"Lauren Z Waterman, Michael Creed","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2023.46","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2023.46","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic insomnia is undertreated in the UK despite being a common mental disorder that severely affects quality of life. The lead author, a psychiatry trainee, implemented a new group cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) service for secondary care patients in London with chronic insomnia and comorbid mental illness. Expertise was propagated by trainees teaching other trainees. Nine patients completed all sessions, all with moderate-to-severe insomnia on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) at baseline assessment (mean score 21.6). All patients seen at follow-up had improved, scoring in the 'subthreshold' or 'no clinically significant insomnia' ranges on the ISI (mean 6.6), and all with improvements in comorbid psychiatric symptoms and functioning. This evaluation demonstrates that group CBT-I can be easily learned and delivered by those without formal CBT or sleep medicine training. This could increase the availability and accessibility of treatment. However, bureaucratic challenges were faced, and trainee-led innovations should be better facilitated.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10985716/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9693287","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 : 2024-04-01Epub Date: 2024-03-25DOI: 10.1192/bjb.2024.5
Mustafa Alachkar
{"title":"RE: Parity of esteem within the biopsychosocial model: is psychiatry still a psychological profession?","authors":"Mustafa Alachkar","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.5","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2024.5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10985714/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140206318","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":"Evidence versus expectancy: the development of psilocybin therapy.","authors":"James J Rucker","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2023.28","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bjb.2023.28","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>Although the development of psilocybin therapy has come as a surprise to many, modern research with the drug has been ongoing for 25 years. Psilocybin therapy is composed of psilocybin dosing sessions embedded within a wider process of psychoeducation, psychological support and integration. Early phase clinical trial evidence is promising, particularly for treatment-resistant depression. However, masking probably fails and expectancy effects may be a part of the mechanism of change. Disambiguating between drug and expectancy effects is a necessary part of the development process, yet this is difficult if masking fails. Hitherto, masking and expectancy have not been routinely measured in psilocybin or other medication trials. Doing so represents an opportunity for research and may influence psychiatry more widely. In this opinion piece I summarise the clinical development process of psilocybin therapy thus far, discussing the hope, the hype, the challenges and the opportunities along the way.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10985726/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9534953","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}
Angharad N de Cates, Donncha Mullin, Lucy Stirland, Mariana Pinto da Costa, Derek Tracy
{"title":"Breaking down barriers: promoting journals beyond the page with open access journal clubs.","authors":"Angharad N de Cates, Donncha Mullin, Lucy Stirland, Mariana Pinto da Costa, Derek Tracy","doi":"10.1192/bjb.2024.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2024.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the <i>British Journal of Psychiatry</i> (<i>BJPsych</i>) established a series of free online teaching sessions called <i>BJPsych</i> Journal Clubs. Their educational purpose is two-fold: (a) to provide junior psychiatrists with a friendly but large-scale platform to evaluate and critically appraise recent articles published in the <i>BJPsych</i> and (b) to present new research findings in an open and accessible manner. In this paper, we discuss our framework, the challenges we encountered, how the original model is evolving based on feedback from trainees, and tips for success when delivering international online journal clubs.</p>","PeriodicalId":8883,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Bulletin","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140334611","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}