Early Intervention Psychosis Services (EIPS) provide multimodal interventions for young people who are at risk of, or have experienced, a first episode of psychosis. Although recent studies have begun to examine this critical period in a young person’s personal recovery in more depth, little is known about how young people experience EIPS in general, and its influences on their clinical and psychosocial recovery in particular.

This study aimed to explore young people’s experience of EIPS, specifically the factors that have affected their (a) clinical and (b) psychosocial recovery.

This study purposively sampled 27 young people from a range of backgrounds at 6 community-based EIPS in Australia. Audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews were conducted and reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse this data-set.

Four themes of how EIPS enabled recovery were identified. The first three - a safe space, unconditional support and active involvement – were foundational to a fourth theme of gradual self-management. In earlier-stage self-management, participants relied on practical supports to make connections and find education and employment opportunities. By later-stage self-management, they had developed the tools to do these things for themselves. Participants’ movement between earlier- and later-stage self-management was connected to their overall EIPS engagement and, for some, to their engagement with peer support.

Providing a safe space, unconditional support and active involvement for clients and their families created the foundational conditions for improved clinical and psychosocial recovery. Peer support programmes, increasing engagement when situational changes such as employment occur and the provision of culturally sensitive care appeared valuable to this process.

Previous research has demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a global increase in mental distress. However, few studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on mental health stigma.

To investigate changes in measures of mental health stigma, including knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions, in 2021 and 2023 in Hong Kong; to examine the mediating role of attitudes on the relationship between knowledge and behavioural intentions; and to explore how disclosure of mental illness contributes to enhanced overall well-being.

Data were collected as part of a larger research project focusing on mental well-being in Hong Kong. A total of 1010 and 1014 participants were surveyed in 2021 and 2023, respectively. The participants were Hong Kong residents aged 18 years and above.

Our findings demonstrate that all measures of mental health stigma showed increases in severity between 2021 and 2023. In addition, our mediation analyses observed both full and partial mediation effects of attitudes on the relationship between knowledge and behavioural intentions. The results also showed that mental illness disclosure was associated with higher well-being; however, despite these benefits, there was a decrease in willingness to disclose in 2023 compared with 2021.

This study highlights the ongoing issue of mental health stigma in Hong Kong. Future mental health programmes and interventions should aim to address various facets of mental health knowledge, including symptom recognition, access to support resources and the deleterious consequences of mental health stigma.

In the North-West Region of Cameroon (NWR) there is limited research available to shape mental health programmes and policy, and this gap has been compounded by the ongoing sociopolitical crisis. Developing a comprehensive research agenda is crucial to guiding mental health research and informing evidence-based interventions.

This paper presents a proposed research agenda for priority mental health, mental disorders and related issues in the NWR. It aims to enhance awareness about the need for research on mental health issues, including evidence about what is needed and effective.

The study used a modified Delphi process with a multidisciplinary team of researchers and mental health practitioners. The study included a literature review, consultation with participants and reaching agreement on the most pressing research needs and approaches.

Priority mental health research areas include (a) broad studies (e.g. situational analysis, prevalence studies); (b) mental health interventions; and (c) understanding mental health issues in depth, especially research involving persons with lived experience of mental health conditions and their families. Intervention studies are needed to better develop and evaluate treatments for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, and interventions that are grounded in local realities. Research exploring mental distress and poverty, and gendered analysis of mental health conditions, were also identified as key research priorities. Locally appropriate methods for conducting mental health research, reviewing of mental health-related research conducted at universities and supporting students in research were recognised as relevant to achieving these goals.

This work provides priorities to guide future mental health research in the NWR. This agenda has the potential to enhance understanding of local mental health challenges and to accelerate the development of contextually relevant, evidence-based solutions. Sustained commitment and multi-stakeholder partnerships will be crucial for translating this agenda into impactful research and practice.

To triangulate the perspectives of mental health clinicians, older people with mental illness and their carers on Advance Care Planning (ACP) to develop evidence-informed educational resources.

The study setting was public mental health services. Results of previously reported reflexive thematic analyses of interviews discussing ACP with three stakeholder groups (12 older people with mental illness, 5 carers, and 15 mental health clinicians) were triangulated. The emergent overarching themes were considered within an interpretive description framework to develop educational resources to support each of the three stakeholder groups to engage in ACP.

Four overarching themes emerged: (i) importance of ACP recognized but ACP often not initiated; (ii) knowledge gaps; (iii) skill gaps – how to do it; and (iv) practical and process issues. Taking into account the research team’s knowledge of the local health contexts, two formats of educational resources were developed; written information sheets bespoke to identified knowledge gaps and needs for each group, and brief training films for clinicians addressing need for practical skills in ACP. The consumer and carer sheets were translated into three languages. Two brief clinician training films demonstrated introducing ACP within mental health reviews and how to address aspects of complexity in ACP with older adults with a mental illness and carers.

The current absence of specific educational resources for ACP with older people with mental illness contrasts with the recognized importance of ACP. Written resources were created to address empirically identified knowledge gaps and misconceptions and provide practical information and training films developed to demonstrate key skills for clinicians. The resources were made freely available, with dissemination planned to promote and evaluate use as part of a more comprehensive educational intervention. Resources supporting clinician, consumer and carer education are an important first step towards empowerment and participation in ACP.

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and type of mental disorders associated with pathological gambling/gambling disorder (GD) in the general population.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of adult population-based studies reporting on psychiatric comorbidity of GD according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10/ICD-11), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV/DSM-5) criteria, or widely used assessment instruments. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant studies in English. The study’s protocol was preregistered in PROSPERO (CRD42024574210).

Of 454 articles published between 1993 and 2024, 12 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies used DSM-IV or DSM-5 criteria (only two ICD-10 criteria), and were evenly distributed across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. The weighted average prevalence of any mental disorder in individuals with GD was 82.2%. High comorbidity rates were found for substance use disorders (SUDs) (34.2%), mood disorders (30.9%), and anxiety disorders (29.9%), followed by personality (14.3%) and psychotic (5.9%) disorders. Meta-analysis indicates that individuals with GD are 10.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.7;20.1) times more likely to develop any mental disorder than the general population. The odds ratio for mental disorders associated with GD were 5–12 times higher for nicotine dependence, drug use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and SUD, and 3–4 times higher for anxiety and mood disorders.

These findings add weight to the view that GD is associated with a significantly increased risk for addictive behaviors, mood, and anxiety disorders.