Research on gender differences in self-stigma among individuals with psychosis is limited. Gender differences have been found in factors associated with self-stigma, such as self-esteem, quality of life, and cognitive insight.

This study aimed to determine predictors of self-stigma reduction in men and women after receiving Metacognitive Training (MCT) or a combined intervention delivering MCT alongside cognitive rehabilitation.

Randomized clinical trial with two intervention branches.

Participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: MCT or MCT alongside cognitive rehabilitation. Assessments were carried out before and after the intervention by blinded professionals. Linear mixed models, correlation analyses, and regressions were employed to examine the effect of treatment, relationships between variables, and potential predictors of treatment response in both groups for men and women, respectively.

Self-stigma was reduced in both intervention groups, with no significant differences between them, suggesting both interventions were effective. Descriptive analyses revealed women reported higher self-stigma (n = 37, M = 63.78, SD = 14.01) than men (n = 40, M = 59.40, SD = 14.52). Regression analyses suggest that post-treatment self-stigma was predicted by different predictors according to sex. In women, self-esteem (R² = 0.25, β = -2.31, p = 0.023) was a significant predictor of post-treatment self-stigma, while in men, quality of life significantly predicted self-stigma scores post-treatment (R² = 0.37, β = -0.62, p < 0.001). Cognitive insight was not a significant predictor for either sex.

Distinct pathways of self-stigma recovery emerged for women and men, underscoring the need for gender-sensitive interventions. These findings underscore the need for tailored stigma-reduction interventions that consider gender-specific factors influencing mental health outcomes. Longitudinal research should assess durability and further clarify gender-related mechanisms.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06423651, Registration Number NCT06423651, 23/05/24.

Relative to younger adults, older adults describe autobiographical event memories using less episodic detail. This outcome, although robust and highly replicated, is based on studies conducted in laboratory contexts that use unfamiliar, impersonal structured interviews-a context that may place older adults at an episodic specificity disadvantage. The present preregistered study compared how young adults (N = 24) and cognitively normal older adults (N = 50) narrate autobiographical event memories in a laboratory context, and as they went about their daily lives, using a smartphone application that unobtrusively captured their natural conversations. Findings revealed a significant Context × Age Group interaction for autobiographical memory episodic specificity. Consistent with prior research, older adults recalled less episodic detail than young adults in the laboratory context. However, older adults' episodic detail was significantly higher in event memory narratives captured in their natural conversations relative to the memories they described in the laboratory-based structured interview. In fact, young and older adults did not significantly differ in how specifically they shared event memories in their natural conversations. We found a similar outcome when we zoomed out and examined overall autobiographical thought specificity in natural daily conversations. These findings, along with additional analyses examining how well laboratory measures of autobiographical and neuropsychological functioning predict everyday autobiographical thinking, suggest that even though laboratory tasks may provide some insight into how autobiographical event memories and thoughts are shared in daily conversation, they nonetheless underestimate older adults' natural episodic specificity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Child and adolescent victimization is a significant public health concern with profound effects on development and mental health. However, evidence from Mexico remains limited, particularly in hospital settings. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of past-year and lifetime victimization among children and adolescents with chronic diseases and to examine its association with mental health outcomes. In this cross-sectional study, children and adolescents aged 6-17 years attending a tertiary care center in Mexico City between February 2022 and January 2024 completed the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ), and their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18). Associations between victimization and psychopathology were examined using regression models adjusted for demographic and family characteristics. Of 496 participants (mean age = 11.2 years; 57.3% female), 65.3% reported at least one victimization in the past year. Risk factors for experiencing ≥3 victimizations included residence in highly impoverished states (OR: 2.96, 95% CI [1.06, 8.20]), maternal adolescent pregnancy (OR: 3.81, [1.06, 13.6]), and parental non-cohabitation (OR: 1.59, [1.00, 2.53]). CBCL scores in the clinical range were identified in 52.2% of participants. A consistent gradient was observed, with higher total CBCL scores corresponding to a greater number of past-year and lifetime victimization types experienced. Victimization among Mexican children and adolescents living with chronic diseases is highly prevalent and strongly associated with psychopathology. Hospitals may play a critical role in addressing this issue, underscoring the need for systematic screening and interprofessional, family-centered interventions within pediatric care.

Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) shows promise for treating PTSD in adults but hasn't been studied in U.S. military Veterans, who face higher symptom severity and suicide risk.

This open-label pilot trial evaluated the safety and feasibility of PAT in Veterans with severe, treatment-resistant PTSD. The clinical trial was pre-registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05554094). The eligibility criteria were that participants be U.S. military Veterans aged 21-64 with a DSM 5 diagnosis of PTSD for at least six months, and a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM 5 (CAPS-5) total severity score ≥35. PTSD was also required to be treatment-resistant. Clinical outcomes were assessed at the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education in Columbus, OH. Twelve participants received eight hours of therapy followed by two psilocybin dosing sessions at 15 mg and 25 mg, spaced 2-3 weeks apart, of synthetic psilocybin, along with approximately eight hours of post-psilocybin therapy. Follow-up occurred at four weeks post-second dosing. The primary endpoints were safety (i.e., the type, severity, frequency of adverse events) and suicidal ideation/behavior (as measured by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSR-S)) from baseline to 1-month post-second psilocybin administration. The secondary endpoints were PTSD symptom severity rated by a clinician and the participant. Exploratory analyses included the impact of psychotherapy and expectancy on PTSD symptom severity.

Of the 668 participants who completed the online pre-screener, 13 consented and enrolled, 1 withdrew before the first dosing session, and 12 fulfilled the study requirements. No serious adverse events occurred; non-serious adverse events included headaches, anxiety, and dizziness. There was no increase in suicidal ideation or behavior during the trial, and heart rate and blood pressure remained within safe limits during the psilocybin sessions. There was a large (d = 2.30) and significant (p < 0.001) reduction (mean difference = 27.5, 95% CI: 19.9 to 35.1) in clinician-rated PTSD symptoms from baseline through 1-month follow-up, with 75% having a treatment response and in remission from PTSD. While expectancy did not predict changes in PTSD symptoms, pre-dosing symptom change during the preparation phase of treatment did. Clinician adherence ratings were 98% across all study visits.

Findings reveal that PAT is safe, well-tolerated, and shows preliminary clinical improvement for PTSD, suggesting that PAT may offer therapeutic relief for Veterans with severe treatment-resistant PTSD.

Decades of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have documented alterations of gray matter morphometry in psychiatric disorders, but the field has failed to identify any consensus disease phenotypes. Here we examine whether current approaches will ever converge on such phenotypes by evaluating the consistency of brain-wide maps of gray matter volume and cortical thickness differences obtained for each of 59 study sites of five psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, autism spectrum disorder, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder), totaling 2,437 patients and 2,065 controls. We find that cross-site consistency is low (median r ≤ 0.16); markedly reduced compared to Alzheimer's disease (r = 0.54); unexplained by demographic, clinical or scanner differences; and robust to analytic choices. Using bootstrapping, we observe that consistency may improve for sample sizes ≥200 per group for schizophrenia but that other disorders may require much larger samples. Our findings indicate that current widespread practices in structural MRI are unlikely to identify robust morphometric phenotypes for psychiatric disorders.

Synaptic dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a core feature of psychiatric disorders, yet fluid biomarkers that reflect such changes in vivo are lacking. Here, we applied targeted mass spectrometry to quantify low-abundant synaptic proteins in cerebrospinal fluid from 672 individuals with anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SCZ + ), and healthy controls. Synaptic protein levels were markedly reduced in SCZ + , with intermediate reductions in BD and ADHD. Using a data-driven approach to model transdiagnostic contrasts-psychotic experience, cognitive and functional impairment-a shared two-biomarker signature emerged: elevated LAMP1, a phagolysosomal marker, and reduced NPTX2, a synaptic activity marker which inhibits complement-dependent synapse elimination. Combining this ratio with polygenic scores improved diagnostic classification. Key findings were extended to an independent cohort at first-episode psychosis. These results support synaptic pathology as a measurable and transdiagnostic feature across several psychiatric disorders and highlight the potential of integrating fluid and genetic biomarkers.

Enhanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT-E) is the leading outpatient treatment for eating disorders but is typically delivered by a single clinician and does not routinely incorporate interprofessional expertise. In broader healthcare settings, Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), characterized by role clarity, shared values, structured communication, and teamwork, is associated with improved patient, clinician, and organizational outcomes. Interprofessional Enhanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT-IE) adapts CBT-E by embedding IPCP through co-delivery by a mental health professional and dietitian. This pilot evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of CBT-IE for adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical AN in outpatient settings.

In this single-group mixed-methods pilot (ACTRN12622000305729), adults with AN or atypical AN were recruited from two Australian private practices and received up to 40 sessions over 12 months. Feasibility was assessed via recruitment, retention, and treatment dose, and explored alongside acceptability through post-treatment interviews. Preliminary effectiveness outcomes included body mass index (BMI), eating disorder psychopathology, psychosocial functioning, intuitive eating, and dietary intake.

Sixteen participants enrolled; 12 completed treatment (75% retention; mean 27.2 sessions). BMI increased significantly with a large effect (d = 0.98), and eating disorder psychopathology decreased significantly (d = 1.01). Psychosocial impairment and intuitive eating showed non-significant improvements with moderate effects. Dietary intake data were limited by missingness. Qualitative findings highlighted the central role of dietitians, the importance of interprofessional relationships, and areas for refinement.

CBT-IE was feasible, highly acceptable, and showed promising clinical outcomes. A fully powered trial is warranted to evaluate efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and implementation across diverse outpatient settings.

Mental health recovery, a core concept in contemporary mental health care, emphasizes that service users can pursue meaningful life goals by rebuilding hope, identity, and purpose even as related symptoms persist. As care has shifted from a biomedical focus on symptom control toward person-centered and community-oriented approaches, the mental health recovery process has presented challenges to traditional nursing roles and practices. Moreover, misperceptions of these approaches as psychiatric rehabilitation or illness management interventions have led to gaps between principles and practice. In this article, the relevant literature is reviewed to describe the meaning of recovery and its influencing factors, and measurement tools widely used to support nurses' understanding of recovery processes are summarized. In addition, the authors integrate their practical experiences in community psychiatric rehabilitation to reflect on challenges related to role positioning, intervention flexibility, and organizational support when implementing recovery-oriented care in practice.

To systematically review educational interventions for staff working on acute paediatric wards aimed at improving the care of children and young people (CYP) admitted for mental health support.

We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, The Education Resources Information Centre, PsychInfo and Web of Science from 2000 to March 2026 using terms related to healthcare professionals, training/education, mental health and children/young people. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Interventions were classified using the Kirkpatrick model and the Behavioural Change Technique Taxonomy (BCT V.1) to identify mechanisms underpinning effective change.

We found nine studies meeting inclusion criteria, across a range of teaching methodologies and settings. Most interventions were designed and applied for nurses. Overall quality of evidence was poor. Although no single intervention could be recommended, analysis identified potentially useful components tailored to different learner needs, mapped through the Kirkpatrick and BCT frameworks. A notable gap was a lack of codesign with CYP and carers with lived experience and the absence of strategies to engage ambivalent or reluctant learners who might not attend educational interventions voluntarily.

Existing educational interventions contain elements that may support behavioural and practice change among staff caring for CYP with mental health needs. However, future research should prioritise high-quality, framework-based evaluations developed through codesign with CYP and carers. Interventions should also address how to engage learners who may be reluctant to participate in training for this area of clinical practice.