Sexuality is a growing field in the context of the management of chronic diseases and cancer in particular. Cancer treatments and the traumatic nature of the cancer experience frequently elicit considerable sexual difficulties.

To assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) in patients with cancer, and to determine the associated factors.

This was a cross-sectional study, conducted over 1 month, involving 100 cancer patients followed in the oncology department at the Habib Bourguiba University Hospital in Sfax (Tunisia). General, clinical and therapeutic data were collected using a pre-established questionnaire. Sexual function was assessed with the “Female sexual Function Index” and the “International Index of Erectile Function”.

These results showed that half of the patients were female, and 70% of them were married. Their mean age was 51.96, and 68% of them were unemployed. Unemployment in men and treatment with chemotherapy were statistically associated with erectile dysfunction (p=0.049 and p= 0.001 respectively). treatment with radiotherapy was statistically associated with decreased desire in men (p=0.048). Depression correlated with a decreased orgasm (p=0.032) and erectile dysfunction (p=0.043) in men, mean score of IIEF (p= 0.019) and with a decreased sexual arousal (p=0.006) in women.

Sexual dysfunction is common in cancer patients. They can be of iatrogenic or psychological origin and can depend on the dynamics of the couple relationship. Training to raise awareness of the importance of sexuality first among cancer patients should be considered given the lack of communication between doctors and patients regarding sexuality issues.

No significant relationships.

Mental illness is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, with one in four individuals suffering from a mental health problem. Despite this, only 13% of the NHS budget goes towards treatment of mental illness. It is thus unsurprising that addressing the parity of esteem of mental health has been highlighted as a major priority for the healthcare system, with the NHS Five Year Forward plan aiming to achieve this by 2020.

To explore the barriers to achieving parity of esteem of mental healthcare in the UK and develop recommendations for implementation.

Narrative review of literature and synthesis of findings

Three key barriers to achieving parity of esteem of mental health were identified: the current mental health investment standard (MHIS), medical sub-specialisation, and access to acute day units (ADU). The following recommendations were thus synthesised: to increase the time-period to measure MHIS increments, integrating mental health teaching into specialty training programmes, and increasing the availbility of ADUs to crisis referral teams.

Addressing the disparity between mental and physical health is a major priority for the NHS. This research provides an overview of current barriers and suggests recommendations for improvement. By prioritizing improvement in the MHIS, integrating mental health teaching into specialty training, and increasing access to ADUs, the NHS formulates an excellent founding to achieving the ultimate goal, parity of esteem of mental health.

No significant relationships.

Visual images and music have long been known as a means to optimize emotions (Galeev, 1976; Gotsdiner, 1993). Together (eg in audio-visual slide-films) they may help students and professional cope with the negative side of intensive workloads (fatigue, stress, anxiety).

Our study attempts a multi-level assessment of the relaxation effect of a slide-film as part of student education.

Sample - 46 psychology students. The 20 minute relaxation film was shown after lectures and discussion of a forthcoming examination. Measures: standard psychological and physiological functional state tests and a cognitive task before and after the film (Leonova & Kapitsa, 2003); an original questionnaire revealing individual associations and experiences felt during the film.

The results showed pronounced subjective discomfort and anxiety before the film. The relaxation film resulted in lowered blood pressure, increased subjective comfort, decreased fatigue and acute anxiety, and negative emotion scores, as well as higher productivity in performing the cognitive test (Student t-test, p<0.005-0.001). Concentration on the film subject, as well as the combination of the student’s thoughts and associations around the plot, showed a positive correlation with the amount of relaxation effect.

Our research showed that using the relaxation slide-film (with imagery and music) can provide positive effects on students’ functional state. It also revealed the importance of the relevance of individual experience to the subject of the film to obtain optimal positive effects.

No significant relationships.

Social phobia is frequent comorbidity in schizophrenia. It`s clinical correlates and consequencies for clinical practice in late-onset schizophrenia (LoS) are unclear.

The study aimed to compare clinical correlates and therapeutic options in LoS patient with and without social phobia.

16 LoS patients with social phobia (ICD-11 diagnosis, age 59,6±6,2, 25% males) were compared with 16 LoS patients without social phobia (69,9±10,9, 0% males). Results of clinical assessment (PANSS, HDRS-17), cognitive examination (MMSE, MoCA), CT data were analysed. Type of antipsychotics (conventional\conconventional) was registed, dose of antipsychotics and antidepressants was randed from 1 (low) to 3 (high). Mann-Whitney test and χ2statistic was used.

