Since gambling opportunities expanded over the last four decades, gambling, including pathological and problem gambling, has received increased attention from clinicians and researchers worldwide.

Prevalence of gambling disorders varies according to the screening instruments, measurement used as well as accessibility of gambling opportunities but it is believed that gambling disorders affect 0.2–5.3% of adults worldwide. In addition, considering that the gambling disorders are highly comorbid with other substance use and mental health disorders, for both the causes and treatment implications of this disorder a further understanding is needed.

This research has been conducted at the Addiction and Psychotrauma Department of the Insula County Hospital over a period of two months on a sample of 150 people using a questionnaire that was distributed to patients whose primary diagnosis was substance use disorder but did not have a diagnosed gambling addiction with the aim of early detection of it.

Substance abuse may include minimizing one’s use, hiding other comorbid addictions including gambling, and an underestimation of the effect one’s use has on life areas as well as family members.

This article highlights the prevalence of comorbid unrecognised pathological gambling in substance use disorders, but also reviews definition, clinical similarities and differences and treatment approaches.

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To reduce Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mortality and morbidity, widely available oral COVID-19 treatments are urgently needed. Certain antidepressants, such as fluvoxamine or fluoxetine, may be beneficial against COVID-19.

The main objective was two-fold: (i) to test the hypothesis that the prevalence of antidepressant use in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 would be lower than in patients with similar characteristics hospitalized without COVID-19, and (ii) to examine, among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, whether antidepressant use is associated with reduced 28-day mortality. Our secondary aim was to examine whether this potential association could only concern specific antidepressant classes or molecules, is dose-dependent, and/or only observed beyond a certain dose threshold.

We included 388,945 adult inpatients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at 36 AP–HP (Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris) hospitals from 2 May 2020 to 2 November 2021. We compared the prevalence of antidepressant use at admission in a 1:1 ratio matched analytic sample with and without COVID-19 (N = 82,586), and assessed its association with 28-day all-cause mortality in a 1:1 ratio matched analytic sample of COVID-19 inpatients with and without antidepressant use at admission (N = 1482) (Figure 1).

Antidepressant use was significantly less prevalent in inpatients with COVID-19 than in a matched control group of inpatients without COVID-19 (1.9% versus 4.8%; Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.38; 95%CI = 0.35–0.41, p < 0.001) (Figure 2). Antidepressant use was significantly associated with reduced 28-day mortality among COVID-19 inpatients (12.8% versus 21.2%; OR = 0.55; 95%CI = 0.41–0.72, p < 0.001), particularly at daily doses of at least 40 mg fluoxetine equivalents (Figure 3). Antidepressants with high FIASMA (Functional Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase) activity seem to drive both associations.

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Antidepressant use is associated with a reduced likelihood of hospitalization in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and with a reduced risk of death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. These associations were stronger for molecules with high FIASMA activity. These findings posit that prospective interventional studies of antidepressants with the highest FIASMA activity may be appropriate to help identify variant-agnostic, affordable, and scalable interventions for outpatient and inpatient therapy of COVID-19.

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In the Ituri region of eastern DRC, Djugu territory has been the epicenter of violent clashes in 2020 and significant displacement since 2017. An initial assessment conducted by Action Contre la Faim (ACF) in January 2021 showed a significant level of psychological distress among 85% of respondents. Following this finding, an emergency response was proposed with the aim of contributing to the improvement of the psychological state of men, women, boys and girls affected by displacement and conflict while strengthening their psychological resilience. As part of this response, prior to the intervention, the NGO conducted a study on the representations of mental health and psychosocial needs as well as locally existing support mechanisms.

The study aimed to better understand the cultural dimension of the perception of mental health and psychological suffering as well as the use of traditional care or support systems. This will allow for better adaptation of clinical approaches to psychosocial intervention as well as the identification of risks incurred by communities in the context of mental health programming, in a context of inter-community tensions, and the development of mitigation measures, co-constructed with the targeted communities.

