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Undergraduate student mental health and wellbeing is becoming an increasingly important topic. In particular, students from backgrounds that have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education may have increased difficulties during the transition to university. Therefore, 'Mind Your Mind', a pilot, three-part programme of workshops facilitated by doctoral clinical psychology students to support first year undergraduate psychology students was developed. The workshops were formulation-based and explored 'social media', 'anxiety' and 'belonging'. Students generally found the workshops useful and easy to understand, and felt that attending the workshops increased their wellbeing. The programme also provided an opportunity for the clinical psychology students to develop their skills and give something back. Reflections on the development, facilitation and sustainability of the programme are discussed.

This paper describes the development and delivery of an innovative approach to teaching qualitative research methods in psychology. The teaching incorporated a range of "active" pedagogical practices that it shares with other teaching in this area, but was designed in such a way as to follow the arc of a qualitative research project in its entirety over several sessions, whilst episodically dealing with distinct methodological approaches along the way. In line with this design, and the mutuality of the learning, it was called a "qualitative learning series". Following Mason (2002), the paper also considers the challenge of qualitative teaching in the context of academic psychology, and touches upon whether developments in the years since have made for much difference. These strands of the paper come together in how the teaching met these challenges.

The intermediate psychological therapies service is provided for individuals referred with common mental health problems within the primary care psychological therapies service, but whose difficulties are longstanding and/or complex. The prevalence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in intermediate psychological therapy services has not been researched to-date. The current study aimed to measure the prevalence of BPD amongst patients attending intermediate psychological therapies (n = 63). The prevalence of BPD was established by identifying the number of patients who met DSM-IV criteria. BPD prevalence amongst patients attending an intermediate psychological therapy service was 37%. The high proportion of patients presenting with BPD indicates the potential need for staff training and supervision in how to manage such high levels of need at this service level. This is the first study to report prevalence rates of BPD specifically in an intermediate care psychological therapy service.

Background: Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is among the most serious problems faced by intellectual disability services. It is very difficult to treat and can become a chronic problem. Method: Information on a number of variables was collected through a survey of service-users identified as displaying SIBs. Clinical opinion and a literature review guided the selection of potential predictors of continued SIB. Univariate statistical analyses were used to investigate associations between continued SIB and each of the variables identified. Variables shown to have a significant association with continued SIB were subjected to a multivariate analysis to isolate those variables that still predicted continued SIB once the influence of the others had been accounted for. Results: Two factors, self-biting and verbal ability, were found to independently predict continued SIB. Conclusion: The results have implications for intellectual disability services, in terms of the importance of multidisciplinary team working, training and guidelines for problem management.

ABSTRACT Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) inpatient units provide multi-disciplinary treatment for young people with a wide range of complex needs, many of whom have co-morbid presentations. There [...]

Story stem measures are an increasingly popular method for assessing the attachment representations of young children, but little is known of their cross-cultural applicability. This study aimed to characterise the attachment representations in 73 five- to eight-year-old children in urban Ghana, West Africa, using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) to test its feasibility, psychometric characteristics and concurrent associations with caregiver- and teacher-rated child behaviour, and to conduct a qualitative thematic analysis of methodological observations. Among the classifiable cases (92 percent), all attachment classifications were observed, yielding a higher rate of secure attachment than in European samples. Inter-rater reliability, internal consistency, and internal structure were reasonable and largely similar to European studies, although one structural difference was the separation of 'child assuagement of distress' from other secure-related items. MCAST narratives were associated with teacher- and caregiver-rated hyperactivity, but internal consistency was low in most Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scales. Possible culturally-sensitive explanations for our psychometric and qualitative findings are discussed. Overall, story stems are a promising tool for accessing attachment representations in non-Western samples, although modifications are likely to improve cross-cultural equivalence when applied to non-Western cultures. Further investigation is needed to link MCAST outcomes to parenting and socio-emotional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest into how attachment theory can inform psychotherapeutic practice with adults. This study aimed to explore how a group of therapists with an interest in attachment theory use it in their work with adult clients. A cross-sectional qualitative design was adopted. Sampling, data collection and analysis procedures were guided by grounded theory principles. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 12 therapists from a variety of training backgrounds. Data were coded and developed into thematic categories. Six primary themes were identified to describe how attachment theory influenced the clinical practice of the sample through the following: (i) complementing other therapeutic models; (ii) providing a framework to understand the development of clients' mental health problems; (iii) working with different attachment styles; (iv) thinking about the therapeutic relationship as an attachment relationship; (iv) influencing the different stages of the therapeutic process; and (vi) influencing clinical service design and delivery. It is concluded that attachment theory can play a significant role in influencing the practice of therapists and can be usefully adopted to complement therapeutic processes irrespective of the therapist's dominant clinical orientation. Further research is needed to explore the views of clinicians from different theoretical orientations and to investigate the security of the client-therapist attachment within the context of therapeutic change processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message Attachment theory may have implications for practice across a range of different types of therapy and may help therapists to bridge apparent differences between modality-specific formulation and techniques., Attachment theory can be used to understand the development of mental health problems. Therapists should assess and formulate clients' attachment styles, and these formulations should guide therapeutic approaches., Attachment theory provides a comprehensive framework for facilitating the therapist's attentiveness to relational issues and use of the therapeutic relationship as a fulcrum for change., The principles of attachment theory can be used to inform all stages of the therapeutic process, as well as the design and delivery of mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This review systematically examines research that investigates changes in adult attachment representations during psychological therapy. Method: Studies from two adult attachment approaches are reviewed (interview and self-report) with the aim of concluding whether psychotherapy can improve attachment representations. To guide the interpretation of findings, the methodological quality of studies is assessed. Results: The results suggest that attachment security increases following therapy, whereas attachment anxiety decreases following therapy. Findings are unclear with regard to attachment avoidance. Improvements are observed across different methodologies, patient groups, therapeutic approaches, and therapy settings. Findings also appear to be consistent across different levels of study quality. Conclusions: Overall, research supports the suggestion that attachment styles may alter during the course of psychotherapy, but further controlled trials are required to confirm this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]