There was no group differences in age, age manifestation, illness duration, number of psychotic episodes, PANSS and HADRS scores, rates results of cognitive tests, atrophy scores, length of hospital state, types of received antipsychotics. LoS patients with social phobia received more frequently medium and high doses of antipsychotics than LoS patient without social phobia (χ2 (2)=6,432, p=0,040).

Increased doses of antypsychotics in patients with social phobia don`t correlate with severity of psychotic symptoms and nay reflect some treatment resistance as well as misinterpretation of symptoms of social phobia as insufficient retreat of the psychosis. Active detection of social phobia is significant for treatment optimization.

No significant relationships.

Although cancer is a debilitating experience, it can also increase meaning and satisfaction in one’s life.

To investigate the effectiveness of interventions that aim to develop posttraumatic growth among cancer survivors.

Seven databasis were searched for relevant articles published between 2000 and 2020. The findings of randomized controlled trials related to interventions to effect posttraumatic growth of cancer survivors were included. Hedges’ g and 95% confidence intervals were computed to estimate the effect.

The effect of the interventions on posttraumatic growth among cancer survivors were heterogeneous. The effect size was statistically significant (Tables 1,2).Table 1

Posttraumatic growth interventions significantly increased posttraumatic growth among cancer survivors. Health care providers as the main sources of cancer care should be more focused on the achievement of positive outcomes.

No significant relationships.

Working Alliance is defined as the emotional bond and the agreement on therapeutic goals and tasks between patients and therapists. Despite the wide use of the construct of working alliance in research on psychotherapy, few studies have investigated the role of working alliance in influencing adherence to pharmacotherapy, and drug attitude. A deeper knowledge of the interplay between working alliance and drug attitude could help to challenge low adherence to psychopharmacological treatments in Major Depressive Disorder.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between working alliance and drug attitude in patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

27 patients admitted in the Psychiatric Unit of Careggi with diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorders were enrolled. Working Alliance Inventory - patient version (WAI-P), Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) and Beliefs about Medicines (BMQ) were administered. Pearson’s correlation was used to assess relationships between variables.

A significant positive correlation was detected between BMQ total scores, DAI total scores and WAI-P task, bond, and goal subscales.

Such preliminary data suggest a relationship between Working Alliance and drug attitude. This could contribute to provide tools to challenge low adherence to psychopharmacological treatments in patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

No significant relationships.

Clozapine is commonly associated with adverse hematological outcomes. However, incidence of blood dyscrasias in the north African population is scarce.

The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of hematological side effects in a Tunisian sample of clozapine treated patients.

We conducted a retrospective longitudinal chart review of 64 patients on clozapine enrolled in our clozapine consultation between January 1, 2000 and September 2020.

Our sample consisted of 15 women (23.5%) and 49 men (76.5%), mean age was 41.34 ±9.32 years. Patients were diagnosed with schizophrenia in 70.3% of the cases, 7 (10.9%) had a bipolar disorder and 12 (18.8%) had a schizoaffective disorder.We found blood dyscrasias in 21 patients (32.8%). Hematological abnormalities were as follow: 2 cases of agranulocytosis, 8 cases of neutropenia, 13 cases of thrombocytopenia, 5 cases of leukocytosis, 5 cases of eosinophilia and 3 cases of anemia. The incidence rate of hematological side effects was 0.1 case/year- person. The mean clozapine dose at the time of onset of the hematological side effect was 309.52 mg/day(range 25-600 mg/day).The median duration of clozapine treatment prior to developing hematological side effects was 119.71±126.52 days.Clozapine discontinuation was decided in 11 cases due to hematological side effects and reintroduced in 9 cases after normalization of blood count.

This study emphasis on the importance of a regular long-term monitoring of blood count to ensure early detection of hematological side effects.

No significant relationships.

I am co-founder and have shares of VRelax, a company providing VR relaxation software.

Successful adolescence depends on ability to correctly understand emotionally expressive gestures, especially symbolic (same meaning for everyone) and expressive (individual understanding). Presence of an internal mismatch in adolescent’s self-esteem between what he shows in society and what he really feels can lead to difficulties in forming an adequate adult self-esteem.

Adolescents with affective disorders (F31) -12, normal adolescents - 32. Ages 12-17.

Recognition of emotionally expressive movements: postures&gestures (gestures-test), direct self-esteem by Dembo-Rubinstein test and indirect self-esteem by color attitude test by Etkind.

The Mann-Whitney test showed significant differences between samples in terms of self-esteem gap - “mind” (U=270,000, p<0.37), “character” (U=279,000, p<0.20), “happiness” (U=288,000, p<0.01 ), gestures-test “symbolic” (U=301,000, p<0.003), “expressive” (U=292,000, p<0.007), “emotions” (U=109,000, p<0.028). Cluster analysis divided each of groups into two distinct clusters. Normal: Cluster1 small self-esteem gap, good gesture recognition, negative pole of emotions prevails. Cluster2 small self-esteem gap, worse gesture recognition, pole of emotions is closer to positive. Affective: Cluster1 large self-esteem gap in “mind”, good gesture recognition. Cluster2 large self-esteem gap in “character”, good gesture recognition and bright negative pole of emotions.

Gestures recognition in normal group is significantly higher than in affective disorder group. Normal adolescents clusters are distinguished by change in gaps throughout self-esteem and pole of emotional recognition. Affective disorder clusters differ by significant gap in one of self-esteem parameters, as well as in the degree of emotional recognition. Those with the largest “character” gap are more likely to attribute negative emotions to gestures than those with larger “mind” gap.

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.

All healthcare had to rapidly adjust to covid-19; remote options were implemented at pace and unnecessary face to face contact minimised, with infection prevention and control taking primacy. Many research projects were suspended and some clinical researchers moved to frontline care. For psychiatric academic trainees, covid-19 affected recruitment, and risked delaying work on research degrees such as PhDs, potentially beyond the timeframe of a grant, leading to funding uncertainties. Those valuable casual conversations with senior colleagues in the café stopped and with many schools closed, parents had extra pressures on their time at home. In the UK the government prioritised “Urgent Public Health” (UPH) studies and took a co-ordinated approach to research approvals and recruitment strategies, contributing to the success of covid-19 platform trials such as RECOVERY. While initially only a minority of UPH studies were open to people with serious mental illnesses, now the effect of the pandemic on mental health has become a research priority. In parallel, service planners recognised the value of emergent research in informing decision-making creating de facto learning health systems. While covid-19 interrupted research as we knew it, it necessitated new ways of working, some of which will persist. These included an increase in remote data collection, allowing greater access to research opportunities for potential participants, along with more efficient research approval and evidence dissemination pathways.

No significant relationships.

Trichotillomania is characterized by recurrent pulling of one’s hair despite attempts of stopping, resulting in hair loss. Previously classified as impulse control disorder, it is now considered an obsessive-compulsive related disorder in DSM-5. First-line therapy is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), with strong support for habit reversal training. For pharmacological therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed. Clomipramine has been used but is limited by its side effect profile. Many patients continue to experience distressing symptoms despite current treatment methods.

Lamotrigine, an anticonvulsant medication, is frequently utilized by psychiatrists to treat conditions like Bipolar Disorder. However, its utility in treating Trichotillomania has not been explored. We are interested to find out if it could benefit patients who have not responded adequately to current available treatment.

We report a case of a lady suffering from Trichotillomania for many years with limited improvement despite active treatment. We follow her progress after being started on Lamotrigine for six months.

In our case, a lady with longstanding Trichotillomania has previously been treated with SSRIs and Chlomipramine with limited response. An incidental trial of Lamotrigine after stopping her other medications has led to sustained improvement and stabilization of her condition. A possible hypothesis on how Lamotrigine’s mode of action could have led to this improvement will explored in this paper.

This case illustrates the potential of Lamotrigine to treat Trichotillomania in someone who has not responded adequately to usual treatment and could be an area worth looking into for future research.

No significant relationships.

Immigrants encounter difficulties in adapting to social life due to cultural and socioeconomic differences which consequently causes psychological and physical problems. Previous studies demonstrated that diabetes, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and obesity are associated with psychological disorders.

This study aimed to investigate the frequency of depression and anxiety and to observe associated sociodemographic among endocrine patients treated at NPZR.

190 Turkish psychiatric patients with at least one endocrine disorder (45.3% were male (n=86) and 54.7% were female (n=104) between the ages of 30-65, who participated in group therapy session at the NPZR, were recruited. Demographics, prevalence of depression and anxiety as well as current psychological conditions of participants were analyzed through Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, SCL-90-R and Personal Information Form.

The findings of our study demonstrated that prevalence of depression, anxiety and sleep disorders among Turkish immigrant patients with endocrine diseases is high. The mean scores of depression and anxiety were 31.39 and 32.61 respectively. The most common endocrine diseases were hypertension (51.6 %) and obesity (49.6%). Analysis of our research showed that there was no significant gender differences in the anxiety and depression scores. However, there was a significant relationship between income of participants and prevalence of anxiety, depression (p<0.05).

The results of this research suggest that anxiety and depression disorders are highly prevalent among Turkish psychiatric patients with endocrine diseases Using the data of this study, the frequency of endocrine diseases among immigrant psychiatric patients can be analyzed.

No significant relationships.

Throughout training, medical students are often only exposed to a limited selection of psychiatric specialities, predominantly general adult inpatient settings. This medical student had the opportunity to undergo a placement at a high security forensic hospital. With only three such hospitals in England, this is an environment that few students and even qualified doctors have been able to experience. In this presentation, the author will explore their prior expectations, key skills gained, and surprising realisations that made the elective highly valuable.

To reflect on the skills learned and revelations made during the elective period and share these as a presentation.

The author completed a 6-week placement at Ashworth High Security Psychiatric Hospital. He then reflected on his experiences.

This placement allowed the development of a range of skills and personal discoveries. The skills included enhanced personal safety awareness, improved use of varied communication styles, and de-escalation and management techniques with higher risk patients. The main finding was the fine line between Ashworth’s patients and mainstream society, and how easily these two entities can overlap. Carl Jung spoke of a ‘shadow’ that must be integrated, and the humanity within each patient made this philosophical concept a sobering reality.

High security placements are valuable educational opportunities and teach important skills, not often found in the current medical school curriculum. These placements offer the transferable communication and interpersonal skills essential in any budding psychiatrist, and also provide a vital environment for self-reflection and personal growth.

No significant relationships.

What does the physician think in his/her intimacy about clinical care for when his/her death would be near? Living Will is a type of advance directive with the aim to guarantee the testator’s autonomy when faced with death. Particularly oncologists are often faced with human finitude. Their delicate work does not protect them from the possible anguish of thinking and preparing for their own death. It is pertinent to know the psychic mechanisms normally present in the management of this expectation.

To explore symbolic representations of oncologists such as referred to the possible elaboration of their own Living Will.

Qualitative design. Eight participants, clinicians, sample closed by theoretical saturation of information. Semidirected interviews in-depth were conducted online during the pandemic, fully transcribed. Technique of Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis used for data treatment to generate categories of discussion. The authors search for core meanings in the corpus of interviews, after free-floating readings.

Three categories emerged from the material: Living Will: postponing the decision in order to not anticipate death; From Rationalization Mechanism to Intellectualization: a more sophisticated defensive strategy; Loss of Autonomy: the doctor’s belief while to feel him/herself patient.

(1) Even with all scientific knowledge, respondents have archaic thoughts on defining advance directives as healthy individuals would mean rushing time of their death. (2) Resistance of these professionals to an imagined scenario of end reveals underlying anguish in writing of living will. (3) There is fear of losing autonomy when they do not know how their Living Will can be seen.

No significant relationships.

The relationship between fear and social ties has been frequently discussed in the context of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but investigation of the nature of these experiences is still insufficient. Research suggests that people who respect social ties often experience better mental health outcomes. However, when socially isolated, excluded, or subjected to rumors, they may become more vulnerable to criticism, shame, and fear. Another potential problem of the COVID-19 pandemic is intergroup prejudice and distrust.

To examine the development and mitigation of social ties, fears, and biases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We applied discourse analysis to relevant literature and their associated references that incorporated textual, social, and cognitive dimensions. The main databases used were PubMed and Web of Science.

Although the importance of social ties was loudly vocalized as lessening loneliness, people also globally described stigma-related fear or intergroup conflicts. The sense of social ties appeared disproportionately amplified in the form of an in-group identity, group pressures, and empathic distress. Some people overstated worries about their COVID-19-positive status being revealed to others and causing distress for them. Furthermore, discrimination and vigilantism were manifested with fear-related stereotyping and hostility.

Our findings support the view that social ties can indeed function as both risk and protective factors. Context-adjusted perspectives and reciprocal dialogs seem crucial to alleviate these negative impacts. The subsequent mitigation of misunderstandings, fear-induced bias, and maladaptive distress appraisal may lead to a more reasonable and flexible recognition of social ties.

No significant relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in services and necessitated innovation to continue care provision to the vulnerable population of older adults with psychiatric needs.

The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of staff and patients using a hands-free electronic smart-hub (eSMART hub) intervention to keep patients connected with psychiatry of old age following COVID-19 restrictions.

A risk stratification register was created of all patients known to the Psychiatry of Old Age service in the North-West of Ireland to identify those at highest risk of relapse. These patients were offered a smart-hub with remote communication and personal assistant technology to be installed into their homes. Smart-hubs were also installed in the team base to facilitate direct device to device communication. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 staff members and 15 patients at 6-12 months following the installation of the smart-hubs.

The smart-hubs were utilized by the POA team to offer remote interventions over video including clinician reviews, regular contact with key workers and day-hospital based therapeutic interventions such as anxiety management groups and OT led physical exercises. Patients also used the personal assistant aspect of the hub to attend to personal hobbies such as accessing music and radio. Positive feedback related to companionship during isolation and connectivity to services. Negative feedback was mainly related to technology, particularly internet access and narrow scope of communication abilities.

Electronic smart-hub devices may offer an acceptable avenue for remote intervention and communication for isolated high-risk older persons.

The smart hub devices used in this study were donated by Amazon. However, the company was not involved in any other aspect of the study and the researchers have no significant financial interest, consultancy or other relationship with products, manufactur

The Covid-19 pandemic appeared globally (1), thus affecting the self-growth of the older population (2).

The aim of this study is to identify and analyze the negative emotions felt during the pandemic, as well as their impact on self-growth of 226 older individuals of four nationalities: Mexican, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Thus, a transnational qualitative survey was carried out. A content analysis was performed.

Seven negative emotions were reported, namely: fear, sadness, anger, grief, annoyance, loneliness and shame. These emotions were considerably associated with the following themes: (1) Sharing experiences; (2) Availability of the partner; (3) Spirituality and religion; (4) Be active; (5) Interest in new projects; (6) Civic participation; (7) Sexual activity. Older participants with Mexican and Italian nationality reported that sharing experiences as the most relevant topic, while for the Portuguese and Spanish participants, having a partner available was more important.

This study demonstrated that negative emotions cooperated with the self-growth of older individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. The heterogeneity of experiences lived by each culture was highlighted, underlining the positive side of negative emotions and their strong connection with the self-growth of the older people. 1.von Humboldt S et al. Smart technology and the meaning in life of older adults during the Covid-19 public health emergency period: A cross-cultural qualitative study. Int Rev Psychiatry, 2020; 1-10. 2. von Humboldt S et al. Does spirituality really matter? - A study on the potential of spirituality to older adult’s adjustment to aging. Jpn Psychol Res, 56;114-125.

No significant relationships.

Schema-therapy (ST) - one of the promising integrative models of psychotherapy, which shows its efficacy in many mental disorders. ST has main theoretical concepts: early maladaptive schemas (EMS), coping styles, modes and basic needs. EMS are self-defeating emotional and cognitive patterns established from childhood and repeated throughout life. Existing literature shows the connection between EMS and behavioral problems, which could be more significant for patients with personality disorders. The prevalence of personality disorders is relatively low in the general population, but it’s highly overrepresented in the forensic population, especially in groups of sex offenders.

The aim of this study is to examine if there is a prevalence of some EMS between sex offenders and their association with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder.

Medical records and criminal case materials of 27 patients were reviewed, all of them were blamed for committing sex crimes and had to stay at the department for one month for forensic psychiatry examination. During their stay patients were examined several times and questioned with YSQ S3R.

Most of the patients had psychiatric disorder: specific personality disorders (14), pedophilia (3), dependence syndrome (4), organic personality disorder (3). Some of them had several psychiatric diagnoses. The most prevalent EMS were abandonment, emotional deprivation, insufficient self-control and defectiveness.

These findings show the prevalence of personality disorder and several EMS in sex offenders, which could be useful for the full understanding of the concept of PD and improve the organization of medical care for these individuals.

No significant relationships.

Social cognition refers to a complex set of mental abilities that support the construction of adequate social competence and adaptation. Impairments in social cognition can be found in several psychiatric disorders, particularly in psychoses. Polygenic Risk Scores (PRSs) represent single metrics of molecular genetic risk and are a predictor of the genetic susceptibility to diseases, although they explain only a small part of the risk.

To explore the association between PRS for psychiatric disorders and social cognition.

We conducted a systematic search in PubMed and Scopus according to the PRISMA guidelines up to August 2021. We included papers evaluating PRS and social cognition with psychometric scales. Articles concerning single-nucleotide polymorphisms and biological measures of social cognition (e.g., neuroimaging, peripheral biomarkers) were excluded.

We initially retrieved 150 articles. After removing duplicates, we screened 133 titles and abstracts and preliminary selected 19 papers. Participants recruited in the papers of interest were either people with schizophrenia, ASD or ADHD, their family members or healthy subjects. Articles evaluated the association between different psychometrical measures of social cognition and PRS for schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.

Literature regarding the association between PRS for psychiatric disorders and social cognition is heterogeneous in terms of populations, genetic risk evaluation, and outcome tools. Given the critical role played by social cognition in the onset and progression of mental disorders and its association with real-world functioning, future research should try to disentangle the complex genetic basis of this domain.

No significant relationships.