Tag: peer support

Reading of the Week: Peer Support – the New Psych Services Paper; Also, BMJ on Dr. Smith & Drs. Stergiopoulos and Hwang on TTC Violence (Tor Star)

March 2, 2023 /

From the Editor

Anxiety provoking. That’s how a patient recently described the first few days of hospitalization in an unfamiliar environment and feeling unwell. Would peer support have helped?

In the first selection, Cecilie Høgh Egmose (of the University of Copenhagen) and her colleagues conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis for Psychiatric Services. In this study, they analyzed 49 RCTs involving more than 12,000 participants and with different types of services and peer support. They find: “peer support interventions generally but only slightly improve outcomes of personal recovery and slightly reduce symptoms of anxiety among individuals with any mental illness.” We look at the paper and its clinical implications.

In the second selection, writer Adele Waters interviews the incoming president of the UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists in a front cover article for The BMJ. Dr. Lade Smith’s new position is like a British combination of two Canadian presidencies: of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. She has had a big career as an educator, clinician, and researcher. And Dr. Smith is clear in her advocacy: “The chronic underfunding of mental health care must be tackled urgently. We have the evidence to make the case. Investing in mental healthcare is cost effective, saves lives, and enhances our economy.”

And in the third selection, Drs. Vicky Stergiopoulos and Stephen Hwang (both of the University of Toronto) mull violence and Toronto’s transit system. In an essay for the Toronto Star, they push past the headlines and suggest that we address core issues. They write: “Simply adding police officers and security guards on the TTC will not be sufficient. This is not a TTC problem but, rather, a whole system problem.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Is CBD Useful for Mood Disorders? The New CJP Paper. Also, Peer Support and Online CBT (Psych Services) & the Art of Daniel Regan

February 6, 2020 /

From the Editor

This week, we have three selections.

With the legalization of cannabis, many big claims haven been made about the medicinal aspects of this drug – including by industry. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is often touted as being helpful yet non-addictive (in contrast to THC, the more famous cannabis molecule). In the first selection, UBC’s Jairo Vinícius Pinto and his co-authors consider cannabidiol in the treatment of mood disorders, reviewing the existing literature. Does CBD help? “The methodology varied in several aspects and the level of evidence is not enough to support its indication as a treatment for mood disorders.”

In the second selection, the University of Michigan’s Paul N. Pfeiffer and his co-authors try to improve depression treatment outcomes by combining a cutting-edge psychotherapy (CBT, delivered by computer) with a not-so-cutting edge approach (peer support). They conclude that the intervention “should be considered as an initial treatment enhancement to improve effectiveness of primary care treatment of depression.”

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And in the third selection, we look at the work of artist Daniel Regan, which is featured on the front cover of February issue of The Lancet Psychiatry. He notes: “I really think if I hadn’t gone on to study photography, I wouldn’t be here.” Featured above is “Abandoned,” part of a series of photos from Victorian-era asylums in the UK.

DG

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