Background: 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) therapy has qualities that make it potentially well suited for patients with addictions, but this has never been explored in a research study. We present data from the Bristol Imperial MDMA in Alcoholism (BIMA) study. This is the first MDMA addiction study, an open-label safety and tolerability proof-of-concept study investigating the potential role for MDMA therapy in treating patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Aims: This study aimed to assess if MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can be delivered safely and can be tolerated by patients with AUD post detoxification. Outcomes regarding drinking behaviour, quality of life and psychosocial functioning were evaluated. Methods: Fourteen patients with AUD completed a community alcohol detoxification and received an eight-week course of recovery-based therapy. Participants received two sessions with MDMA (187.5 mg each session). Psychological support was provided before, during and after each session. Safety and tolerability were assessed alongside psychological and physiological outcome measures. Alcohol use behaviour, mental well-being and functioning data were collected for nine months after alcohol detoxification. Results: MDMA treatment was well tolerated by all participants. No unexpected adverse events were observed. Psychosocial functioning improved across the cohort. Regarding alcohol use, at nine months post detox, the average units of alcohol consumption by participants was 18.7 units per week compared to 130.6 units per week before the detox. This compares favourably to a previous observational study (the ‘Outcomes’ study) by the same team with a similar population of people with AUD. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary support for the safety and tolerability of a novel intervention for AUD post detox. Further trials to examine better the therapeutic potential of this approach are now indicated.
The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication Psychological distress amongst primary school teachers: a comparison with clinical and population samples
Background
Teaching is a stressful occupation with poor retention. The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme is a training programme that research has demonstrated may be an effective intervention for improving children's mental health, but little research has explored any impacts there may be on the teachers’ own professional confidence and mental health.
Aims
In this paper, we evaluate whether TCM may lead to changes in teachers’ well‐being, namely a reduction in burnout and an improvement in self‐efficacy and mental health.
Sample
Eighty schools across the South West of England were recruited between September 2012 and September 2014. Headteachers were asked to nominate one class teacher to take part.
Methods
Eighty teachers were randomized to either attend a TCM course (intervention) or not (control). TCM was delivered to groups of up to 12 teachers in six whole‐day workshops that were evenly spread between October and April. At baseline and 9‐month follow‐up, we measured teachers’ mental health using the Everyday Feelings Questionnaire (EFQ), burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey (MBI‐GS), and self‐efficacy using the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale‐Short (TSES‐Short).
Results
Using linear regression models, there was little evidence of differences at follow‐up between the intervention and control teachers on the outcomes (the smallest p‐value was .09).
Conclusions
Our findings did not replicate previous research that TCM improved teachers’ sense of efficacy. However, there were limitations with this study including low sample size.
Staff consistency is recognised nationally as an issue for crisis resolution home treatment (CRHT) teams. Here the authors discuss their evaluation of a CRHT team to establish the number and consistency of staff contacts with service users during a typical CRHT care episode. They propose initiatives to improve the continuity of patient care and highlight a need for further research in this model of care.
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