intro - mh1

Question 1

prevalence of mh disorders in world

Answer 1

13%

Question 2

interventions to improve mental health can include

Answer 2

• providing treatment or support to those with mental health difficulties
  AND
• reducing risk of mental health difficulties, building psychological resilience, establishing supportive environments

Question 3

The spectrum of interventions model includes

Answer 3

• preventative intervention
• early intervention
• Treatment
• Long term care (include relapse retention)

Question 4

2 types of Barriers to proffessional help-seeking and access to mental health care

Answer 4

Structural barriers
- Externa and systematic factors preventing access to care.
e.g. financial costs, low resources, inequities in access (language, discrimination).

Perceived barriers
- what indivs think and feel that stop them from seeking care
e.g. attitudes, self efficacy, past negative experience, unaware a service exists

Question 5

stigma vs discrimination

Answer 5

someone views the indiv with mental health issues negatively because of it.

discrimination is when they treat them in a negative way because of it.

Question 6

self-stigma

how does this influence interaction with mental health services

Answer 6

emotionally and cognitively absorbing the negative beliefs about the self from society, largely based on shame, accepting stereotypes, and alienating oneself from others, affecting self esteem

Perceived stigma stops many from engaging in mental health interventions / services. Anti-stigma campaigns / interventions can help promote more positive attitudes to help-seeking.

Question 7

what is psychotherapy

Answer 7

A collaborative approach where a trained individual applies clinical methods to identify and modify an individual’s thoughts, behaviours, and emotions, often focusing on specific issues through dialogue.

Question 8

approaches to psychotherapy

Answer 8

Various modalities exist to support different psychological needs and concerns.

Question 9

Key Elements of Effective Psychotherapy:

Answer 9

✅ Therapeutic Alliance: Trust, collaboration, and a positive working relationship.
✅ Empathy & Validation: Creating a safe environment where individuals feel heard and understood.
✅ Goal Setting: Collaborative setting of clear, achievable goals to provide direction.

Question 10

Clinical psychologists focus directly on

Answer 10

psychological processes underlying specific mental health difficulties

Question 11

What are key characteristics of RCTs in mental health research?

Answer 11

Random assignment to intervention or comparison arm
Large sample, often with a specific mental health condition
Sometimes includes severity/chronicity and specific population
Some standardisation in therapeutic process

Question 12

What is a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT)?

Answer 12

A study where participants are randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison arm.

Question 13

What are Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs)?

Answer 13

Psychotherapeutic modalities and other approaches that have been shown to be effective in well-controlled scientific studies.

Question 14

What is a meta-analysis in the context of RCTs?

Answer 14

A statistical technique that examines whether there are significant effects (and their strength) across many RCT studies.

Question 15

What do systematic reviews do in relation to RCTs?

Answer 15

They summarise RCT studies (and other types of studies) narratively, sometimes including a meta-analysis.

Question 16

Which organisations set recommended clinical guidance in the UK and USA?

Answer 16

UK: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
USA: National Institute of Mental Health (NIH)

Question 17

What is Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)?

Answer 17

A time-limited therapy (12–16 sessions) focusing on current relationships and issues to improve interpersonal functioning and social support.

Psychological issues are understood as a response to everyday relationship difficulties and communication problems.

reccomended for Mild to moderate depression.

Question 18

What did Cuijpers et al. (2016) find about IPT’s effectiveness?

Answer 18

• Moderate-to-large effect sizes for acute depression (IPT vs control in 32 studies).
• IPT was as effective as antidepressant medication.
• IPT + medication was more effective than either alone.
• No significant difference between IPT and other psychotherapies.
• IPT helped prevent the onset of major depression in subthreshold cases.
• IPT may help prevent relapse.

Question 19

What is Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) and how is it recognised in clinical practice?

Answer 19

• CFT is an integrative cognitive behavioural therapy that emphasises mindfulness, acceptance, and meta-cognition (through compassionate skills training) to address high self-criticism and shame. It is recognised as having therapeutic value by organisations like the APA and BPS and is used in the NHS.

Question 20

What did Millard et al. (2023) find in their meta-analysis of CFT studies, and what was the overall conclusion

Answer 20

• Overall, the evidence is promising, but further high-quality research with large samples is needed.
• A review of 15 studies (6 RCTs) in clinical populations found improvements in:
• Self-compassion, self-criticism/self-reassurance, and fears of compassion.
• Depression scores (no meta-analysis due to heterogeneous measures; only 3 samples diagnosed with depression).
• Eating disorder symptoms.

Question 21

What are key limitations of RCTs due to standardisation?

Answer 21

• Co-occurring (comorbid) conditions are usually not included.
• Suits time-limited and more specific interventions.
• Little space to recognise individual needs or allow cultural adaptations.

Question 22

How do studies vary in RCTs for mental health interventions?

Answer 22

• Comparison/control group (e.g., interventions are often more effective when compared to waitlist control rather than active comparisons).
• Level of risk of bias (e.g., assessors not masked).

Question 23

What are common sources of bias in RCTs testing mental health interventions?

Answer 23

• Representation (e.g., participants excluded if they lack sufficient English fluency).
• Sample attrition (e.g., high drop-out rates can falsely enhance outcomes).

Question 24

What is evidence-based practice (EBP)?

Answer 24

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the integration of:

Evidence-based interventions
Clinical expertise
Client preferences

Question 25

What is the goal of evidence-based practice (EBP)?

Answer 25

To improve outcomes for individuals by targeting the mental health changes that the therapy intends to make.