In contemporary context the difficulties of making sense of social ambiguity becomes one of the most important appeals for seeking the psychological help. This grounds the importance of studying the mechanism underlying the quality of mentalization and its individual variations.

The objective of the study was to find empirical relations between the quality of mentalization and its cognitive, emotional and expressive mediating factors.

(1) The Adult Attachment Interview, scored using Social Cognition and Object Relations-Global rating method for mentalization ability. (2) Group embedded figures test. (3) New Tolerance-Intolerance to ambiguity and (4) Toronto alexithymia scale questionnaires. Twenty participants, aged 18-38, looking for psychological consultation, took part in the study.

Correlation analysis suggests positive relation between field-independency and tolerance to ambiguity (r = .47; p < .05). The complexity of representations of the mind positively correlates with the understanding of social causality (r = .92; p < .01). The affective quality of relationships’ representations positively correlates with the ability to emotionally invest into relationships (r = .66; p < .01), and with the understanding of social causality (r = .47; p < .05). The ability of emotional investment into relationships also positively correlates with the understanding of social causality (r = .93; p < .01). There is a negative link between the severity of alexithymia and the presence of long-term relationships with a partner (r = -.53; p < .05).

Mentalization should be understood as a system, with underplaying cognitive, expressive and emotional factors.

No significant relationships.

Young people moving from adolescent secure inpatient units to adult care in the UK present with multiple and complex needs and are more likely to experience poor transition outcomes related to enduring dependency on mental health services. However, there is lack of knowledge about the feasibility of transitional care models improving transition outcomes.

The MOVING FORWARD study aims to implement a new transition intervention model for young people transitioning from adolescent secure services to adult-oriented settings and test the feasibility of a future cluster trial measuring its effectiveness.

The design of the study is a three-arm feasibility, cluster randomised controlled trial comparing the MOVING FORWARD intervention against standard transition preparation in six adolescent secure services.Young people between 17-19 years, their parents/carers and key workers will be allocated in two conditions and will receive four transition preparation workshops across six months. Data will be collected at three time points: (T0) baseline, (T1) 6-12 months post-intervention, and (T2)18-24 months post-baseline.

Thirteen young people and 17 staff members have contributed to the intervention design through online Advisory Groups. Common identified themes included appropriateness of module content and support during delayed transitions. An intra-class correlation coefficient will be calculated to inform the power of sample size. With a sample size of 50, we will be able to estimate a drop-out rate of 80%.

This research will provide practitioners and policy makers with an evidence-based framework about barriers and facilitators to the proposed intervention and will enable services to reflect on quality of transitional care delivery.

No significant relationships.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that requires long-term treatment with antipsychotics and the intramuscular (IM) long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations may enhance treatment adherence. Some antipsychotics have been associated with enuresis, including atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone(6.2%), quetiapine(6.7%), olanzapine (9.6% ) and clozapine (20.7%) [1]. Although oral paliperidone has been related to urinary incontinence, there is only 1 report of urinary incontinence linked to monthly paliperidone palmitate [2]. [1] Harrison-Woolrych, M., Skegg, K., Ashton, J., Herbison, P., Skegg, D.C., 2011. Nocturnal enuresis in patients taking clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine: comparative cohort study. British Journal of Psychiatry 199, 140–144. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.087478 [2] Karslıoǧlu, E.H., Özalp, E., Çayköylü, A., 2016. Paliperidone Palmitate-induced Urinary Incontinence: A Case Report. Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience 14, 96–100. doi:10.9758/cpn.2016.14.1.96

To establish an association between paliperidone palmitate and enuresis.

Case report and a narrative review of the literature.

The patient was a 25-year-old healthy man when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Doctors prescribed paliperidone palmitate (LAI) 200mg monthly and he started to complain of enuresis. He was clearly suffering with this unpleasant and embarrassing adverse effect so the LAI was reduced to 150mg. Enuresis remained, so it was prescribed oxybutynin 20 mg/day and the patient improved.

We reported a case in which enuresis is likely to be associated with high-dose paliperidone LAI (with no clinical evidence of an organic cause). To treat it, the most effective strategy was oxybutynin 20 mg/day. This case is also important to show the impact of this symptom, which is not actively investigated.

