The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Sep 2014
Understanding service demand for mental health among Australians aged 16 to 64 years according to their possible need for treatment.
To inform decisions about mental health resource allocation, planners require reliable estimates of people who report service demand (i.e. people who use or want mental health services) according to their level of possible need. ⋯ Many Australians reporting service demand do not meet criteria for a current mental disorder, but may require services to maintain recovery following a past episode or because they are experiencing symptoms and significant psychological distress.
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Sep 2014
Exploring the efficacy and acceptability of Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for young adults with anxiety and depression: an open trial.
The highest prevalence of mental health problems is amongst people aged 18-24, with anxiety disorders and depression the most common disorders in this age group. Few young adults seek and receive effective care, prompting calls for the development of 'youth friendly' services. The Internet is a modality that has the potential to facilitate engagement with, and delivery of psychological treatments to, young adults. To date, however, no therapist-guided Internet-delivered treatments have been developed specifically for young adults experiencing depression and anxiety. ⋯ Treatment gains recorded at post-treatment were sustained at 3-month follow-up, and were consistent with those reported in meta-analyses of Internet-delivered treatments developed for the broader adult population with depression and anxiety. These results provide encouraging preliminary evidence for the efficacy of therapist-guided Internet-delivered treatments for anxiety and depression tailored for young adults.
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Aug 2014
Ongoing adverse mental health impact of the earthquake sequence in Christchurch, New Zealand.
In September 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand, was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, followed by a prolonged sequence of significant aftershocks including a fatal aftershock in February 2011. Christchurch City has experienced widespread damage, ongoing disruption and building demolitions resulting in many difficulties for the residents of the Christchurch area. We explore what impact the earthquakes have had on the mental and physical health of a random sample of 50-year-olds who live in the Christchurch area. ⋯ Eighteen months after the first earthquake the significant adverse impact on mental health clearly continues. The ongoing provision of additional mental health services and consideration of these adverse mental health effects in relation to other social policies remains necessary and fundamental.
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Aug 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyMindfulness-based cognitive therapy for recurrent depression: A translational research study with 2-year follow-up.
While mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has demonstrated efficacy in reducing depressive relapse/recurrence over 12-18 months, questions remain around effectiveness, longer-term outcomes, and suitability in combination with medication. The aim of this study was to investigate within a pragmatic study design the effectiveness of MBCT on depressive relapse/recurrence over 2 years of follow-up. ⋯ This work in a pragmatic design with an active control condition supports the effectiveness of MBCT in something closer to implementation in routine practice than has been studied hitherto. As expected in this translational research design, observed effects were less strong than in some previous efficacy studies but appreciable and significant differences in outcome were detected. MBCT is most clearly demonstrated as effective for people receiving specialist care and seems to work well combined with antidepressants.