The objective was to improve the ability of general practitioners (GPs) to diagnose depression and dementia compared with standard screening measures. The setting was a retirement village on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. The study used a prepost design with a 6 month follow-up. The intervention involved a visit to the GP by an academic detailer who spent 15 minutes discussing the diagnosis of depression and dementia. Ratings of depression and dementia on two occasions by GPs, and by independent interviews were made using the Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini-mental State Examination and Canberra Interview for the Elderly. In the case of depression, the level of agreement (Kappa) between the GPs and all instruments increased significantly by a factor of between 2.3 and 3.3. The doctors did not significantly improve in their agreement with the instruments on the diagnosis of dementia. An academic detailing approach to improving GPs' abilities in the diagnosis of depression can be effective. A controlled trial would be justified to confirm this finding.

Postnatal debriefing is offered by 78% of maternity services in the UK despite little evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that it is effective. RCTs in this area have applied debriefing as a prophylactic to all or high risk women, rather than as a treatment for women who request it. This pragmatic trial therefore evaluated existing postnatal debriefing services that provide debriefing as a treatment for women who request it. Forty-six women who met criterion A for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and requested debriefing 1.3-72.2 months (median 16 weeks) postpartum completed measures of depression, PTSD, support and negative appraisals of the birth before and one month after debriefing. Women were compared with others who gave birth in the same hospitals during the same time period (n 34), who met criterion A for PTSD but had not requested debriefing. Results showed PTSD symptoms reduced over time in both groups but greater decreases were observed in women who attended debriefing. Debriefing also led to reduction in negative appraisals but did not affect symptoms of depression. Therefore, results suggest providing debriefing as a treatment to women who request or are referred to it may help to reduce symptoms of PTSD.

As part of a larger study, 133 subjects aged 70 years and over were screened for depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale, a 30-item questionnaire, as the screening instrument. Cognitive status was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination. The subject's own general practitioner was asked his/her opinion as to whether the subject was depressed. Poor agreement was found between depression as measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale and the general practitioner's assessment. Possible reasons for this include the difficulty of finding a satisfactory operational definition of depression for use by general practitioners, the problems of identifying depression in the elderly, the arbitrary definition provided by the scale and the confounding of depression, as measured by the scale, with cognitive status.

This one day annual event brings together some 2000 mental health professionals and front line staff and is an opportunity for organisations working in the sector to meet potential customers and contacts.Mental Health Today London 2005 will feature 70 key organisations exhibiting, combined with cutting edge seminars running throughout the day, an arena of art and performance, a relaxation zone offering free therapies and chill-out zone for when the hustle and bustle becomes too much.'This a vibrant, exciting event that brings together people and ideas at the cutting edge of mental health -prepare to be challenged, informed and stimulated' Maggie Hysel, Chief Executive, Richmond Fellowship mental health today London 2005