Current Research in Psychiatry

Short Communication Open Access

Psychosis and cancer: An uncanny resemblance

Zahra Yousaf, Yousaf Iqbal

Psychosis can be considered a cancer of the mind. There are similarities in the etiopathology, diagnosis, assessing severity, management and prognosis of psychosis and cancer. Exploring this will offer a unique perspective and advance our understanding of psychosis which may help develop new management strategies.  

Commentary Open Access

Students’ mental health – Having faced the truth, it is time to face the consequences: A commentary

Tordis Kindt, Nadja Rabkow, Stefan Watzke

Unfortunately, it is safe to say that depression has become one of the most worrisome health challenges of our time, with Major Depression reaching an estimated lifetime prevalence of 15%. While the World Health Organization predicted that depression may become the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by 2030, Wittchen et al. state that depression already represents “the most burdensome disorder of all diseases in the EU”. Crucially, the prevalence of depressive symptoms is highest among 18- to 29-year-olds, an age group congruent with most university students.

Commentary Open Access

Can language use in social media help in the treatment of severe mental illness?

Deanna L. Kelly, Max Spaderna, Vedrana Hodzic, Glen Coppersmith, Shuo Chen, Philip Resnik

Nationally, patients experience multiple barriers to receiving mental health care. In many parts of the US, access to mental health providers is limited. For many patients, getting an appointment with a psychiatrist is difficult and often takes weeks. When patients are able to schedule appointments with a psychiatrist, the visits are usually short and aimed mostly at prescribing medications. For patients with serious conditions like schizophrenia or major depression, the consequences of unattended emergence or worsening of symptoms during those time intervals can be severe.

Short Communication Open Access

Oilfield workers’ job satisfaction: A study of social support and work stress

Jie Zhang, Hexu Ye

This study aimed to investigate and identify the correlates of job satisfaction of large-scale industry employees. We randomly selected 299 employees from an oilfield in the East of China and administered a questionnaire survey. We found that when other variables controlled for, the conflict with leaders and the discontent with management was negatively related to job satisfaction, and conflict with colleagues was positively associated with job satisfaction. On the other hand, the workload was not an important influencing factor.

Research Article Open Access

Integrating mental healthcare into primary healthcare services: Saudi Arabia progress and achievements (1995–2022)

Abdullah Dukhail Al-Khathami , Laifa Saleh Alharbi , Shaker Abdulaziz Alomari , Abdulrahman Abdullah Alqahtani , Deemah Saad Alfadhli

Mental health disorders affect approximately 60% of patients in primary healthcare (PHC) settings, yet conditions like depression and anxiety often remain undiagnosed due to limited provider training. Saudi Arabia has progressively integrated mental health into PHC services, aligning with the WHO’s mhGAP Plan (2013–2030). This study examines these efforts and introduces the Five-Step Model (AlKhathami Approach) as a framework to enhance mental health care delivery.

Commentary Open Access

Commentary: Patient satisfaction with and use of telemental health services in the perinatal period: a survey study

Noulas P, Ahn C, Greenwald L, Ackerman M

We conducted a survey study assessing patient’s utilization of and satisfaction with telemental health (TMH) in the perinatal period. Our survey was conducted from March 2018 to June 2019, notably before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in our study used TMH services, with both audio and video, across the second and third trimester of pregnancy and the first year postpartum. Nearly half of our study participants used TMH to see their provider within the first two weeks post-partum.

Letter to the Editor Open Access

Uncertainty and mentalizing in view of COVID19

Dagmar Steinmair, Richard Horn, Henriette Löffler-Stastka

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the masks we wear, quite paradoxically, are an expression of our shared experience of isolation, as much as they are a signal of our caring for each other. We have not only been fighting this emergency but are struggling with consequences. These days Vienna is additionally shaken by a presumably terrorist shooting in the last hours before lockdown.

Short Communication Open Access

Implementation of rTMS in the treatment of depression in Denmark

Poul Erik Buchholtz

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has appeared as a new non-invasive antidepressant method, which implies non-convulsive focal stimulation of the brain through a time-varying magnetic field. Research indicates, that rTMS of the prefrontal cortex has a significant antidepressant effect and is associated with minimal side effects. An increasing number of scientific original works and meta-analyses have in recent years substantiated the evidence of the antidepressant effect of the method, and rTMS is today approved for the treatment of depression in an increasing number of countries all over the world.

