Mental

The primary purpose of this single-arm mixed-methods pilot trial was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a text message-based version of Caring Contacts, Caring Contacts texts (CC-t), among veterans recently separated from military service. Twenty-four veterans ( M age = 32.92, SD = 8.16; 75% male; 50% Black; 91.7% non-Hispanic/Latinx) were recruited through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and enrolled in CC-t, which involved approximately five text messages sent by the study team expressing care and concern over the course of 3 months...

The Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' suicide prevention mission. In 2021, VCL assessed the impact of a pilot implementation project of conducting six-part safety plans (SPs) instead of VCL's usual risk mitigation plan. VCL responders offered to complete six-part SPs with eligible callers. Parametric and nonparametric methods compared call characteristics and Veteran Health Administration (VHA) utilization of eligible callers, by SP completion. We forecasted the operational impact of VCL-wide implementation...

This article memorializes Héctor Fernández-Álvarez (1944-2023). Héctor was an exceptional mentor, therapist, supervisor, professor, researcher, author, and leader, as well as a beloved brother, partner, father, and grandfather. The consummate renaissance person who embraced all manners of cultural expressions through an intentional wanderlust, he sought to understand all forms of human suffering and to alleviate senseless ones. Héctor's career spanned well over 5 decades. He received a licenciatura degree in 1967 from the University of Buenos Aires and a PhD in 1995 from the National University of San Luis, Argentina...

Developing affirming interventions for transgender and nonbinary (TNB) therapy clients requires understanding their experiences with microaggressions in psychotherapy, yet no self-report measure of anti-TNB microaggressions in this context exists. Moreover, few studies have tested the associations between anti-TNB microaggressions and therapy processes. To better address the burden of unmet mental health care needs among TNB people, this three-study investigation designed and tested the psychometric properties of the Gender Identity and Expression Microaggressions in Therapy Scale (GIEMTS), a measure of TNB individuals' encounters with microaggressions in psychotherapy...

OBJECTIVE: Although prior research has shown that an array of distinct experiences related to crisis migration are associated with mental health, there is a pressing need for a theory-driven, multidimensional measure to assess the broad spectrum of crisis migration experiences. As such, the present study focused on developing and validating the Crisis Migration Experience Scale (CMES) with a sample of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. METHOD: Participants were adolescent (ages 12-17; n = 430) and adult migrants from Venezuela (ages 18+; n = 569)...

OBJECTIVE: This paper identifies the multiple adversities and trauma experienced by children who are detained after seeking asylum. A conceptual framework identifies the specific impact of immigration detention on the psychosocial development and mental health of refugee children that can inform policy and prevent additional migration-related trauma. METHOD: The paper draws on international evidence about the impact of childhood adversity, challenges faced by all displaced children, and the additional negative consequences of immigration detention...

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to explore the prevalence and determinants of common mental health disorders (CMHDs, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, and anxiety) in Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Specifically, we examined how the associations between cultural adversities (discrimination, unemployment, and separation from family) and CMHDs are modified by levels of religiosity and sex. METHOD: Between March and June 2017, a cross-sectional study was conducted targeting adult Arab Syrian refugees residing in Beirut and Southern Lebanon...

BACKGROUND: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant risk factor with consistently demonstrated negative implications for satisfaction with adult romantic relationships. Yet, research on risk and protective factors in this context is scarce, particularly among well-functioning adults. OBJECTIVE: Addressing this gap, the present study focused on the potential mediating and moderating roles of mentalizing or reflective functioning, i.e., the capacity to understand oneself and others in terms of intentional mental states...

Aging is known to be associated with a decline in interoceptive abilities and changes in emotional processing, including alexithymia. As the brain areas supporting interoceptive awareness participate in the perception of emotion, we suggested that interoceptive decline and alexithymia in older adults may share common neural ground. To test this hypothesis, we administered functional magnetic resonance imaging-based heartbeat detection task to 62 adults of diverse ages (range 18-73) and evaluated a larger sample of older and younger adults using questionnaires characterizing interoceptive sensibility, alexithymia, and depressive attitudes...

