Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most promising treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). It is unclear whether CBT is effective for Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups.

To assess the effectiveness of CBT in BME patients compared with White British patients presenting to a specialist CFS service.

Data from 67 (19.0%) BME participants and 285 (81.0%) White British participants referred to a specialist CFS service in the UK were collected at baseline and after CBT treatment.

Pairwise comparisons revealed that both BME participants and White British participants significantly improved on measures of fatigue severity (P<0.001), physical functioning (P<0.001) and work/social adjustment (P<0.001). Independent samples t-tests showed that BME participants improved despite exhibiting significantly higher baseline damage beliefs (P = 0.009), catastrophising (P = 0.024), all-or-nothing behaviour (P = 0.036) and avoidance/resting behaviour (P = 0.001), compared with White British participants.

To our knowledge, this study is the first to indicate that CBT is effective for treating CFS in a group of patients from diverse BME backgrounds.

Individual variables and area-level variables have been identified as explaining much of the variance in rates of compulsory in-patient treatment.

To describe rates of voluntary and compulsory psychiatric in-patient treatment in rural and urban settings in England, and to explore the associations with age, ethnicity and deprivation.

Secondary analysis of 2010/11 data from the Mental Health Minimum Dataset.

Areas with higher levels of deprivation had increased rates of in-patient treatment. Areas with high proportions of adults aged 20–39 years had the highest rates of compulsory in-patient treatment as well as the lowest rates of voluntary in-patient treatment. Urban settings had higher rates of compulsory in-patient treatment and ethnic density was associated with compulsory treatment in these areas. After adjusting for age, deprivation and urban/rural setting, the association between ethnicity and compulsory treatment was not statistically significant.

Age structure of the adult population and ethnic density along with higher levels of deprivation can account for the markedly higher rates of compulsory in-patient treatment in urban areas.

Research suggests that an 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) course may be effective for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

To compare changes in anxiety levels among participants with GAD randomly assigned to MBCT, cognitive–behavioural therapy-based psychoeducation and usual care.

In total, 182 participants with GAD were recruited (trial registration number: CUHK_CCT00267) and assigned to the three groups and followed for 5 months after baseline assessment with the two intervention groups followed for an additional 6 months. Primary outcomes were anxiety and worry levels.

Linear mixed models demonstrated significant group × time interaction (F(4,148) = 5.10, P = 0.001) effects for decreased anxiety for both the intervention groups relative to usual care. Significant group × time interaction effects were observed for worry and depressive symptoms and mental health-related quality of life for the psychoeducation group only.

These results suggest that both of the interventions appear to be superior to usual care for the reduction of anxiety symptoms.

There is an established disparity between physical and mental healthcare. Parity of research outputs has not been assessed internationally across influential medical journals.

To assess parity of publication between physical and mental health, and within psychiatry.

Four major medical disciplines were identified and their relative burden estimated. All publications from the highest-impact general medical journals in 2001, 2006 and 2011 were categorised accordingly. The frequency of psychiatry, cardiology, oncology and respiratory medicine articles were compared with the expected proportion (given illness burdens). Six subspecialties within psychiatry were also compared.

Psychiatry was consistently and substantially underrepresented; other specialties were overrepresented. Dementia and psychosis demonstrated overrepresentation, with addiction and anxiety disorders represented proportionately and other disorders underrepresented. The underrepresentation of mood disorders increased more recently.

There appears to be an important element of disparity of esteem; further action is required to achieve equivalence between mental and physical health research publications.

The assessment of ‘general health and well-being’ in public mental health research stimulates debates around relative merits of questionnaire instruments and their items. Little evidence regarding alignment or differential advantages of instruments or items has appeared to date.

Population-based psychometric study of items employed in public mental health narratives.

Multidimensional item response theory was applied to General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and EQ-5D items (Health Survey for England, 2010–2012; n = 19 290).

A bifactor model provided the best account of the data and showed that the GHQ-12 and WEMWBS items assess mainly the same construct. Only one item of the EQ-5D showed relevant overlap with this dimension (anxiety/depression). Findings were corroborated by comparisons with alternative models and cross-validation analyses.

The consequences of this lack of differentiation (GHQ-12 v. WEMWBS) for mental health and well-being narratives deserves discussion to enrich debates on priorities in public mental health and its assessment.

Tic disorders, in particular chronic tic disorder and Tourette syndrome, affect about 1% of the population. The current treatment of choice is pharmacological or behavioural, addressing tics or the premonitory urges preceding tic onset.

The current study reports an open trial evaluating the effectiveness of a cognitive psychophysiological treatment addressing Tourette-specific sensorimotor activation processes rather than the tic.

Forty-nine people with Tourette syndrome and 36 people with chronic tics completed 10 weeks of individual cognitive psychophysiological therapy. Outcome measures included two tic severity scales and psychosocial measures.

Post-treatment both groups had significantly improved on the tic scales with strong effect sizes across tic locations and complex and simple tics, maintained at 6-month follow-up with further change in perfectionism and self-esteem.

The cognitive psychophysiological approach targeting underlying sensorimotor processes rather than tics in Tourette's and chronic tic disorder reduced symptoms with a large effect size.