Commentary Open Access

The role of psychiatric disorders and gender among patients with severe obesity

Yuan-Pang Wang, Leorides Severo Duarte-Guerra

This is a comment on the article “Gender-related patterns of psychiatric disorder clustering among bariatric surgery candidates: A latent class analysis”, by Duarte-Guerra et al., J. Affect. Disord. 2018.  The study applied multivariate statistical analysis – the latent class analysis – to determine clusters of patients with obesity III (n = 393), based on their psychiatric diagnosis. Key findings indicated that most of patients were symptomatic and presented comorbid patterns of psychiatric disorders before undertaking surgery.  The patterns were mixed anxiety-bipolar disorders (47%) and anxiety-depression (up to 25%).

Commentary Open Access

Psychological capacity compression is the root of depression and anxiety types

Abdullah Dukhail AlKhathami

The mental and emotional resources that an individual can draw upon to manage stress, solve problems, and maintain well-being. It includes cognitive abilities, emotional strength, resilience, and coping mechanisms. When psychological capacity is overwhelmed by excessive stress or demands, it can lead to a decrease in mental health, known as psychological capacity compression.

Commentary Open Access

Clinical reasoning, medical error, and treatment failure

H. Paul Putman III

Cognitive error, innate to all human reasoning, commonly interferes with clinical success. Psychiatric education and practice skew toward the lowest levels of clinical reasoning, leaving practitioners unprepared to solve many of the increasingly complex clinical dilemmas we face. Despite our self-confidence, around half of current treatment attempts result in suboptimal outcomes or overt treatment failures, increasingly mislabeled “treatment resistance.

Opinion Article Open Access

Cancer-related anxiety, COVID-19, and the oncologist: the formation of a ‘Balint’ process group

Daniel C. McFarland

The management of anxiety and distress in patients with cancer is stressful for the oncology clinicians who treat them. Unfortunately, psychosocial care for patients with cancer is not universally available or standardized. Referrals from oncology services to psychological serves are often not initiated early enough, may not be encouraged from medicine or surgical services, and are subsequently foregone or patients do not follow up beyond a single appointment.

Commentary Open Access

Commentary: Penis-image perception and OCD in Koro and Dhat syndrome

Sayanti Ghosh, A.N. Chowdhury

Continuing our report on the coexistence of two culture-bound syndromes, namely Koro and Dhat syndrome coexisting with OCD, we will discuss some relevant psychosexual issues in this context. It is pretty interesting to note that how two culture-bound syndromes facilitate sexual symptom formation among vulnerable individuals. India has now become a Koro-prone country, especially after six large-scale epidemics since 1982. Penile shrinking or retraction or contraction is now a potential social cognitive construct in different forms of actual or alleged complaints of sexual dysfunctions.

Commentary Open Access

What can reasonably be expected from early intervention for autism?

Sally J. Rogers

This commentary addresses three issues raised by a recently published multisite clinical trial designed to test replicability of a comprehensive intervention, the Early Start Denver Model, designed for very young children with ASD. 
First, intervention targets and measures may focus on the behavioral symptoms of a condition or on downstream effects of the condition. This study focused on downstream effects on children’s development in those areas most affected by ASD: language and IQ, because of the relationships between standardized scores of language and IQ in childhood on outcomes later in life. 

Commentary Open Access

Treatment failure vs. treatment resistance

H. Paul Putman III

Though the term “treatment resistance” (TR) is increasingly applied in psychiatry, consensus regarding definition, criteria, and utility of the concept are missing, and treatments beyond pharmacological are seldom considered in diagnosis or staging methods. Resultingly, calculations of the incidence and prevalence of TR and meta-analysis of interventional strategies are not possible. Though treatment failures (TF) have always been noted, only recently has the focus shifted from the efficacy of treatments to the recalcitrance of a presumed disorder.

Review Article Open Access

NSSI addiction and the physician: A narrative literature review and best practices guide

John P. Fernandes, Milan Sivakumar, Jennifer Zhou, Sabrina Fernandes, Raghavi Rajesh, Christie Spann, Thomas Chandy Varkey

Self-injurious behavior or Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI) is rapidly increasing in prevalence in the adolescent populations of the western world. Nevertheless, the training and education for physicians concerning this topic remains limited. Combined with NSSI’s tendency to become addictive in nature and continue well past adolescence, this particular issue is important for the physician to understand to provide adequate long-term treatment. Due to the overwhelming responsibility for the physician to understand and treat the entire patient, this particular article looks to clear the muddy waters surrounding NSSI, discuss how it can become an addiction, review the literature, discuss treatments and therapies, and provide key clinical pearls on building and maintaining relationships with patients afflicted by this disorder.

