Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Severe Mental Disorders  Guest editorial in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry - "Over 4 decades, ago Aaron T Beck presented the basic theoretical and treatment approach of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Since then, hundreds of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) have demonstrated the efficacy of CBT for the broad range of psychiatric conditions, including severe mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), substance abuse, suicide, personality disorders, and schizophrenia. Increasingly, we see the integration of CBT with biological psychiatry resulting in optimized treatment outcomes. This may be no better illustrated than in the recent efforts to develop and test cognitive and behavioural interventions for patients experiencing persistent symptoms of psychosis with only partial response to pharmacologic interventions. Although it has been noted that, as late as the 1980s, schizophrenia was the “forgotten child of behaviour therapy”, significant developments in the use of CBT for medication- resistant symptoms in schizophrenia have occurred over the past 15 years..."  
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Is This Clinical Trial Fully Registered? A statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in the Journal of the American Medical Association - "In September 2004, the members of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) published a joint editorial aimed at promoting registration of all clinical trials.1 We stated that we will consider a trial for publication only if it has been registered before the enrollment of the first patient. This policy applies to trials that start recruiting on or after July 1, 2005. Because many ongoing trials were not registered at inception, we will consider for publication ongoing trials that are registered before September 13, 2005. Our goal then and now is to foster a comprehensive, publicly available database of clinical trials. A complete registry of trials would be a fitting way to thank the thousands of participants who have placed themselves at risk by volunteering for clinical trials. They deserve to know that the information that accrues from their altruism is part of the public record, where it is available to guide decisions about patient care, and deserve to know that decisions about their care rest on all of the evidence, not just the trials that authors decided to report and that journal editors decided to publish. We are not alone in pursuing this goal. The World Health Organization (WHO), through meetings in New York, Mexico City, and Geneva, has brought us close to the goal of a single worldwide standard for the information that trial authors must disclose..."  
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Little change in suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts in US Press release from the Journal of the American Medical Association - "Despite a substantial increase in treatment for suicide attempts, no significant decrease occurred in the number of persons reporting suicide-related behaviors in the U.S. in the 1990s, according to a study in the May 25 issue of JAMA. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, according to background information in the article. As a result, the World Health Organization and the U.S. surgeon general have highlighted the need for more comprehensive data on the occurrence of suicidal thoughts and attempts, with the assumption that such data would be useful for planning national health care policy, as well as for evaluating efforts to reduce suicide and suicide-related behaviors." An abstract of the study, "Trends in Suicide Ideation, Plans, Gestures, and Attempts in the United States, 1990-1992 to 2001-2003 ,"is available online from JAMA at no charge.  
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New Seroquel data support benefits in bipolar disorder Shire Health International press release - "New data presented today at the American Psychiatry Association (APA) meeting in Atlanta, USA, demonstrate that the atypical antipsychotic SEROQUEL (Quetiapine) is effective in reducing suicidal thinking in patients suffering from bipolar depression, and also improves quality of life and adherence to treatment in patients with bipolar disorder. 'Unfortunately bipolar depression is associated with high suicide rates, with 25% to 50% of people with the illness attempting suicide,' commented Professor Joseph Calabrese, Co-Director of the Bipolar Research Center at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. 'These data suggest a brighter future for patients with bipolar disorder as they illustrate that those treated with SEROQUEL benefit from a strong efficacy profile, combined with improved compliance and quality of life – three factors in antipsychotic treatment that are intrinsically linked. The fact that this strong efficacy profile includes an ability to reduce suicidal thinking is a significant benefit and is encouraging news for clinicians who are striving to deliver meaningful results for their patients.' "  
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Integrated schizophrenia and substance abuse therapy improves outcomes Story at Psychiatry Matters - "Integrated dual disorders treatment appears to result in a good outcome for the majority of patients with schizophrenia and coexisting substance use disorders, report researchers from Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA. 'Because patients with schizophrenia and substance abuse present a complex set of interwoven problems and treatment needs, a consensus has developed in favor of combining mental health and substance abuse treatment, which is termed integrated treatment,' note Haiyi Xie and team."  
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NAMI Presents 15th Annual Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards - Focus on Criminal Justice Announcement at the NAMI web site - "NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) honors 25 physicians today with its "Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards," presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. 'Exemplary psychiatrists are caring professionals who go the extra mile to help their communities,' said NAMI executive director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. 'They share NAMI’s commitment to ensuring individual dignity, raising public awareness about brain disorders, working to increase access to treatment, and improving the overall quality life for those persons who live with mental illnesses.' Now in its 15th year, the program is supported by Eli Lilly & Company. The awards are considered one of the highest honors a psychiatrist can receive, because they come from people who need their help the most—consumers and their families."  
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Researchers propose a recovery model based on CMHEI study (Canada) Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Researchers involved in the Community Mental Health Evaluation Initiative (CMHEI) have proposed a new framework for the concept of recovery based on the findings of their study of consumer/survivor initiatives. The four main components of the framework are the consumer’s drive to move forward, the 'spiral of life struggle' resulting in both positive and negative life changes, the context of self and external circumstances in which recovery is grounded, and the ongoing negotiation between these circumstances." As noted there, an abstract of “Moving Forward: Negotiating Self and External Circumstances in Recovery,” published in the Psychiatric Rehabiliation Journal, is available online at no charge.  
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Social Development Canada: Consultation web site Called to our attention by CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes, this web site is for family members and other unpaid caregivers of people with physical or mental conditions, and its mission is "to help support the well-being of individuals, families and communities and their full participation in Canadian society through citizen-focused policies and programs. We are committed to consulting Canadians on social issues that are important to them. To that end, we have been engaging citizens, stakeholder groups and our provincial and territorial government partners in a variety of ways to help inform and guide our work. These online consultations will complement and augment the input received through other consultation initiatives."  
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Mood Disorders at the Turn of the Century Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health interview with Peter C. Whybrow, MD, Director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior - "...My own sense is that, especially in recent years, [the prevalence of mood disorders] can be explained by changes in the environment. The demand-driven way in which we live these days is tied to the increasing levels of anxiety and depression. You see that in the latest cohort, the one that was studied with the birth date of 1966, depression has grown quite dramatically compared with those who were born in cohorts before then. So anxiety now starts somewhere in the 20s or 30s, and depression is also rising, so the prevalence now for most people in America is somewhere around 25%."  [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
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Concern over mental health wards (UK) BBC story - "The first national survey of acute inpatient mental health wards paints a grim picture of staff shortages and failure to provide therapy. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health surveyed 300 wards in over 50 NHS trusts across England. It found many wards lack senior medical and nursing staff, and have to rely on bank and agency workers. As a result, many wards are unable to offer therapeutic activities such as cognitive behaviour therapy." See also Mentally ill 'sedated due to staff shortages' at The Guardian and Crisis-hit mental units 'harm patients' at The Independent.  
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