This study examined the effect of depressed mood on the accessibility of memories of past real-life experiences of a pleasant or unpleasant nature. By means of a mood induction procedure, student subjects were made happy on one occasion and depressed on another. The two mood states differed significantly on self-report, speech-rate, and recall-latency measures. Stimulus words to which subjects had to associate past pleasant or unpleasant experiences were presented in each mood condition. Latency of retrieval was measured. Time to retrieve pleasant memories, relative to time to retrieve unpleasant memories, was significantly longer when subjects were depressed than when they were happy, suggesting a differential effect of mood on the accessibility of these two types of memory. The results are considered in relation to state-dependent learning and activation of memories, and their implications for models and treatment of depression are discussed. It is suggested that cognitive models of depression need to be extended to include a reciprocal relation between thought content and depressed mood.Depressed patients report that they experience a high frequency of thoughts with unpleasant content (Beck, 1967; Teasdale & Rezin, 1978a, 1978b. It is possible that this may be because depressed mood in some way increases the accessibility of memories for unpleasant events relative to the accessibility of memories for pleasant events. Lloyd and Lishman (1975) investigated this possibility by asking depressed patients, in response to a standard set of stimulus words, to retrieve from memory pleasant or unpleasant experiences from their past life. They found that the ratio of latency for retrieval of unpleasant experiences to latency for retrieval of pleasant experiences correlated negatively with severity of depression measured by the Beck Depres-

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While further research is warranted mentoring support or recovered mentors, may play a potentially valuable role in supporting those in community settings.

BackgroundAnorexia nervosa (AN) is characterised by restriction of energy intake, fear of gaining weight and severe disturbances in weight or shape. Recovery from AN is a complicated and often multifaceted experience that can take many years to achieve. Qualitative research has found that support, being understood, hope, desire for recovery, positive experiences in treatment, self-efficacy, motivation and relationships are important in recovery from AN. The experience of treatment for patients with an eating disorder is an important aspect of recovery with the potential to enhance recovery or hinder it. The aim of the questionnaire was to better understand factors impacting the care experiences during treatment and or recovery from self-reported Anorexia Nervosa (AN).MethodAn online questionnaire was developed and administered to past or current sufferers of Anorexia Nervosa, ≥18 years of age. Participants were recruited through eating disorder organisations both in Australia and the United Kingdom. The questionnaire was a mixture of quantitative and qualitative questions. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data was analysed using conventional content analysis (CCA).ResultsOf those who responded, most currently experienced self-reported AN. The quantitative results identified that most participants had trust and confidence in their health care provider and felt listened to and supported yet on the subject of the suitability of treatment this had varied opinions. Being understood, hope (life after AN) and self-acceptance were considered the top three important factors in the treatment and recovery from Anorexia Nervosa. The qualitative results revealed the factors hindering or benefiting treatment and recovery, and individuals’ needs during the four phases of recovery.ConclusionFactors were identified that could either hinder or benefit treatment and recovery and these included whether treatment supported the individual to cope with change, whether the individual found the treatment to be appropriate for their personal needs and whether treatment addressed underlying factors. Individuals’ needs differed during the four phases of recovery. The findings of the study may help treatment providers address key factors involved in recovery at the right stage of treatment however by the nature of the qualitative methodology conclusions are putative and further definitive research is indicated.

BackgroundPregnancy is a time of enormous body transformation. For those with an eating disorder during pregnancy this time of transformation can be distressing and damaging to both the mother and the child. In this meta-ethnographic study, we aimed to examine the experiences of women with an Eating Disorder in the perinatal period; that is during pregnancy and two years following birth.MethodA meta-ethnographic framework was used in this review. After a systematic online search of the literature using the keywords such as pregnancy, eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, perinatal, postnatal and post-partum, 11 papers, involving 94 women, were included in the review.ResultsA qualitative synthesis of the papers identified 2 key themes. The key theme that emerged during pregnancy was: navigating a ‘new’ eating disorder. The key that emerged in the perinatal period was return to the ‘old’ eating disorder.ConclusionFollowing a tumultuous pregnancy experience, many described returning to their pre-pregnancy eating behaviors and thoughts. These experiences highlight the emotional difficulty experienced having an eating disorder whilst pregnant but they also point to opportunities for intervention and a continued acceptance of body image changes. More research is needed on the experiences of targeted treatment interventions specific for pregnant and postpartum women with an eating disorder and the effectiveness of putative treatment interventions during this period.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1762-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ObjectiveThe aim of this proof-of-concept pilot study was to assess the usefulness of a mentoring support program with a goal to improve hope for recovery in people with an eating disorder.ResultsSignificant improvements (p ≤ 0.05) in hope for recovery were found for the mentees in the following domains: social relationships (p = 0.027), romantic relationships (p = 0.032), family life (p = 0.047), work (0.003) and overall scores (p = 0.003). There were no significant findings for any of the areas for the mentors. Despite this, mentoring programs that focus on improving hope may provide a valuable adjunct support for those in treatment for an eating disorder.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-017-3026-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Experimental investigation of the state of depression is at present hindered by the lack of simple, objective, repeatable measures of components of the state. Covariation between self-report measures of affect and simple measure of speech rate was investigated in a series of studies of both clinical and normal subjects, using single-case and group designs. Slowing of speech was significantly and substantially correlated with self-reports of increased unpleasant affect in certain situations. This suggests that the speech measure may usefully reflect a behavioural component of a state of retarded-type depression.