Commentary Open Access

Psychiatric comorbidities of median arcuate ligament syndrome: Indications for intervention across the lifespan

Estée CH Feldman, Collen Stiles-Shields, Grace Zee Mak, Christopher L Skelly, Tina Drossos

Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) is the terminology that describes the vascular compression of the celiac artery, which at times is associated with numerous gastrointestinal symptoms. Most notably, patients with MALS present with epigastric pain, often worsening post-prandially, and weight loss. Despite the often-striking symptom presentation of patients, significant hesitation in treating MALS is present, partially due to the lack of understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism of pain in this condition.

Commentary Open Access

A commentary on methodological considerations for studying the psychological impact of social media

Tom Grimes, Kristen Sussman

Long-running debates over the psychological effects of media violence have exposed significant methodological problems embedded within 40-plus years of research. Parallel concerns have now emerged within contemporary social media research. This commentary expands on the observations recently published by Grimes and Lasser (2025) to show how social media scholars are in similar danger of relying too much on inconsistent operationalizations of key constructs and insufficient attention to individual differences among people who consume media. 

Commentary Open Access

Commentary on: A comparison of the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Puerto Rico with the United States and the Puerto Rican population of the United States

Glorisa Canino

The manuscript compares the adjusted rates of psychiatric disorders among three population based representative samples of island and mainland Puerto Ricans, as well as the US population. Results showed similar rates of overall psychiatric disorder between island Puerto Ricans and the US population, but higher rates of substance use disorders (SUD) in Puerto Rico (PR). A prior comparison between island and mainland rates carried almost 30 years ago had shown similar overall rates of psychiatric disorders between the US and the island.

Commentary Open Access

COVID-19 and global mental health: The mutual impact of clinical and socio-cultural realities

Renato D. Alarcón

The broad scope of sequelae and areas of reflection generated by the COVID-19 pandemic make it one of the most complex phenomena in mankind’s history. Practically every discipline in the fields of science, social studies, creativity, religion, arts and philosophy, has devoted intense efforts to explorations and research on the pandemic’s meaning and impact. Statistical figures are a reference platform documenting such realities and inducing different forms of analysis, projections, and speculations about the nature, consequences, and management of future global disasters.

Commentary Open Access

Everything the practicing psychiatrist should know about symptomatic hyponatremia – and then some

Arthur J. Siegel, Richard B. Patti, Agustin G. Yip

Defined as a serum sodium (Na⁺) concentration below 135 mmol/L, hyponatremia is likely the most prevalent and clinically significant electrolyte abnormality in medical practice, most recently associated with an adverse COVID-19 outcome. A working knowledge of how this disorder presents in mental health practice is advantageous for psychiatrists. Most often arising as an adverse reaction to psychopharmacological agents including antidepressants and mood stabilizers, hyponatremia usually develops slowly, leading to subtle symptoms such as lethargy and confusion.

Commentary Open Access

From complexity to clarity: The Umbrella Collaboration® and the future of tertiary evidence synthesis in psychiatry

Beltran Carrillo

The exponential growth in the publication of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) over the past two decades has radically transformed the landscape of scientific evidence. 

Commentary Open Access

The epidemiology of mental disorders in very early childhood: What can we learn from recent research?

Anne Mette Skovgaard, Susanne Vinkel Koch

The significance of the first years of living in determining mental health later in life has been acknowledged since the early psychoanalytic approaches to the understanding of mental illness delivered by Sigmund and Anna Freud, Rene Spitz and John Bowlby. Empirical research since then has documented the early childhood origin of most mental disorders seen in older children and adolescents. Birth cohort studies have provided evidence on the interplay of genes and environment from early stages of prenatal life and the longterm influences of pre-and perinatal risk factors.

Research Article Open Access

Clinical factors associated with a positive postpartum depression screen in people with cardiac disease during pregnancy

Danielle M. Panelli, Elizabeth B. Sherwin, Christine J. Lee, Stephanie A. Leonard, Sarah E. Miller, Hayley E. Miller, Alisha T. Tolani, Valerie Hoover, Jessica R. Ansari, Abha Khandelwal, Katherine Bianco

Prenatal care for patients with cardiac disease is complex, often involving close surveillance, intensive monitoring, and peripartum interventions that can result in mother infant separation after birth. Though these experiences can be distressing for patients, little is known about postpartum depression rates in this high-risk population. Characterizing postpartum depression and identifying risk factors might inform risk reduction strategies.

