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Volume 5, Issue 1, p1-60
Articles published in this issue are Open Access and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY NC) where the readers can reuse, download, distribute the article in whole or part by mentioning proper credits to the authors.
Beyond Case Vignettes: Do Diagnostic Labels Affect How Symptoms of Mental Illness are Perceived?
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p1-14 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.030Expanding Horizons in Anti-GQ1b Antibody Syndrome: Recognizing Atypical and Overlap Forms
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."
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p15-21 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.031Navigating Crisis: The Transformative Impact of COVID-19 on Family Support Services in Germany
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p22-29 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.032English School Principals’ Reflections on Hostility in the Community in the COVID and Post-COVID Era: A Comment
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p30-34 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.033Suicide Prevention and Stress Management in Farmers: The Overlooked Role of Farm Finances
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p35-39 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.034The Mental Health Considerations Within the Difficulties Associated with Identifying Victims of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p40-46 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.035Mental Health and Collective Trauma among Yazidi Genocide Survivors
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p47-49 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.036Substance Abuse and Psychosis
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p50-55 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.037Measuring the Effectiveness of Navy Embedded Mental Health: Supporting Warfighting Readiness
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.
J Ment Health Disord, 2025, Volume 5, Issue 1, p56-60 | DOI: 10.33696/mentalhealth.5.038Measuring the Impact of Stressors through Self-reporting on the Temporal Nature of How Perceived Stress Emerges and Dissipates
Chronic stress exposure is linked to health and performance deficits including mental disorders, chronic diseases, and metabolic conditions. Stress management is an active process of coping with internal or external stressors to prevent or dampen biological and psychological strain
Interviewing Techniques for Patients with Intellectual Disability
Levels of Intellectual Disability and Categories of Communicative Skills When conducting a patient interview, it is crucial to understand the individuals’ level of ID as well as their expressive language skills in order to communicate effectively
“All the lonely people, where do they all belong?”
Loneliness is a distressing experience perceived as isolation and rejection. It has been recognized as a social problem throughout the existence of Homo sapiens, and is now considered, in conjunction with social isolation, to be an emergent public health problem affecting all age groups
Educators as Essential Workers in the Era of COVID-19: Applying Lessons from Disaster Recovery
In the article, “Mental Health Framework: Coronavirus pandemic in post-Katrina New Orleans” [1], Shervington and Richardson offer recommendations about how to anticipate and address disaster-related, trauma exposures associated with the coronavirus pandemic
Commentary: Actioning Community Attachment Parenting Program Review Recommendations
Attachment and mental health have long intersected within research and policy [1]. Expressly, attachment relationships developed in the formative years are one of the most influential contributions to longitudinal holistic well-being [2]
A New Adaptive Procedure for Estimating Perceptual Thresholds: The Effects of Observer Bias and Its Correction
Perceptual thresholds might vary due to different variables such as fatigue, fluctuations of attention, or sensory learning [1]. Adaptive threshold estimation procedures are most effective by providing quasi-instantaneous estimates of an otherwise fluctuating sensory threshold.
The Loneliness, Loss and Reflections Set off by COVID-19
“Nothing was as it seemed. I was not as I seemed…I was confronted by the possibility that perhaps the truest thing about me was a coiled identity, my irrealis self, a might-have-been self that never really was but wasn’t unreal for not being and might still be real, though I feared it never would”
Biomedical Gastronomy in the Management of Smell and Taste Disorders
Whether one lives to eat or just eats to live, the consumption, ingestion and digestion of foods and beverages comprise a complex system of intertwined signals and rituals.
Clinical Supervision: Getting It Right!
The article ‘Enablers and barriers to effective clinical supervision in the workplace: a rapid evidence review’ presents evidence from the international literature on effective clinical supervision. The review searched nearly 16000 international publications to answer the question: What makes effective clinical supervision? When in place and done well, clinical supervision has many benefits for the organisation, professional development and patient services.
Personality Functioning: An Opportunity for Treatment Personalization
As the literature shows, the categorical diagnosis of personality has received numerous criticisms. Over the years, authors suggest that personality dysfunction is distributed along a dimensional continuum. Dimensional assessment of personality severity has been included in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Section III, and in the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, where levels of personality functioning are posited to account for personality complexity
Military Training: Does It predispose service personnel to Negative Mental Health Issues?
At initial (basic) training recruits from all services and most nations are subject to an intense environment where they are physically and mentally challenged throughout their waking day. Their civilian experiences and identity are systematically remodeled to fit the requirements of the nation’s services. Most recruits are able to cope with this extreme environment, albeit with some impact on their mental wellbeing, whereas those unable to cope either physically or emotionally are discharged from the Military through medical or administrative procedures.
Technology Use and Mental Health Disorders: Dueling Aspects of Technology as a Problem and a Solution for Mental Health
With artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront of social and cultural discourse [1], it is important to recognize the scope and scale of the impact of technology use on humanbehavior
Maintaining a Focus on Burnout in Medical Students
Burnout in medical students has been a consistent focus of research on stress over the decades. Medical students have been cited as at risk for burnout due to excessive stress, unrealistic expectations, and societal pressures.
Self-Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies during COVID-19 Pandemic among the Students of Kathmandu Metropolitan City
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a global threat. Various factors such as social isolation, perception of disease severity and susceptibility, and frequent exposure to the news have been previously associated with increased levels of perceived stress regarding COVID-19. The choice of coping strategies plays a crucial role in mitigating these effects. Thus, this study aims to assess the perceived stress level and coping strategies among 19-24 age group students during COVID-19.
Team Mindfulness for Healthcare Burnout Reduction
Earlier this year, an editorial by this author was published in the Journal of Mental Health Disorders [1] presenting the case for maintaining a focus on burnout in medical students. Burnout is defined as that point when work becomes unpleasant, unfulfilling, and meaningless—leading to exhaustion, cynicism and ineffectiveness [2].
Handwashing and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder During COVID-19 Concerning Increased Negative Mental Health
COVID-19 has been identified as a virus spread to the respiratory system by minute airborne particles. This method of dispersion is in contrast to its originally anticipated large particle fomite transmission. Although COVID-19 dissemination has been found to be airborne, a continuous health directive to limit contagion during the pandemic was to improve handwashing.
Understanding Anxiety
This study is the first of its kind to diachronically analyze how the use of language surrounding anxiety has changed in each version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Using corpus linguistic technology, the collocations of the word “anxiety” were analyzed and ranked using log dice to determine the strength of associations both within and across each version of this clinical guide.
Commentary on Studies Citing This Author Concerning Doodling as a Measure of Burnout
The ability of doodling to act as an indicator of depression and anxiety regarding research burnout is a topic that has seen the publication of six articles by this author since 2021. This commentary aims to determine the extent to which any of these articles have been cited by subsequent researchers in furthering the literature on doodling. The keywords “C Nash Doodling Burnout” were searched through Google Scholar in February 2024 with 142 returns.
Australian School Based Interventions Addressing Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review
Aim: Prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents is between 3% to 30% worldwide. Since countries differ in geopolitical contexts, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for a coordinated effort to report on local contexts. We aim to address this gap by providing a review of effectiveness of Australian school-based mental health interventions and identifying success factors for school-based implementation.
Combination of Journalism and Psychological Studies: Recommendations for Research on PTSD and Fake News Belief under Natural Disasters
We are writing to express our appreciation for the recent publication of the study titled “PTSD, FOMO and fake news beliefs: a cross-sectional study of Wenchuan earthquake survivors” [1]. This study offers valuable insights into the intricate connections among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fear of missing out (FOMO), and beliefs in fake news. The authors have selected individuals who were affected by the earthquake as a sample to investigate the correlation between FOMO and belief in fake news, which presents a unique and innovative situation.