objective: sexual dysfunction is frequently reported as a side effect of many antidepressant medications. as a result, for those depressed patients to whom sexual desire is important, psychological treatment may be a better intervention. thus, the present study aimed to determine the possible changes in sexual desire following psychological treatments in depression, when focus of therapy is not...

(a) Dr Lam seems to misinterpret the nature and purpose of pragmatic trials. It is not a matter, as he suggests, simply of appropriate outcome measures, which should be a feature of all trials. Pragmatic trials are intended to test therapies in the practical circumstances of everyday clinical settings, using large multicentre samples (Hotopf et al, 1999). Most previous trials of therapies for b...

O ver 4 decades, ago Aaron T Beck presented the basic theoretical and treatment approach of cognitivebehavioural therapy (CBT). Since then, hundreds of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) have demonstrated the efficacy of CBT for the broad range of psychiatric conditions, including severe mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), substan...

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a structured, brief psychological treatment approach with a wide range of applications, including the treatment of psychological disorders that accompany physical illness. Over recent years there has been an expansion in the use of CBT with older people. Knowledge of CBT helps doctors to understand the mechanisms of psychological disorders and to make appr...

Intervention Brief cognitive behavioural therapy or usual care. After 10 days of training, the intervention nurses visited patients for up to 6 hour-long sessions over 2–3 months. Carers received 3 optional sessions. All phases of cognitive behavioural therapy were included: assessment and engaging; developing explanations; case formulation; symptom management; adherence; core beliefs, and rela...

BACKGROUND Postgraduate courses on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) assess various competencies using essays, case studies and audiotapes or videotapes of clinical work. AIMS To evaluate how reliably a well-established postgraduate course assesses CBT competencies. METHOD Data were collected on two cohorts of trainees (n=52). Two examiners marked trainees on: (a) two videotapes of clinic...

BACKGROUND Psychotherapy requires clinical supervision. This is systematic guidance of a therapist by a supervisor. Inevitably, there is a question of training new high-quality therapists. This is related to supervision of their basic training. Later, it is important to provide an opportunity for lifelong supervision throughout the entire psychotherapeutic practice. METHOD PUBMED data base wa...

The DSM–IV classification of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) refers to an individual’s preoccupation with an ‘imagined’ defect in his or her appearance or markedly excessive concern with a slight physical anomaly (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). An Italian psychiatrist, Morselli, first used the term ‘dysmorphophobia’ in 1886, although it is now falling into disuse, probably because ICD–...