Commentary Open Access

The relationships between hopelessness, helplessness, haplessness and their effects on psychological well being

Sevginar Vatan, David Lester

Hopelessness, helplessness and haplessness are concepts that are conceptually related to one another. In empirical studies, it is found that these concepts are associated with psychopathological traits, including suicidal ideation, as etiological or sustaining factors. It is suggested that studying these thoughts in clients is important for both prevention and treatment studies.

Commentary Open Access

Suicide Prevention in Brazil: General concepts and the Experience of a Life Support Program (PRAVIDA)

Fabio Gomes de Matos e Souza, Luísa Weber Bisol

This paper has several objectives: First, it reviews the concept of suicide; Second, it presents epidemiologic data about suicide and suicidal behavior in the world, in Brazil and in Fortaleza – capital of Ceará - the second ranking city in suicide deaths in Brazil losing only to Sao Paulo which is 5 times bigger; Third, it describes the most common risk factors for suicide; Fourth, it shows interventions to reduce the risk of suicide; Fifth, it proposes useful questions to identify a person with suicide risk; Finally, it presents the PRAVIDA Program. 

Commentary Open Access

Commentary on "Cultivating cross-cultural connections through language learning circles in early childhood programs"

Joy L. Hernandez

This commentary critically engages with the article "Cultivating Cross-Cultural Connections Through Language Learning Circles in Early Childhood Programs." The article addresses a significant issue in early childhood education by exploring how Language Learning Circles (LLCs) facilitate linguistic and cultural awareness, focusing on Spanish language exposure. Through critique and analysis, this commentary examines the article's theoretical frameworks, such as social constructivism, multiple intelligences theory, bilingual language development, and culturally responsive pedagogy through critique. Furthermore, the commentary explores the broader implications of LLCs on health and well-being, including their potential influence on cardiovascular health and overall child development.

Commentary Open Access

The tip of the iceberg: Commentary on mental illness and substance use as distal and proximal variables

Morten Hesse

Given the widespread taboo surrounding suicide, risk of suicide may become even more difficult to face for clinicians, when linked with substance use, another stigmatized behavior. In this commentary, we shall argue that even though suicides are to be taken seriously, we must also be aware of the rarity of completed suicide, and be careful not to exaggerate risks associated with substance use. The primary risk of suicide appears to occur when a range of distal and proximal factors converge.

Research Article Open Access

Psychological and emotional aspects of menstrual health and hygiene management: Experiences of adolescent girls from rural Assam, India

Daisy Dutta

The onset of menstruation is a landmark event in women’s life which is known to bring many psychological and emotional changes along with physical changes. In many countries, particularly in developing and emerging countries, such as India, it also brings various challenges for women to manage menstruation hygienically. Studies have often highlighted several well-known practical and physical barriers to Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHHM); e.g., lack of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities, lack of affordable menstrual absorbents, and so on. However, there are also some psychological and emotional barriers; such as, trauma of menarche, feelings of embarrassment, stress, anxiety, and shame.

Commentary Open Access

Technology-based mental health treatment and the impact on the therapeutic alliance update and commentary: How COVID-19 changed how we think about telemental health

Amy Lopez, Sarah Schwenk

Our previous article, Technology-Based Mental Health Treatment and the Impact on the Therapeutic Alliance, explored factors that influence the therapeutic alliance when treatment was delivered via telemental health, such as video conferencing or telephone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemental health became a necessity rather than simply a preference. In this commentary, we explore the use of telemental health in direct response to COVID-19 social distancing orders and offer updated suggestions around best practices for building and maintaining alliance in technology-based mental health treatments.

Review Article Open Access

The tragic rollercoaster of Italian nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Diego De Leo, Marco Trabucchi

Nursing homes, neglected for too long by government administrations, have paid a very high tribute to the lack of protective measures and social distancing that COVID-19 has imposed. To date, it has been calculated that almost a fifth of all residents in nursing home in northern Italy have died due to COVID-19, with a mortality of Lombardy nursing homes varying between 10% and 50% of all residents. In some cases, 3-4 guests of a single home died in a single day.