An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the local perception of mental health issues and pre-existing community support mechanisms was conducted using a mixed methodology. A quantitative approach was used to estimate the prevalence of psychological/psychiatric pathologies present in the intervention area and relate it to known data in the country. This was complemented by qualitative data collection including semi-structured interviews with key informants and focus group discussions with community members (adult men and women) as well as health workers, legal and customary authorities, religious leaders, community leaders, traditional practitioners, humanitarian actors, etc.

12 interviews, 8 focus group discussions and 316 questionnaires confirmed the high rates of distress in the community surveyed.

The cultural representations of mental suffering were better understood (i.e. the origin of suffering and mental illness is exogenous and a spiritual cause is often evoked: witchcraft, curse, divine punishment). Resilience factors (the most resilient would be children and women) and local support mechanisms have been identified, notably in religious leaders.

A very strong group cohesion and solidarity was highlighted.

This study helped to understand the issues related to a mental health care and psychosocial support proposal. This type of study is fundamental to culturally adapting care in humanitarian aid contexts. Concrete details of adaptation will be presented as an example.

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Depression has been described very comprehensively and is a highly prevalent mental condition. However, how its features develop and clinical course shape remains not fully understood.

The study aimed to compare mRNA characteristics between specific symptoms and identification of differently expressed genes (DEGs) in patients with depression with specifiers such as loss of appetite, loss of weight, sleep disturbances and psychomotor retardation.

Material and method we used was transcriptome profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 30 patients diagnosed with depressive episode in course bipolar or unipolar affective disorder. The blood samples were drawn during acute depressive episode with at least moderate severity. The diagnosis and specific symptoms were described according to ICD-10 and DSM5 criteria using SCID-I, OPCRIT, and HDRS. Agilent microarrays were used for transcriptome profiling and GeneSpring software was applied. Minimal fold change 2 and significant p-value <0.05 were assumed. DAVID and KEGG databases were searched.

Comparing depressed patients with and without decreased appetite or weight loss revealed 718 DEGs. When compared depressed patients with and without psychomotor retardation, 95 genes were up- or down regulated. In both comparisons DEGs were not identified as significant according to DAVID and KEGG database. When considering weight loss of more than 2 kg per month, 418 DEGs were identified. According to searched databases only one, characterized with phosphoserine phosphatase activity, was indicated as having a significant role in molecular functioning. The most numerous list of DEGs (n=855) was found when compared depressed patients with and without insomnia. Among these genes, several were indicated as significant for biological processes and cellular components: those linked with response to oxygen-compound, cytoplasmic and secretory vesicles and granules and circulatory system.

Numerous genes are differently expressed in depression with specific clinical features, such as appetite and sleeping disturbances, but their role in pathology remains unclear. One might expect that secretory and circulation activity is involved.

This research was funded by the National Science Center, Poland (Grant No: 2016/23/B/NZ5/02634) and supported by the Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland (Statute sources: 502-20-22196440).

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Adolescence presents itself as a phase of life marked by rapid changes produced by different social contexts and in many cases, it can be configured in a stressful situation. The development of a psychosocial support network is of fundamental importance for adolescents to cope with the pressures of life in challenging situations. Many students, especially living in poor communities, face school problems especially because the curriculum fails to provide relevant knowledge to students in a way it can be meaningful and easier to be taught by teachers and learned by students. When students fail at school usually, they tend to blame themselves and as a result they may develop anxiety, social isolation and even depression.

Through the Bioecological Theory of Human Development, we sought to understand the psychosocial support networks of adolescents, whether or not experiencing school problems, considering this to be a challenging event.

In this research it was used the Five Fields Map, an instrument that evaluated the psychosocial support network for adolescents. The students with and without school problems filled the map in the beginning of the year and then at the end of the same year while facing a school problem as repeating the whole year because of insufficient grades.

The number of relationships between students facing and not facing school problems was not different, however, failing students had fewer relationships in the school-church Mesosystem, fewer relationships in the second and third levels in the first and second moments of data collection, and more relationships in level 5 in the second moment.

