Journal of Mental Health Disorders

A long-standing question in clinical psychology concerns the merits and drawbacks of using diagnostic labels in communication about mental illness. A frequent view is that such labels contribute to mental illness stigma, for example by fostering a categorical view of affected people as part of a distinct out-group. Previous research has found some evidence to support such claims, but results are mixed. 

Since the initial descriptions of Miller Fisher Syndrome (MFS) and Bickerstaff Brainstem Encephalitis (BBE), substantial advancements have refined our understanding of these disorders, highlighting shared features such as anti-GQ1b IgG antibodies, preceding infectious triggers, and overlapping neurophysiological findings. These commonalities support the hypothesis that MFS and BBE are not distinct entities but rather components of a unified autoimmune condition, often referred to as "Fisher-Bickerstaff syndrome." 

In 2024, we published a study named “COVID-19 as a Driver of Professionalization in Work with Families in Germany". The following text is a commentary on this study. It presents key findings and the study's approach but also contextualizes further questions arising from the post-pandemic period. The article presents a comprehensive examination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family support services in Germany.

Though not a mental health professional, I have benefitted from significant training in mental health first aid, and I encounter the challenges of poor mental health on a weekly, if not daily, basis in my role as a Principal (Headteacher) of an English, publicly funded, all-ability high school, a role I have held in several schools over twenty years, together with professorial roles in higher education, both at the University of Notre Dame (USA), London, and St Mary’s University, England. 

Farmers experience high levels of stress, disproportionately high rates of depression and anxiety, and have suicide rates much higher than the general population. The authors and colleagues have examined the unique characteristics of farmers (high time demands, stigma around mental health needs, lack of mental health knowledge and ability to access services) and how suicide prevention and stress management interventions must be shaped to respect farmers’ needs. 

The identification of vulnerable individuals who are or have been subjected to abuse and exploitation is vitally important so that survivors can access the specific help and support to assist them recover from their traumatic experiences. This article considers what the main issues, barriers and challenges are for trafficked victims to be positively identified. It also illustrates how mental health workers can play a significant role in identifying those most likely to become victims of human trafficking and support them effectively. These issues are important and valuable to consider as the selection of aspects of the topics to discuss are pertinent especially in light of the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s mental health.

The Yazidi population has faced systematic persecution, culminating in the 2014 genocide by the so-called Islamic State (IS). This commentary focuses on the impact of collective trauma on Yazidi mental health, focusing on transgenerational trauma, gender-specific experiences, and culturally adapted therapeutic interventions. The discussion highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches that consider cultural and socio-political contexts in the treatment of Yazidi survivors. Addressing these complex mental health challenges requires a holistic framework that integrates psychological, social, and legal support mechanisms.

This commentary deals with our publication from 12.2024, entitled “Early Detection and Treatment Options for Psychosis in Transition from Childhood to Adolescence: A Review About Three Decades of Psychiatric Clinical Experience”. The article delves into the complex relationship between substance abuse and psychosis, focusing on the critical role of early detection, family involvement, and continuous monitoring in managing psychosis, particularly during the transition from childhood to adolescence.

This commentary is based on the author’s chapter entitled “The Future of Embedded Mental/Behavioral Health in the Military” in the recently published book Embedded Behavioral Health in the Military: A Guide for Behavioral Health Officers and Leaders. This commentary expands on the book chapter’s discussion of the value and effectiveness of embedded mental health (EMH). In this commentary, the author presents reasons why the ultimate measure of effectiveness of EMH is to return Service members to duty in direct support of the warfighting readiness mission.

This article introduces and attempts to summarize some descriptive clinical-medical aspects of the autism condition. The purpose is to give a common knowledge base of what are pathological symptoms, characteristics of autism and secondary and related pathologies. In this picture, it will become clear that no symptom is single or isolated but the damage concerns a circuit, a higher function, a more complex system. Focusing on one aspect, one symptom and a single set of symptoms distracts from a general, overall picture. We have chosen not to unify them in order to also allow an articulated understanding of the characteristic, symptomatological, and psychological-emotional picture.

The article aims to show that a social perspective on addiction as a disease in the sense of a bio-psycho-social understanding of health and disease can meaningfully broaden the often medical view of addiction problems and contribute to addressing addiction as a social problem in a way that reduces stigma.

This author’s contribution, “Clinical Interventions to Empower Older Women” drew on topical research related to older women’s mental health and offered concrete directions for mental health clinicians to explore with older women. This commentary offers an update on the last ten years of research in this area and focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the landscape of older women’s mental health needs and related clinical and non-clinical interventions.

This commentary builds upon Chapter 18 of The Nurses’ Guide to Psychotherapy, which discusses the importance of training, supervision, and theoretical grounding for nurses and clinicians practicing differing types of psychotherapy. While the original chapter introduces the Y Model of Psychotherapy as a way to conceptualize core therapeutic skills and continues on to introduce the Y Model Restructured: Structured and Unstructured Therapies, adapted from Goldberg & Plakun (2013), this commentary offers a novel contribution: the Expanded Y Model.

Frequent users of the emergency department (ED) are a small percentage of ED patients but account for a large percentage of visits. Given the cost to the health care system, it is important to explore strategies to prevent unnecessary visits. A prospective chart review of frequent users diagnosed with psychiatric illness in Emergency and Crisis services at one hospital was conducted. Detailed analysis was also completed on the subgroup of these patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and/or self-harming behaviors to determine the impact of two models of psychiatric care on subsequent crisis or ED visits in the year after the index visit.

While in some European countries half of the population dies in nursing homes, this is the exception in African countries, especially since there are only a few nursing homes there. This is not only due to the significantly lower proportion of people over 65 years of age mentioned above, but above all to the willingness of the African extended family to look after the mother and father at home, even outdoors 'in the sacred palm grove' of the village. 

This article provides a commentary on the study conducted by Al Subhi et al. [1], in this special issue on mental health disorders. Al Subhi et al., provide concise summaries of the literature in the field of design thinking. This encompasses methodologies such as a user-centric framework. In general, literature is contrasted and extracts valuable methodological knowledge that is necessary for the implementation of dynamic processes in health institutes.