Thematic series were introduced to BJPsych Open by the current Editor-in-Chief to address key topics in psychiatry and mental health, specifically considering the impact on the global burden of diseases with associated treatments, outcomes, policy and research priorities. The increasing submission to BJPsych Open of articles about the psychosocial and mental health impacts of terrorism and collective violence naturally led to this thematic series. This paper introduces the journal’s series of published papers about terrorism and collective violence. While we identify the topics covered by the series and hope to generate conversation, this paper does not report a systematic review of the series. The thematic series consists of 13 articles; 9 were open submissions and 4 were commissioned. They include this review, an editorial concerning research methods and 11 papers reporting how people have responded to terrorist and violent incidents in 4 countries. Including this review, one paper was published in 2020, three in 2022, two in 2023, five in 2024 and two in 2025. The commissioned papers were added to broaden coverage of the Utøya attack on young people in Norway, and the shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019. Our intention was to enable the papers on these two incidents to sit alongside papers already submitted about them and the Manchester Arena bombing as well as articles about attacks in Germany. We begin by introducing the papers and comment in the discussion on a series of topics that we have selected as prominent in the series.

Recent changes to US research funding are having far-reaching consequences that imperil the integrity of science and the provision of care to vulnerable populations. Resisting these changes, the BJPsych Portfolio reaffirms its commitment to publishing mental science and advancing psychiatric knowledge that improves the mental health of one and all.

Neurology and psychiatry have long been divided as subspecialities of medicine. However, the symptom overlap in central nervous system illness is unmistakable. Medical science has evolved, necessitating a neuropsychiatric approach that is more comprehensive. This editorial briefly outlines the history of neurology and psychiatry and the movement towards a new paradigm.

The UK has seen an outbreak of riots after the death of three children in a knife attack. Misinformation about the suspect's heritage and religion was spread by social media, which was then used to incite violence and racism resulting in damage to property, terror and injuries. We put forward arguments that this was an extremist act and draw on the literature on terrorism, extremism and identity to put forward a deeper analysis of how this happened and what can be done to prevent future riots. We bring an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on research from social, cultural, psychological and political perspectives.

We argue that editorial independence, through robust practice of publication ethics and research integrity, promotes good science and prevents bad science. We elucidate the concept of research integrity, and then discuss the dimensions of editorial independence. Best practice guidelines exist, but compliance with these guidelines varies. Therefore, we make recommendations for protecting and strengthening editorial independence.

As my second 5-year term as its editor-in-chief begins, it is important to review what BJPsych Open has accomplished, its areas of growth and what should be our future vision for the Journal. The keyword throughout this editorial is growth, with emphasis on growth in quality, for meaningful growth can only exist with increased quality. The original remit remains the correct long-term direction for the Journal, with the important modifier ‘relevance’ added to ensure quality – a general psychiatric journal with high-quality, methodologically rigorous and relevant publications, with relevance to the advancement of clinical care, patient outcomes, the scientific literature, research and policy. During this second term, I desire to expand the editorial board to fill expertise and diversity gaps; increase editorials and commentaries highlighting specific articles and timely events with psychiatric themes; focus on thematic series driven by the editorial board; and address under-represented topics.

The Ukrainian refugee crisis highlights the many issues associated with trauma, distress, mental and physical health, culturally competent assessments, and meaningful support and interventions. This crisis requires international support and a global response, as hosting countries have specific competencies and capacities. The authors hope that the groundswell of international concern over the crisis in Ukraine will lead not only to a comprehensive response to the needs of refugees from that country but also to a recognition of the needs of other asylum seekers and refugees and to our collective moral obligation to address those needs equitably.

This review covers the thematic series of 22 papers selected from among manuscripts published by BJPsych Open concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and healthcare. We report nine papers that cover concepts and epidemiology relating to the public and patients. We review 11 papers about the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare services and their staff in 15 countries. Two papers consider the psychosocial impact on staff working in mental health services in the UK. Most papers report cross-sectional analyses of data collected from convenience samples by self-reported surveys conducted at single times. They have limitations of generalisability, do not enable conclusions about diagnosis or causality, and many are likely to have attendant bias and noise. BJPsych Open published these papers to meet requirements for early indications of the mental health impact of COVID-19 on the public and on healthcare staff. They claim high prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. We contrast these findings with selected reports of studies with different methodologies published elsewhere. We emphasise the need for longitudinal clinical studies with refined sampling and methodological rigour. We identify several longitudinal research programmes; two in this series. We advocate tuning advice offered about caring for the public and healthcare staff to the realities of their circumstances and their perceptions of need in the context of findings from further longitudinal studies. We draw attention to the importance of the social, relationship and environmental circumstances of the public and healthcare staff in order to understand their distress and their risks of developing mental health disorders.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasises the need to rethink and restructure the culture of healthcare organisations if we are to ensure the long-term well-being and mental health of healthcare provider organisations and their staff. In this paper, we recognise the high levels of stress and distress among staff of healthcare services before the COVID-19 pandemic began. We identify lessons for care of healthcare staff and illustrate the paths by which support mobilises and later deteriorates. Although this paper focuses on NHS staff in the UK, we contend that similar effects are likely in most healthcare systems.

BJPsych Open has come of age. This editorial celebrates the journal's fifth anniversary by reviewing the history of BJPsych Open, what we have accomplished, where we strive to go (our planned trajectory) and the passion of being an Editor-in-Chief.

Both typical and atypical antipsychotic psychotropics have been reported to cause ischemic priapism presumptively secondary to alpha1-adrenergic blockade. This condition is a urologic emergency for if not evaluated and treated appropriately, long-term sequelae include erectile dysfunction and impotence. This paper addresses the first reported case of priapism requiring surgical intervention presumed to be secondary to ziprasidone. Increased clinician and patient education regarding priapism is required in order to minimize this adverse event and to maximize immediate treatment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has stunned the global community with marked social and psychological ramifications. There are key challenges for psychiatry that require urgent attention to ensure mental health well-being for all – COVID-19-positive patients, healthcare professionals, first responders, people with psychiatric disorders and the general population. This editorial outlines some of these challenges and research questions, and serves as a preliminary framework of what needs to be addressed. Mental healthcare should be an integral component of healthcare policy and practice towards COVID-19. Collaborative efforts from psychiatric organisations and their members are required to maximise appropriate clinical and educational interventions while minimising stigma.

Aspirin-use disorder is an underreported condition. Identification of the signs and symptoms of aspirin misuse are important in light of prevalent non-prescribed medicine/over-the-counter medication (NPM/OTC) misuse. We discuss here the case of a patient with a history of chronic aspirin misuse who presented to the emergency department with salicylate intoxication and described elation secondary to deliberate aspirin consumption. This case highlights the importance of screening for NPM/OTC medication misuse in at-risk populations.

We present the reasoning behind a retraction noting that even small, honest errors can result in significant changes in findings.

We present an account of why we decided to retract a paper. We discovered a lack of adherence to conventional trials registration, execution, interpretation and reporting, and consequently, with the authors, needed to correct the scientific record. We set out our responses in general to strengthen research integrity.