Both group of students showed great strength of proximity in their psychosocial support networks, indicating that it provided sufficient support so that the outcome of the failure experience was positive.

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Autism spectrum disorder is a heterogeneous group of disorders that affects virtually every population, regardless of their ethnic or socioeconomic origin. The pathogenesis of ASD is probably multifactorial, based on interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Their key elements are disorders in the field of social communication, establishing and maintaining relationships and the so-called stereotypical and repetitive patterns of interests and activities. However, of the above- mentioned symptoms, the most important are communication disorders, which are the basis for many of the functional difficulties observed in these patients.

The aim of the presented study was to analyze the clinical picture of social cognition deficits in males with autism spectrum disorders, and to link its elements with the frequency of alleles of selected polymorphisms within the OXTR and AVPR1A genes.

The study included 132 people, 77.5% of whom were male (n = 100). 113 participants (85.6%) were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders confirmed by the ADOS-2 test conducted by a certified diagnostician. In this group, men constituted 76.1% of the population (n = 77). The remaining 28 people did not have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, and in the ADOS-2 study they obtained the result below the cut-off level. The mean age in the whole group was 14.4 years (95% CI: 13.92-14.93).

A higher frequency of the rs53576 A allele and the rs10877969 C allele could be observed than expected on the basis of the European / world population. In the case of the rs7294536 and rs2254298 polymorphisms, no differences in the distribution of alleles in relation to the expected values were observed. In the network analysis reference allele (T) of SNPs rs10877969 was linked to the higher outcome of the “social affect” domain of ADOS-2 and through it influenced ADOS-2 outcome. All other SNPs did not significantly affect neither domain of ADOS-2. Reference allele (A) of rs53576 was linked with higher odds ratio of clinical diagnosis of ASD in logistic regression. Similarly the rs10877969 polymorphism within the AVPR1a gene significantly shaped the risk of autism spectrum disorders, while in the combined analysis with rs7294536 within the haplotype, the observed effect was significantly stronger.

The studied polymorphisms may constitute an element of larger haplotypes which, depending on the number of mutated alleles, may determine the severity of autism spectrum traits, from the neurotypical population, through people with a broad autism phenotype, to people diagnosed with ASD. Further research is required on the potential clinical application of genotype analysis of the studied polymorphisms and on the exact mechanism of their impact on the risk of ASD and the development of social cognition disorders.

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Globally, children are abused sexually. It physically and mentally strains society. Abusers can develop eating problems and non-suicidal self-harm. Emotion regulation links purging, NSSI, and abusive situations. We examined 80 13-20-year-olds, 62.5% of whom had CSA, and 30 healthy controls. Victims were given the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, an eating disorders clinical interview, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale to assess emotion dysregulation, the Self-punishment Scale to assess NSSI, the Mini-Kid for children under 18 and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID I) for those 18 and older. 62.5 percent have CSA. CSA was connected to emotional dysregulation. Alexithymia is connected with problems describing and identifying feelings and outside oriented thinking. CSA patients exhibited severe self-punishment symptoms, greater than controls. Kids and teens often have CSA.

to look into the link between CSA and NSSI, as well as Alexithymia, emotional eating, and emotion dysregulation.

We interviewed 80 mental outpatients from October to February 2019. 30% of healthy controls have CSA. Participants were 10–24-year-olds without PTSD or ASD. Mini-Kid is a 10- to 18-year-old neuropsychiatric interview (Sheehan et al., 1998), Self-injury scale measures non-suicidal self-harm (NSSI), Problems (DERS; Bjureberg et al., 2016) TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA QUESTIONNAIRE (Bagby et al., 1994). The Eating disorders clinical interview (Kutlesic et al., 1998)

Table.Describing the difference between control group and patients’ group regarding self- punishment scale.

CSA survivors had higher rates of self-injury, emotional eating, alexithymia, and emotional dysregulation than healthy controls. CSA victims should be evaluated for non-self-injury, emotional dysregulation, and emotional eating.

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We report here our experience of treating hallucinations (auditory, visual, sensorial) using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), along with medications. Our experience goes towards the conclusion that diagnosis is usually made prior to medical treatment of symptoms with high doses of neuroleptic drugs.

Our aim was to make a clear difference between hallucinations which need high doses of neuroleptics for cure and hallucinations that could respond to lesser drug treatment associated with CBT.

Our method was based on individual sessions of CBT.

Our behavioural-cognitive method yielded high success rates as evidenced by thorough investigation into patients’ medical record including past medical history, prior drug use and life-threatening events.

This work is preliminary to a follow-up with the rigorous method for evaluation.

Further, we aim to promote out-patient follow-ups in our unit after a very short inpatient assessment and treatment.

Our therapeutic approach is now approved by our team and new patients are currently being included.

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Dementia - one of the most common diseases in old age - is often only diagnosed at a late stage. Therefore patients with dementia have often a 1.4 to 3.6 times greater risk of treatment as an inpatient. Consequently it is highly relevant within the caring system to identify and treat the onset of dementia at the earliest possible opportunity.

Part of a new treatment center, a psychiatric clinic in the Hanover area (Wahrendorff) has concentrated on treating patients with a mild or moderate form of Alzheimer’s disease as early as possible on an outpatient basis. The method of transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS®) is used. Acoustic pulses generated outside the body are introduced specifically into the brain regions requiring treatment. The aim being the release of growth factors and an improvement in cerebral blood flow, as a means to maintaining and promoting cognitive performance for as long as possible. The poster contribution shows reports from clinicians, patients and relatives, using TPS®. The development of cognitive performance in the course of treatment is also considered.

The data collection for the quantitative study design will take place at the clinic in the period from 06/2021 to 10/2022 (N planned = 60). Cognitive performance is recorded using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA test) and the experience reports via interview.

Results of repeated measurement and analysis of the variance in terms of cognitive performance (MoCA test, baseline and follow-up measures) are presented. Field reports are considered and the suitability of TPS® as a method for treating the symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease is discussed in the form of a best-practice example.

Field reports are considered and the suitability of TPS® as a method for treating the symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease is discussed in the form of a best-practice example.

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Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a qualitative deficit in social interaction, engagement, and behavior. The DIR/Floortime model is one of the ways of intervention and is based on the child’s Functional Development, Individual differences, and Relationships. It aims to build the foundation for the social, emotional, and intellectual skills of children, instead of having the focus only on isolated behaviors. The model was developed by Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder in the United States and is the result of many years of observations and studies on child development since the 1950s. In the 1980s, they unified knowledge from several related studies on child development and mental health and recognized the importance of relationships and affection for learning. One of the considerations of the DIR/Floortime model on children with autism is the individual profile, that is, their individual differences (the I of the DIR). Each child has a unique way of perceiving the world (sight, sounds, touch) and responding to it. They may have difficulties in processing or responding to sensory information. Their individual differences need to be well known so that we can draw up a therapeutic plan to obtain the best developmental evolution.

Recognize and analyze the individual differences of each child, so that the appropriate therapeutic plan can be traced for the development of their potential.

Participated in the study 63 children with ASD, 12 girls (19%) and 51 boys (81%). Global Development Assessment questionnaires were used, based on the FEDC and the FEAS scale of the DIR/Floortime.

All 63 children presented sensory alterations such as proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular search or hyper-reactivity, directly impacting abilities such as visuospatial processing and motor planning. In addition, 85% of children have low body tone. Regarding the sensory need for visual search, presented by 86% of the children, as well as the vestibular (90%), a recommended therapeutic strategy is mapping the place, with fewer objects. The therapist needs to be in a fixed position and maintain a pleasant, lower tone of voice. The routine framework for motor and action planning, anticipating, and giving the necessary waiting time for the child to get organized. Motor circuits can also help to work with the tone, as well as with praxis.

The DIR/Floortime model aims to make the child develop the ability to interact meaningfully and connect with the outside world. The individual differences of the child need to be known so that this work can take place effectively and so that the therapist can better organize the therapy, providing the best development for the child.

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HuPoTest is a mental test and training procedure as well discovered incidentally in 1967 during developing color photos in complete dark in successive baths for seconds. I observed that I was able to count seconds mentally with high repeatability. I was curious to check my skill by comparing my count with a commercial stopwatch with the help of another person. The results were very interesting, so I extending progressively this experiment to other persons and I was able to establish the correlation between more and more calculated parameters with the particular psychic patterns of the persons under test (PUT). In fact, HuPoTest is a calibration of personal mental-timer compared to a standard stopwatch. I test myself periodically and the results are published (Dragan, GDF Databanks Bull., 2021; 25(6), 1-4).

Study of a large variety and number of systems in transformation revealed their composite structure, namely these have one component in transformation (Ctr) and an inert one (Cin) (Dragan, GDF Databanks Bull., 2011; 15(2), 1-19).This is the case of the human mind which is in permanent transformation, i.e. in continuous more or less coherent thinking. HuPoTest can establish the size of Ctr, Cin, ctr – the size of kinetic unit constituting Ctr and the coupling strength (CS) between Ctr and Cin.

PUT has to count mentally 5, 10, 15 and 20 seconds for 8-10 times each value by using a standard stopwatch and comparing the statistically retrieved matrix of measured values with the above mentioned imposed standard values. I was able to test face-to-face approximately 4000 persons during more than 50 years by collecting a huge databank. I explained in many publications the exact procedure, the majority of calculations and the significance of the resulted parameters by correlating the obtained results with the PUT mental pattern (Dragan, GDF Databanks Bull., 2019; 23(1) 1-6).

The final results obtained by myself in the period of 28.05 – 03.07.2022 (A to CII) with overall of 48 tests are presented in attached figures by using a standard stopwatch created by Mihai Dornea developer at National Instruments on LabView® platform with an accuracy of 10 μs. Four distinct behaviors are revealed showing the good evolution of mind by decreasing Ctr and CS and increasing ctr by correct and continuous training.

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HuPoTest is a highly efficient test and mental training procedure as well applied periodically in view to achieve a good and stable mental performance ensuring also a stable and good body health according to the well known quotations “sound mind in sound body” and "mind is the builder and body is the temple”. Such mental training becomes absolutely necessary taking into account that the survivors of the already started global war culminating at around 2035 will be persons with properly trained minds. I am available without any obligation for help anyone willing to try and practice HuPoTest.

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Relapse prevention is critical because psychopathology and functionality can worsen in patients with schizophrenia because the repeated episodes and we have strong evidence of antipsychotics efficacy for relapse prevention, but nonadherence rates in patients with schizophrenia are very high, even in comparison with other illness. The literature speaks of average rates of 42% in schizophrenia. For that, long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are considered important treatment option, but they are underutilized (Taipale et al. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2017; 44, 1381–1387) (Garcia et al. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2016; 36(4)355-371).

There is extensive clinical trial evidence for the use of paliperidone palmitate 1-month (PP1M) and paliperidone palmitate 3-month (PP3M) formulations for maintaining treatment continuity and preventing relapses and risk of hospitalizations in patients with schizophrenia. (Najarian et al. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2022; 25(3) 238-251).

Paliperidone palmitate 6-month (PP6M) formulation is a presentation that provides a dosing interval of once every six months. It is the first and only antipsychotic to be administered twice a year.

The principal aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of the PP6M in people with non-acute schizophrenia in a naturalistic psychiatric outpatient setting

Sample: 22 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (DSM 5 criteria) that started treatment with PP6M after being stabilized with PP1M (N:10) or PP3M (N:12) (the treatment dose was not changed in the four months before study inclusion)

The mean dose of PP6M was 822.727 mg

Bimonthly, the following evaluations were performed during a follow-up period of 4 months:

The Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia scale (CGI-SCH)

Treatment adherence, concomitant medication, adverse events and the number of hospitalizations and emergency visits

Efficacy values: Percentage of patients who remained free of admissions at the end of 4months of follow-up.

Other evaluation criteria: Percentage of patients who never visited the emergency department at the end of 4 months of follow-up, average change from baseline visit to the final evaluation as assessed by score obtained on the following scale: GSI-SCH, treatment adherence rate and tolerability.

The percentage of patients who remained free of admissions at the end of the 4 months was 100% and the percentage of patients who never visited the emergency department at the end of 4 months was 100 %

Mean variations from baseline scores at 4 months were: (-0.21 ±0.31) on the GCI-SCH.

The rate of adherence to treatment with PP6M after 4 months was 100%.

Tolerability was good. None of the patients experienced an adverse event.

In our study, we found that short-term treatment with paliperidone palmitate 6-month formulation is effective and well tolerated in clinical practice conditions

None Declared

The EXPERIENCE project aims to enable the creation and sharing of extended-personal realities in virtual reality (VR). Currently, software and hardware technology are under development, that will automatically generate VR environments based on neurophysiological, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral data to support not only the recording of personal experiences but the transmission as well to another user. Potential use cases include enhanced treatment and the assessment of symptom severity of affective disorders.

The objective is to design and create a virtual reality environment that enables the identification of between-group differences in behavioral measures when comparing depressed and healthy-control participants.

We conducted a literature review to identify measures that can be implemented in VR and have the potential to show differences between depressed and healthy-control participants. PubMed and ResearchGate databases were screened to identify potential cognitive tasks. A selection protocol was developed considering effect size, homogeneity of results, risk for cybersickness, cognitive demand, domain heterogeneity, and VR compatibility to choose 4 out of the 47 initial tasks. In addition to the cognitive tasks, behavior measures were considered as well and a virtual environment has been equipped to assess (1) exploratory behavior; (2) engagement with emotionally valenced stimuli (via eye-tracking); (3) metacognitive sensitivity, (4) persistence/grit, and (5) possible effects of mood induction.

Based on the above review, a virtual environment has been developed which is composed of four rooms and a hallway where the starting point is. After an initial tutorial on how the environment/controllers work participants are free to explore and instructions are only provided for the specific cognitive tasks which have to be solved to open the doors and move between rooms. The rooms are equipped with numerous interactive objects and images with varying emotional valence. The engagement with the environment and general activity are continuously recorded and can be retrieved for analyses after participants exit the environment.

If the controlled VR environment will be proven effective for the assessment of depressive symptoms in future studies, the EXPERIENCE system could incorporate direct and objective behavioral measures into the assessment depressive symptoms. Consequently, the system has the potential to support the clinical diagnosis of affective disorders.

The EXPERIENCE project is funded by the European Commission H2020 Framework Program with the Grant No. 101017727.

None Declared

Depression is one of the most common chronic illnesses. It requires long-term multidisciplinary care, combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. Hence the need for an educational approach to improve the quality of life of these patients.

Our objective is to create a personalized educational program for patients followed for depression allowing them to acquire the necessary skills to become autonomous in the management of their pathologies on a daily basis.

The therapeutic education program is aimed at patients followed for depression and their families. Our team is multidisciplinary made up of a psychiatrist, a nurse and a dietitian. The educational tools are rich and varied, including computerized resources, written information, brochures and educational games.

The first step is the educational diagnosis which allows to identify the personalized needs of the patient. The caregiver-educator sets with the patient the objectives to be achieved throughout the course, thus defining the educational contract. Then the patient and his entourage can follow a personalized therapeutic patient education program. We offer a program consisting of 7 sessions at the rate of one session per one to two months (2 individual sessions and 5 group workshops). At the end of the program, evaluation and self-evaluation grids are completed.