No significant relationships.

Alteration of GABergic neurotransmission is accused to be sharing in the cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Exploring the relation between the neuronal expression of GABergic genes and cognitive impairment in living patients through modeling of schizophrenia is an important step to know more about the core of the pathophysiology of this disorder

Altered genetic expression of GAD 67 may have an important role in the pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia

. Reprogramming of human fibroblasts into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSc) then neuronal differentiation was performed in 20 patients presenting with schizophrenia and 20 matched controls. Real time Polymerase chain reaction was done for measurement of genetic expression of GAD 65, GAD 67 and GABA beta 2. The Digit Symbol task, block design, block design task and similarities tasks from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale., Trail A and Trail B making tests in addition to Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) were applied to measure cognitive functions .

There were lower means of GAD65, GAD67 and GABA beta2genetic expression in the patients group with significant statistical difference between the 2 groups. The down regulation of GAD 67 in patients presenting with schizophrenia is positively correlated with impairment in executive functions.

GAD 67 gene expression had the most significant correlations with the cognitive assessment in both patients and controls. The presence of those statistically significant correlations in both groups points to the possible role of GAD 67 gene functioning in the pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia

No significant relationships.

The Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ-15) and the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale - Fearlessness About Death (ACSS-FAD) have been introduced to evaluate the theoretical constructs posit by Joiner’s Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS).

The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the INQ-15 (which measures Thwarted Belongingness, TB, and Perceived Burdensomeness, PB) and the ACSS-FAD (measurement of Fearlessness About Death, FAD, dimension of the acquired capability) in a population of Italian university students.

Since there was no Italian version of the ACSS-FAD, we have translated it through an accurate multistage procedure. ACSS-FAD and INQ-15 have been administered to a sample of 1,665 Italian university students. We analyzed the factorial structure of the INQ-15 and the ACSS-FAD, their reliability, criterion, convergent and discriminant validity.

Principal Component Analysis confirmed a two-dimensional structure for INQ-15 and a one-factor structure for ACSS-FAD. Internal consistency reliability of the scales was good, respectively TB: α = .85; PB: α = .90; and FAD: α = .85. The INQ-15 demonstrated concurrent associations with suicidal ideation, while the ACSS-FAD with a history of suicidal planning/suicide attempt. Convergent and discriminant validity were also in line with previous studies.

Both INQ-15 and ACSS-FAD appropriately capture the respective constructs, proving to be valid measures for the assessment of suicide risk factors among Italian university students according to the IPTS. The valuable psychometric properties of the two scales established with this study in the Italian context encourages their use to advance the clinical understanding and prevention of suicide.

No significant relationships.

Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness is a mental disorder which consists of abnormal and long-lasting changes in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions precipitate the condition of those with bipolar affective disorder.

We searched for significant differences before and during the pandemic by analyzing socio-demographic data.

We carried out a research activity at the I Psychiatry Clinic of the Clinical Hospital of Neuropsychiatry Craiova. We formed two groups of hospitalized patients during 2019 and during 2020, when the pandemic broke out. The inclusion criterion was the presence of bipolar affective disorder as a primary diagnosis.

The number of cases and the total number of hospitalization days was higher during the pandemic, 101 cases versus 94 cases, 1667 days versus 1184 days. We identified a predominance of females during the pandemic, whereas in the previous year the distribution by sex was approximately equal. Regarding environment, the number of patients from urban and rural areas was approximately equal in 2019, while during the pandemic those in urban areas predominated, possibly due to easier access to psychiatric services. The ages of patients maintained a Gaussian distribution with a concentration of cases between 35-55 years.

While other psychiatric disorders were less present in the clinic during the pandemic, the number of bipolar affective disorder cases increased. Bipolar affective disorder is a major challenge due to the wide range of symptoms which cross with comorbidities that increase the likelihood of a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

No significant relationships.

Secure forensic mental health services offer care and treatment to mentally disordered offenders, with high rates of schizophrenia and major mental illness in these groups. Much of the excess morbidity and mortality seen among patients with schizophrenia is due to cardiovascular disease and obesity. Sedentary behaviour is associated with negative symptoms of schizophrenia and obesity.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the level of sedentary behaviour among inpatients in a secure forensic psychiatric hospital, Dundrum, Ireland, using a structured self-report measure of sedentary behaviours, the SIT-Q tool.

A cross sectional study of self-reported sedentary behaviour was completed amongst the secure forensic inpatient population of Dundrum Hospital (N=94). Demographic details, details pertaining to diagnoses, ward level of dependency and length of stay were collated.

The majority of patients in the sample were male (89%) and the most common diagnosis was schizophrenia (71.7%). Mean age was 44.7 years (SD 11.42). 58.2% met criteria for obesity. We found high rates of self-reported sedentary behaviour across all wards of the service, with significantly high rates of sedentary behaviour being associated with screen time use in the hospital, including both personal screen time and therapeutic sessions based on screen time.

Sedentary behaviour among in-patients in secure forensic hospitals is a significant issue. Measuring sedentary behaviour in a systematic manner is possible and identifies a potentially modifiable target to reduce co-morbidity and pre-mature mortality independent of other risk factors in this vulnerable patient group.

No significant relationships.

Violence is considered both a societal issue and a public health issue. Due to the high economic, societal, and individual cost associated with exposure to violence, clinical risk assessment-tools are now being implemented in the public health care system as well as outside of it. To ensure early identification and prevention, various professional groups perform structured risk assessments in Norway, including police, doctors, and psychologists.

There is a need to examine competence and organizational factors, which may affect the ability to make accurate assessments in different levels of the health service, as well as in the police who often are involved in early identification and action-taking concerning violent individuals. Based on variation in risk assessment competencies, and characteristics of different work environments, our project aims to investigate whether some factors seem to be more important than others in clinical assessments when comparing different professional groups with or without a professional background in health care.

In our study, we will be able to tell if there is a significant difference in how different professional groups emphasize different risk factors, and in which way individual factors such as formal competencies, years of experience, and personal and professional attitudes to violence affect the risk violence assessments performed.

We hypothesize that retrospective, clinical, and dynamic risk-factors are interpreted differently by different professional groups, and therefore entail significant variations in assessments, and the health care provided.

In this planned study, we will examine variations in the practice of violence risk assessment in Norway.

No significant relationships.

The various restrictions and physical distancing introduced inRussia in early months of COVID-19pandemic could have a particular impact on people who use alcohol and create new needs for prevention and treatment of associated disorders.

The study was aimed at assessing changes in alcohol consumption among users of online social networks in Russia.

During June-September 2020,1518 adult users (18+) of the most popular social networks in Russia (Odnoklassniki, VKontakte,Facebook, Twitter), completed an anonymous online survey regarding alcohol use changes in the first months of COVID-19 pandemic. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate associations of increased alcohol consumption with socio-demographic and pandemic-related factors.

35.4%of men and 25.6%of women increased their frequency of drinking; 24.9%of men and 17.7%of women increased their typical one-time volume of alcohol consumption,and 28.5% of men and 27.9% of women increased frequency of heavy episodic drinking in the early months of pandemic. After mutual adjustment of independent variables,age18-29 years(OR=1.710;95%CI 1.002-2.917), very strong restrictions of everyday life(3.127; 1.011-9.675)and severe negative consequences in relation to professional or financial situation due to spread ofSARS-CoV-2 (2.247; 1.131-4.465) were positively associated with increase in frequency of drinking. The odds of increase in frequency of heavy episodic drinking were more than twice higher(2.329; 1.001-5.428) among those who experienced severe negative consequences to their professional/financial situation.Higher typical frequency,larger one-time volume of alcohol use,and higher frequency of heavy episodic drinking before pandemic were positively associated with increase of alcohol consumption in early months of pandemic.

Timely monitoring of changes in alcohol consumption during pandemic can allow prevention of alcohol-related disorders, including mental disorders, among users of online social networks.

No significant relationships.

While several studies have assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexuality and sexual behavior in the general population, very few studies have assessed sexuality after Sars-Cov 2 infection.

The objective of our study were to assess sexuality in women recovered from COVID-19 and to compare it to healthy controls.

This is a cross-sectional case-control study.

We randomly recruited women, from April 1st to 30th, 2021.The women in the case group have been infected with Sars-Cov 2, with a benign or pauci-symptomatic clinical form, and cured for one to two months at the time of the study without any post-COVID complications. Women included in the control group have not been infected with Sars-Cov 2. Sexuality was assessed by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).

In total, we recruited 30 women in the case group and 30 women in the control group.The average age of the case group was 35.8 ±6.8 years versus an average age of 35.3 ± 6.33 years in the control group. The majority of coronavirus infections were symptomatic (83.3% (n=25)). An FSFI score <26.55 and corresponding to impaired sexual function was found in 63.33% of women in the case group (n=19), versus 53.33% of women in the control group (n=16) with a significant difference between the two groups (p=0.009)

COVID-19 is significantly associated with sexual dysfunction, even in mild or pauci-symptomatic clinical forms.

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 has prompted widespread school closures and physical distancing measures. Concerns regarding COVID-19 school closures often increase stress levels in parents.

This study examined whether higher levels of parental concerns were associated with children’s problematic behaviors and other factors during COVID-19-related primary school closures.

Participants were 217 parents who responded to a web-based questionnaire covering parental concerns, subjective stress, and depression; children’s sleep patterns, behavioral problems, and changes in activity level after COVID-19; previously received mental health services; and media usage during the online-only class period from community center in Suwon city.

The number of parental concerns was associated with children’s behavioral problem index (BPI) score (Pearson correlation 0.211, p < 0.01), sleep problems (0.183, p < 0.01), increased smartphone usage (0.166, p < 0.05), increased TV usage (0.187, p < 0.01), parents’ subjective stress levels (0.168, p < 0.05), and parental depression (0.200, p < 0.01). In families with children who previously received mental health services, the children reportedly suffered from more sleep and behavioral problems but not increased media usage, and parents noted more stress and depression. Parental concerns are related to family factors such as change of caregiver, no available caregiver, decreased household income, and recent adverse life events. Economically vulnerable people also reported higher rates of reported caregiver burden during COVID-19-related primary school closures, thus will require the potential heightened mental health needs.

Ongoing monitoring of mental health at risky group and multiple support systems should be considered for parents having difficulty in caring their children.

No significant relationships.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognized that people with psychosocial disabilities have the same right to take decisions and make choices as other people. Consequently, direct or supported decision-making should be the norm and there should be no substitute decision-making. However, these principles are far from common practice in many mental health services. Joint-crisis plan (JCP) and Psychiatric advance directives (PAD) are interesting tools to translate the shared-decision making principle into clinical and practical reality. Most existing JCP or PAD involve facilitators, which improves their effectiveness, but facilitators are mostly professionals.

In this context, DAiP study was launched to evaluate the efficacy of PAD facilitated by peer-workers.

DAiP was a multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted in 7 French mental health facilities, with a complementary qualitative approach. 394 adults with a DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar I disorder (BP-I), or schizoaffective disorders (SCZaff), who were compulsorily hospitalized in the past 12 months were enrolled from January 2019 and followed up for 12 months. Outcomes were compulsory admission rate, therapeutic alliance (4-PAS), quality of life (S-QOL), mental health symptoms (MCSI), empowerment (ES) and recovery (RAS).

In this communication, we propose to describe the practices of facilitation of peer-workers and analyze outcomes in lights of process measurements (whether or not participants completed PAD document, shared PAD and with whom, met facilitator, used PAD

Involving peer-workers in the redaction of PADs coherently supports the current shift of mental health care from ‘substitute decision making’ to ‘supported decision making’.

No significant relationships.

Although depression is one of the most common diseases among older people, it is still underdiagnosed due to frequent misleading symptoms.

The aims of our study were to assess depression in type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent older adults and to identify factors associated with depression among this population.

A cross-sectional study on 100 type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent elderly recruited from the outpatient endocrinology consultation during June and July 2021. We applied the geriatric assessment scores: the Geriatric Depression Scale 15-item, the KATS score, the Lawton scale. the five-word test, the Mini Nutritional Assessment and the Timed Up and Go test.

The mean age of the population was 70.8±5.8 years with sex ratio of 0.85. Depression was noted among 57% of the patients who were distributed as follow: around one fifth (21%) had mild depression while 36% had moderate to severe depression. Around one quarter of the patients (24%) were dependent in the basic activities of daily living. Depression was significantly associated with dependency (β = 5.27; 95% CI, 1.01 to 27.35), ophthalmologic diseases (β = 8.81; 95% CI, 2.18 to 35.63), high frequency of nocturia (β = 3.71; 95% CI, 1.24 to 11.05) and high frequency of bleeding at insulin injection site (β = 4.21; 95% CI, 1.49 to 11.84).

Our findings suggest that the prevalence of depression is high among type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent older adults. Early assessment of depression’s risk factors is a major pillar of the comprehensive care of our seniors.

No significant relationships.

There is an established association between serious mental illness and violence. Secure forensic psychiatric services provide care and treatment to mentally disordered offenders. The majority of patients in forensic services suffer from severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, with co-morbid polysubstance abuse and maladaptive personality traits. Psychiatric services are under significant pressure to reduce the use of seclusion and restrictive practices, whilst mandated to provide safe environments for patients and staff.

To determine the number and characteristics of violent incidents in a secure forensic hospital in Ireland.

A retrospective review of all incidents in Central Mental Hospital, Ireland between 1st March 2019 and 31st August 2021 was completed. Incidents were categorised into physical assaults and other violent incidents. Demographic measures and measures of violence risk (HCR-20), functioning (GAF), programme completion and recovery (DUNDRUM tool) were collated.

A total of 321 incidents took place during the period examined, of which 47 (14.6%) involved physical assaults perpetrated by patients. Between March 2020 and August 2021, numbers of assaults increased by 50% and 78% compared to the preceding six-month period respectively. The majority of assaults were committed by a relatively small group of patients. Victims of assaults were more likely to be patients (n=27, 57.4%) and more likely to be males (n=43, 91.9%).

Physical assaults and other violent incidents happen in forensic and general psychiatric units. Restrictive practices, used in accordance with the law, are necessary at times to prevent serious harm to patients and staff in psychiatric hospitals.

No significant relationships.

Chronic functional gastro-intestinal disorders can affect cognitive functioning of patients (1). Wong et al (2) showed attentional and executive function impairment, Aizawa et al. (3) found impairment of cognitive plasticity and activity of frontal and temporal arias of brain during performing tests in these patients.

Assessing of cognitive functioning of the female patients with chronic functional constipation.

42 Rome IV adult female patients with chronic functional constipation and 26 adult normative female volunteers were tested with Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS).

Both groups were comparable by age (patients’ group 29,5±6,1, volunteers’ group 28,5±9,6, ns) In both groups subjects demonstrated normal level of cognitive functioning but the scores of the patients were closer to the lower level than the scores of the volunteers. The difference was significant in composite scores and in several other scores (Tab.1). Table1.

The findings of the study once more indicate some link between gastrointestinal dysfunction and cognitive functioning. Even these slight decrease in some aspects of cognition from normal population could have negative impact on everyday functioning. The origin of this link is still under question.

No significant relationships.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common mood disorder diagnosed in children and adolescents. Bright light therapy has been effective for seasonal affective disorders, however its role in the treatment of MDD is under studied.

Our objective is to evaluate if bright light therapy (BLT) is a practical approach in treating Child and Adolescents having MDD.

We performed an extensive literature search using a wide range of MeSH terms in PubMed, PubMed Central and Google Scholar. We reviewed the literature for studies (published between 1983-2021) assessing the efficacy of BLT in the treatment of MDD in children and adolescents.

The final search results yielded 8 randomized clinical trials and 1 case report from 1983 to 2021. BLT showed a superior effect in children and adolescents with MDD compared to the control group in the majority of the randomized trials and a case report. In six studies BLT showed good effect, however in a study by Magnusson et al. and Sonis et al., found a milder degree of improvement in depression symptoms when compared to the control group. In the majority of the studies, patients’ age range was 7 years 18 and in most of the studies, patients were not on antidepressants.

The use of BLT in children and adolescents suffering from MDD can be a promising alternative method of biological treatment, which is effective as well as well tolerated. Future long-term studies on large sample size are necessary in this field.

No significant relationships.