Commentary Open Access

Active involvement of patient representatives in research: roles, tasks, and benefits in a pilot intervention study

A.P. Heijerman-Holtgrefe, L.P. Beljaars, C.W.J. Verdellen, J. M. T. M. van de Griendt, D. Cath, P. J. Hoekstra, C. Huyser, E.M.W.J. Utens

Patient involvement in research and development has been increasingly applied and studied during the last decades. There is rising consensus that collaboration with patients or their representatives (e.g., parents, family members, partners) in co-developing new treatment interventions and participating in treatment studies is beneficial for patients, researchers, and society at large. In studying the feasibility of Tackle your Tics, an innovative treatment program for children with tic disorders, patient representatives played a unique role throughout the research process, performing multiple important tasks from start (co-designing the study, obtaining a grant, developing and leading workshops and parent meetings) to finish (interpretation of the data, providing feedback to the article, giving congress oral presentations).

Commentary Open Access

Post-trauma brain: A commentary on functional brain alterations after trauma and implications to post-traumatic stress disorder

Yana Lokshina, Jony Sheynin, Israel Liberzon

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly debilitating psychiatric condition that develops in a subset of individuals following a traumatic event, such as a threat of death, serious injury or sexual assault. Over the past two decades, substantial body of research has focused on key neural regions and circuits that play a role in pathogenesis and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. More specifically, hyper-activation of amygdala, insula, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, as well as hypo-activation in ventral medial prefrontal cortex and altered function of hippocampus have been repeatedly reported.

Commentary Open Access

Being inspired: What we have learned about picky eating in childhood from using questionnaires on feeding practices and behaviors in a longitudinal birth cohort

Pauline M. Emmett, Caroline M. Taylor

We have made an extensive study of the development of picky eating behavior in childhood, and its effects on diet and growth, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Mothers were recruited during pregnancy in 1991/2 and they and their child have been followed using questionnaires plus measurements at research clinics from infancy onwards. A wealth of information was collected prospectively about feeding the child in their first 1000 days and beyond. Questions were asked at regular intervals about difficulties parents had in feeding their child and how they responded to these difficulties.

Research Article Open Access

Self-evaluation and the personality disorders

Adrian Furnham

In all 502 adults rated their attractiveness, health, IQ and EQ and completed an established measure of the personality disorders (PDs). The self-ratings were highly inter-correlated and a total self-evaluation score was computed. The self-rated score was correlated with the 14 Personality Disorders showing ten significant, mostly negative, correlations. A regression with self-ratings as the criterion variable showed three PDs positively (Histrionic, Narcissistic and Obsessive Compulsive) and two negatively (Depressive and Schizoid) associated with the positive self-evaluation.

Commentary Open Access

Electroconvulsive therapy in the elderly: An update

Justin P. Meyer, Kachikwulu A. Ajulu

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains one of the most effective treatments for depression, catatonia and other conditions. Additionally, it appears to be particularly efficacious in the elderly population. Furthermore, since ‘Electroconvulsive Therapy in Geriatric Psychiatry: A Selective Review’ was previously published there has been additional evidence of not just ECT efficacy in this subset of the population, but also its safety. This commentary will aim to inform others about advances in this uniquely effective treatment consistent with the latest treatment guidelines and evidence. 

Commentary Open Access

Wake up to the benefits of timely management of sleep problems in toddlers with Williams Syndrome

Kate Gwilliam, Anna Joyce, Dagmara Dimitriou

This commentary relates to Gwilliam, Joyce, and Dimitriou and their longitudinal work on sleep problems in toddlers with Williams syndrome (WS). WS is a rare and sporadic genetic disorder caused by a small deletion of genes on chromosome 7. Individuals with WS experience a range of medical and developmental difficulties and sleep disturbances are highly prevalent. The aim, here, is to address why early identification of sleep problems could be beneficial for children with WS and their families.

Commentary Open Access

Negative self-referential emotions and mental health in youth: The importance of self-criticism

Ashra H, Barnes C, Stupple EJN, Maratos FA

There are many measures available that survey positive and negative emotional indicators of wellbeing in children and adolescents. In fact, our work identifies 98 measures, designed to measure negative self-emotions in youth populations. However, only eight of these measures incorporated a negative self-referential emotion item or subscale; that is, an item, or items, where the subject and the reference are directed toward the self in the final measure. This is important because negative self-referential emotions, especially self-criticism, are key antecedents of mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders.