Annals of general psychiatry
May 8, 2024
Xiao-Fen Fan, Ju-Yi Peng, Li Zhang et al.
13 citations
Adolescents with depression who self-harm often rely on negative coping strategies and may benefit from positive alternatives. A combination of mindfulness therapy and mentalization-based family therapy (MBFT) was tested against MBFT alone in 80 hospitalized adolescents with depressive disorder and suicidal ideation, randomly assigned to two groups of 40. After intervention, both groups showed lower scores on psychological health and suicidal ideation scales, but the group receiving both therapies had significantly greater improvements. The findings suggest that adding mindfulness therapy to MBFT can improve psychological condition and reduce suicidal thoughts in this population, supporting its clinical use.
Annals of general psychiatry
January 21, 2026
Mohammed A Alhassan
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a major clinical challenge in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where conventional therapies often yield incomplete remission and cause significant side effects. Ketamine, esketamine, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) show clinical efficacy and feasibility in the region. Esketamine adoption is increasing, led by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where it is administered in controlled clinical settings. rTMS is being gradually integrated, with expansion through private providers in the UAE and Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar. However, access is limited by regulatory challenges, high costs, infrastructure constraints, cultural stigma, limited insurance coverage, and workforce shortages. Strategic investments, policy reforms, and awareness initiatives are critical to embedding these treatments into mental health systems.
Annals of general psychiatry
November 25, 2025
Luisa De Risio, Alessio Mosca, Arianna Pasino et al.
Anomalous self-experiences (ASEs), disturbances in the sense of a minimal self, are considered a core feature of primary psychotic disorders (PPDs) like schizophrenia, but it was unclear whether they also occur in substance-induced psychosis (SIP). This study compared ASEs in 27 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD, mean age ~27) and 27 with SIP (mean age ~28) using the EASE interview. Total ASE scores did not differ between groups. However, SIP patients showed significantly higher disturbances in self-world boundary (Domain 4), while SSD patients trended higher in self-awareness and presence (Domain 2) and existential reorientation (Domain 5). These findings suggest ASEs are not exclusive to primary psychoses and challenge the assumption that self-disorders are unique to endogenous psychosis.