The consequences for the COVID-19 pandemic in the newborns of affected mothers remains unknown. Previous clinical experiences with other infections during pregnancy lead to considered pregnant women and their offspring especially vulnerable for SARS-COV-2. That is, the underlying physiopathological changes caused by the infection (e.g. storm of cytokines, micro-coagulation in placenta or vertical transmission) could clearly compromise fetal neurodevelopment.

To analyze the impact of maternal SARS-COV-2 infection during pregnancy in early neurodevelopment of infants gestated during the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to those gestated immediately prior (2017-2021).

212 pregnant women (14% infected) were followed throughout their pregnancy and postpartum, including newborn development. SARS-COV-2 infection was serologically confirmed during pregnancy. The Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale (NBAS) was administered at 6 weeks old by a trained neonatologist to evaluate neurological, social and behavioral aspects of newborn’s functioning. Differences in NBAS scores between cases and controls were tested by ANOVAs. All the analysis were adjusted for maternal age, sociodemographic status, anxious-depressive symptomatology, infant’s sex and gestational age at birth and NBAS, and for the period of gestation (previous or during COVID-19 pandemic).

NBAS social interactive dimension was significantly decreased in those infants exposed to prenatal SARS-COV-2 (F=4.248, p=.043), particularly when the infection occurred before the week 20 of gestation. Gestation during COVID-19 pandemic did not alter NBAS subscales.

SARS-COV-2 infection during pregnancy seems to be associated with lower NBAS scores on social dimension in 6 weeks old exposed newborns.

No significant relationships.

Agitated behaviors is a common neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) in dementia, defined as inappropriate verbal, vocal, or motor activity that is not thought to be caused by an unmet need. It is frequently reported as a major problem, that impairs the quality of life for the elderly themselves and for caregivers. There has been increasing interest in the use of sedative antidepressants to treat NPS due to concerns over the safety and efficacy of antipsychotics in this setting.

We aim to review clinical evidence of alternatives to antipsychoticst to manage agitation in dementia.

We conduct a non-systematic review of recent evidence on dementia and agitation, using PubMed/Medline database.

Although non-pharmacological interventions are the first-line treatment for agitation, it is a legitimate target for therapeutic intervention and according to previous guidelines, antipsychotic are among the most used drugs, albeit restricted because of side-effects. A substitution strategy to avoid antipsychotic prescription was highly considered, however there is limited evidence to support the use of antidepressants as a safe and effective alternative for agitation in dementia. Studies compare Mirtazapine, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and Trazodone and a reduced benefit in mortality is observed. However, citalopram was more effective were more likely outpatients for moderately agitation and Mirtazapine reveals being potentially harmful, in different studies.

Moving forward, a greater understanding of NPS neurobiology, will help to clarify the efficacy of Antedepressants for the treatment of agitation in dementia. Benefits an also the patient and caregiver preference should be kept in mind.

No significant relationships.

Due to the Covid-19 effects, mental health conditions are now, more than ever, affecting our daily lives - both personally and professionally. The average delay between the onset of first symptoms of a mental health disorder and seeking suitable healthcare is 11 years. The WHO states that the only sustainable way to reduce mental healthcare burden is by acting earlier.

The aim of this project is to assess the receptivity and engagement of a mobile app for mental health prevention, amongst a large-scale and heterogeneous group of individuals. The main hypothesis under testing is that people are receptive to actively act towards mental health prevention, despite still being a very neglected and stigmatized topic.

A mobile app for mental health improvement and disease prevention was developed through the digitalization of positive psychology strategies, such as mood tracking, journaling, breathing exercises, among others, which are personalized to the user through biofeedback. The app aims at teaching people how to autonomously cope with mental health conditions, identifying early signs and redirecting them to proper mental health professionals. The app is being released for a population of 35,000 subjects resident in Portugal.

Receptivity and engagement metrics will be assessed on a weekly and monthly basis, for 3 months, segmented by different subject profiles. Mental health metrics will also be assessed, namely anxiety, depression, and burnout levels - using standard psychiatric scales.

We have yet to draw conclusions from the project; however, we aim to achieve first results in due time.

The aim of this research is to assess the receptivity of mental health prevention strategies using technology, namely a mobile app provided by a company.