Associating a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) with the absence of a biologically significant unconditioned stimulus (US) confers conditioned inhibitory properties upon the CS, referred to as conditioned inhibition. Conditioned inhibition and conditioned excitation, an association of a CS with the presence of the US, are fundamental components of associative learning. While the neural substrates of conditioned excitation are well established, those of conditioned inhibition remain poorly understood. Recent research has shed light on the lateral habenula (LHb) engagement in conditioned inhibition, along with the midbrain dopaminergic neurons...

Research has established the impact of paternal depression on fathering behaviors and child outcomes. Despite this, less is known about the mechanisms linking paternal depressive symptomology to paternal warmth, particularly regarding the role of parenting stress and beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role. The aim of this study was to examine factors potentially associated with paternal warmth. Specifically, we explored the association between paternal depressive symptomology and paternal warmth, examining the mediating role of paternal parenting stress in this association...

A common conjecture is that social success relies on "theory of mind"-the everyday skill of imputing mental states to others. We test the hypothesis that individuals with stronger theory of mind skills and motivation garner more positive first impressions because of how they interact with others. Participants included 334 young adults who were paired with a peer for a first-time meeting. Dyads completed a cooperative Lego-building task, which was videotaped and later coded for behavioral manifestations of theory of mind by independent raters...

The way individuals handle daily stressors can significantly influence their mental health. Those who struggle with emotion regulation are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of stress. This study explored the role of catastrophizing, a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy, in shaping the relationships between daily stress responses and depressive symptoms. A total of 75 healthy college students participated in the study. We adopted an Ecological Momentary Assessment protocol over 14 consecutive days to capture the day-to-day dynamics of stress reactivity and recovery...

The belief that aging-related cognitive decline is inevitable is associated with impaired cognitive performance of older adults. Little is, however, known about the association between changes in essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging and mental health in the long term and among both younger and older adults. From a theoretical perspective, it would be expected that changes in essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging predict changes in mental health among older adults compared to younger adults. These differential associations have not yet been prospectively investigated...

While the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted Black American communities, there is a lack of empirical research examining mental health experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among this population. This report examines the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and stress, depression, and anxiety among Black women. A cohort study with supplementary data was conducted among 45 Black American women with depressive symptoms participating in an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based intervention (M-Body) at a Federally Qualified Health Center...

Peer mentorship shows promise as a strategy to support veteran mental health. A community-academic partnership involving a veteran-led nonprofit organization and institutions of higher education evaluated a collaboratively developed peer mentor intervention. We assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), postdeployment experiences, social functioning, and psychological strengths at baseline, midpoint, and 12-week discharge using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory-2, Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale, and Values in Action Survey...

The current study was designed to describe usual clinical care for youth with primary anxiety problems in community mental health centers. The observer-rated Therapy Process Observational Coding System for Child Psychotherapy - Revised Strategies scale (TPOCS-RS), designed to assess therapeutic techniques from five theory-based domains, was used to code sessions (N = 403) from the usual clinical care group of two randomized effectiveness trials: (a) Youth Anxiety Study (YAS) with 21 youth (M age = 10...

INTRODUCTION: Adequate antipsychotic treatment intensity is required before diagnosing resistant schizophrenia and initiating clozapine treatment. We aimed to investigate potential rapid drug metabolism underlying low dose-adjusted serum concentration (CD) of non-clozapine atypical antipsychotics preceding clozapine treatment. METHODS: Patients using non-clozapine, atypical antipsychotics (aripiprazole, risperidone, olanzapine, or quetiapine) within 1 year before starting clozapine were included in this study from a therapeutic drug monitoring service in Oslo, Norway, between 2005 and 2023...

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PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a degenerative joint disease which can result in chronic pain and disability. The current interventions available for KOA often fail to provide long-lasting effects, highlighting the need for new treatment options that can offer durable benefits. Previous studies have suggested the efficacy of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) with its durability remaining uncertain. In this review, we aimed to investigate the durability of the efficacy after completion of treatment...