Therapeutic patient education provides knowledge through which patients with depression develop personal and interpersonal coping skills. This program will allow them to give an acceptable place to their disease so that they can evolve well with it.

None Declared

In this third session of our motivational interviewing workshop, we address the art of persuasion and what to do and not do in the clinical setting. The change process in a motivational interviewing setting is based on collaborative principles between the patient and the therapist and is not imposed. We show examples of what to do and not to do with the previously learned techniques.

None Declared

Little is known about the perceived acceptability and usefulness of supports that adolescents have accessed following self-harm, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We aimed to examine the utilisation and acceptability of formal, informal, and online support accessed by adolescents following self-harm before and during the pandemic.

Cross-sectional survey (OxWell) of 10,560 secondary school students aged 12-18 years in the south of England. Information on self-harm, support(s) accessed after self-harm, and satisfaction with support received were obtained via a structured, self-report questionnaire. No tests for significance were conducted.

1,457 (12.5%) students reported having ever self-harmed and 789 (6.7%) reported self-harming during the first national lockdown. Informal sources of support were accessed by the greatest proportion of respondents (friends: 35.9%; parents: 25.0%). Formal sources of support were accessed by considerably fewer respondents (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: 12.1%; psychologist/ psychiatrist: 10.2%; general practitioner: 7.4%). Online support was accessed by 8.6% of respondents, and 38.3% reported accessing no support at all. Informal sources of support were rated as most helpful, followed by formal sources, and online support. Of the respondents who sought no support, 11.3% reported this as being helpful.

More than a third of secondary school students in this sample did not seek any help following self-harm. The majority of those not seeking help did not find this to be a helpful way of coping. Further work needs to determine effective ways of overcoming barriers to help-seeking among adolescents who self-harm and improving perceived helpfulness of the supports accessed.

None Declared

The glutamatergic system plays an important role in the neurobiology of schizophrenia. A lot of number of variants in the GRIN genes have been found in patients with various neuropsychiatric disorders (Myers et al. F1000Res 2019; 8(F1000 Faculty Rev) 1940). GluN2A, encoded by the GRIN2A gene, is the most abundant of the GluN2 NMDA receptor subunits in the mammalian CNS. Clinical symptoms of schizophrenia vary among individuals. The GRIN2A gene has previously been shown to be associated with early onset schizophrenia (Poltavskaya et al. Life (Basel) 2021; 11(10) 997).

The aim of the study was to identify associations of the GRIN2A gene rs11644461 polymorphism with features of the course of schizophrenia.

This study was carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki 1975). 805 patients with schizophrenia (ICD-10: F20) were included. Clinical examination and diagnostic evaluation were performed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). From the general group of patients, 2 subgroups were distinguished according to the PANSS survey: 391 patients with leading negative symptoms and 414 patients with leading positive symptoms. Also 2 subgroups were distinguished from the general group of patients: 398 patients with a continuous course of schizophrenia and 257 patients with episodic schizophrenia. Genotyping was performed by real-time PCR.

An association of the C rs11644461 GRIN2A allele with the continuous course of schizophrenia was revealed (p<0,047). The rs11644461 polymorphism was not associated with the leading symptoms of the disease (positive or negative). At the same time, the values of the total score on the PANSS scale differed statistically significantly in carriers of different genotypes for this polymorphism. The sum of PANSS scores (Me [Q25 – Q75]) in carriers of the TC rs11644461 genotype was statistically significantly higher (106 [92–113]) than in carriers of the CC genotype (101 [87–108]) (p=0.006).

According to the results obtained, carriers of the TC rs11644461 GRIN2A genotype have a higher severity of schizophrenia symptoms according to the PANSS scale than carriers of the CC genotype. Also in the present study, it was shown that the C allele rs11644461 GRIN2A is associated with the continuous course of schizophrenia, which indicates the contribution of this locus to the formation of the course of the disease.

