The relationship between media portrayal of psychedelic drugs, scientific research and drug policy is an area of debate.

To apply artificial intelligence technology to measure trends in media sentiment towards the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs.

Up to 300 of the most relevant articles from Google News searches for the term ‘psychedelics’ were sampled for each year from 2000 to 2025. A large language model, ChatGPT, evaluated subject matter and sentiment.

In total, 88.3% of screened URLs (3308 of 3747) were included in the analysis. The proportion of articles focusing on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics increased from 13.3% (26 of 198) from 2000 to 2009 to 85.3% (1254 of 1470) from 2020 to 2025. The average sentiment score from 2000 to 2025 for articles from all publications (N = 2168) was 78.5 ± 9.3 (mean ± s.d.) (possible range: 1–100). 1.3% (29 of 2168) of articles carried negative sentiment (<50) whereas 4.8% (103 of 2168) had extremely positive sentiment (≥90). Average sentiment reached a peak in 2020 (80.8 ± 7.0), and a statistically significant trough in sentiment was observed in 2024 relative to 2020–2023 (2020–2023, 79.2; 2024, 74.3, P < 0.00001, Mann–Whitney U-test). The proportion of negative-neutral articles (≤65) increased annually from a trough of 3.6% (8 of 267) in 2020 to a peak of 20.9% (43 of 253) in 2024. Artificial intelligence sentiment scores were correlated and concordant with average human rater scores (r = 0.88, concordance correlation coefficient 0.84).

Although most 21st-century media coverage of psychedelic drugs has been positively framed, negative and neutral coverage has increased in frequency since 2020. Researchers, clinicians, regulators and policy-makers should be mindful of the complex relationship between media portrayals of psychedelics and the results of scientific research.

In England, psychological therapies provided in primary care are recommended as first-line treatment for people living with mild-to-moderate dementia experiencing depression or anxiety. It is known that people living with dementia experience more barriers to accessing therapy than people without dementia, but such inequalities in terms of rates of access to primary care services are yet to be characterised.

In this retrospective, observational study of linked electronic healthcare records, the national database of the National Health Service (NHS) Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression programme was used to compare pathways to accessing therapy between 6623 people living with dementia and 4 825 489 without dementia between 2012 and 2019. Outcomes included access to an assessment, to therapy and reasons for discharge. Primary analyses used a propensity-score matched cohort to compare outcomes. Exact matching was used for the NHS service entity.

The prevalence of dementia in the study cohort was lower than the prevalence of dementia in a representative population, based on an estimation of prevalence in people with mild-to-moderate age over 35 (0.23% in our study vs 3.82% in previous research). Compared to people without dementia, people living with dementia were less likely to access an assessment (odds ratio [OR] = 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55–0.65), to subsequently receive therapy (OR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.61–0.73) and more likely to be discharged because services were deemed not suitable before having an assessment (relative rate ratio [RRR] = 4.90; 95% CI: 4.20–5.72) and starting therapy (RRR = 2.74; 95% CI: 2.24–3.35). Female gender, social deprivation, Asian ethnicity and less common dementia subtypes (such as frontotemporal dementia) were also associated with poorer access rates and a higher likelihood of services being deemed not suitable. Involvement of care partners in the referral process was associated with better access rates.

Pathways to accessing primary care psychological therapy services must be made more accessible for people living with dementia. Better access could be achieved by increasing referrer awareness and training for staff within services to promote access for people living with dementia (especially for groups under-represented in services), better understanding how to involve care partners in the process, as well as when specialist support might be more suited in secondary care. More granularity in the medical coding of rarer dementia diagnoses in electronic health records would also allow for better statistically powered research for these groups.

This study evaluated whether brief teaching sessions on transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) could improve psychiatric trainees’ attitudes and clinical confidence in managing patients with personality disorders. A mixed-methods design was used, combining pre- and post-training validated questionnaires with a focus group discussion. Two 4-h workshops covered TFP theory and techniques, and case discussions.

Twenty-six participants completed paired questionnaires. Statistically significant improvements were observed in overall attitudes (Attitudes to Personality Disorder Questionnaire total score, P = 0.022) and enthusiasm towards patients with personality disorders (P = 0.003). Clinical confidence (Clinical Confidence with Personality Disorder Questionnaire) improved markedly (P < 0.001). Qualitative analysis identified high acceptability, valuing TFP concepts and enhanced emotional awareness, although participants desired more practical components.

Even brief TFP training can positively influence trainees’ attitudes and confidence in treating personality disorders. Incorporating TFP-informed training into psychiatric education may reduce clinician frustration and improve therapeutic engagement with this complex patient group.

Accommodation of treatment preferences is known to improve treatment outcomes and increase patient satisfaction, and is further advised in several national guidelines.

The aim of this study was to systematically review studies that elicited treatment preferences and related determinants among adults with depressive or anxiety disorder for out-patient mental healthcare.

The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024546311). Studies were retrieved from Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO. We included studies of all types that assessed treatment preferences of adults with depressive or anxiety disorder for out-patient care. Extracted data on preferences and determinants were summarised and categorised. Preferences were categorised into treatment approaches, psychotherapy delivery and setting, and psychotherapy parameters. Study quality was assessed with the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool.

Nineteen studies were included in the review. Preferences examined related to treatment approaches (n = 13), psychotherapy delivery and setting (n = 10), and psychotherapy parameters (n = 7). High heterogeneity in statistical methods and preference types restricted the derivation of robust conclusions, but tendencies toward a preference for psychotherapy (compared with medication), and particularly individual and face-to-face therapy, were observed. Regarding determinants, results were highly diverse and many findings were derived from single studies.

Our review synthesised evidence on treatment preferences and related determinants in out-patient mental healthcare. Results showed considerable heterogeneity regarding preference types, determinants and statistical methods. We highly recommend to develop and use standardised instruments to assess treatment preferences. Care providers should consider preference variance among patients, and provide individualised care.