E. Poltavskaya Grant / Research support from: Russian Science Foundation # 21-15-00212, O. Fedorenko Grant / Research support from: Russian Science Foundation # 21-15-00212, E. Kornetova Grant / Research support from: Russian Science Foundation # 21-15-00212, I. Pozhidaev Grant / Research support from: Russian Science Foundation # 21-15-00212, D. Paderina Grant / Research support from: Russian Science Foundation # 21-15-00212

Central nervous system (CNS) tumours are the most common type of solid tumour in the paediatric population. Although advances in treatment have improved survival rates, there is a substantial body of literature documenting the potential long-term effects such as psychological, neurocognitive and health-related sequelae experienced by survivors of paediatric brain tumours. TMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that uses electrical stimuli applied to the cranial surface to restore neuronal connections damaged because of CNS disruption (Burke et. al., 2019).

To test the efficacy of TMS in a patient diagnosed with a CNS tumour who reported pain and suffered severe cognitive-behavioural alterations refractory to other pharmacological treatments.

Case Presentation. A 12-year-old boy diagnosed with a hypothalamic-pituitary tumour at the age of 9, having received surgical treatment, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He suffered loss of vision, cognitive-behavioural and emotional sequelae, and pain, for which he received various pharmacological treatments without benefit. Treatment. The patient underwent a total of 25 sessions where each session took 20 minutes to complete for 3 sessions per week. TMS intervention consisted of 1200 inhibitory magnetic pulses with a frequency of 1hz on right DLPFC at an intensity of 110% of resting motor threshold. Stimulations were carried out using a Magventure MagPro X100 equipment with a double-cone coil. The clinical assessment included The Silhouettes Fatigue Scale (PHQ-9), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), verbal subtests of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children, SDSC

In the post-treatment clinical interview with the family, qualitative changes included a decrease in subjective complaints of pain and fatigue. The family reported that the child stopped sleeping tied up after the intervention and a significant change in slowness was observed, which was accompanied by a higher level of awareness and consequently a slight improvement at the behavioural level, which at the present time does allow for psychological intervention. The psychometric results were clinically improved for psychomotor activity, sleep, emotional alterations, and all cognitive domains.

25 sessions of TMS in the right DLPFC could show beneficial effects on pain, fatigue, cognition, health and sleep variables in patients with drug-resistant sequelae derived from CNS tumours. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine whether the effects observed after TMS intervention in paediatric patients with CNS diseases are significant.

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Therapeutic alliance is the key to ensure adequate and sustainable care in psychiatry.

The therapeutic alliance has been the subject of a great deal of psychotherapy research, and evidence from numerous empirical studies suggests that a strong patient-therapist relationship predicts favorable treatment outcomes and continues to be regarded as an important aspect of the therapeutic process

The purpose of this studie is to evaluate how the development of therapeutic alliance dimensions was associated with srelapses prevention.

This is a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study, carried out in the department of addictology at Ar-razi hospital in Salé using a therapeutic alliance measurement scale, and evaluating relapses’ frequency and duration of abstinence. The therapeutic alliance (TA) score was measured using Working Alliance Inventory.

The results call upon the concepts of anomie and attachment, which seem to play an important role in the follow-up and prevention of relapses, indicating the need for a global approach to care and the involvement of health and social professionals, where empathy must find its place.

Decades of psychotherapy research suggest that the strength of the relationship between patient and therapist is a common factor that is associated with treatment response. In the context of relapses specifically, most of the studies reviewed found evidence for a significant alliance-outcome relationship.

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Balancing career and family is a hard job for everyone. Academic life with multiple and conflicting demands on our time necessitates prioritizing among responsibilities. This resonates especially for a woman academic who takes care of a baby. The speaker will address specific challenges of mothers who are in both academia and clinical practice, give reflections and elaborate on patterns and ways of dealing with this challenge. The talk is hoped to promote awareness and discussion on addressing the inner and outer sources and planning one’s own way on a career path.

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