Andrew Shepherd

Andrew is a doctoral research fellow at the University of Manchester and higher trainee in Forensic Psychiatry. His research interests include the nature of mental disorder, particularly personality disorder, and the meaning, or experience, of personal recovery. His research involves the use of qualitative methods including individual interviews and focus groups with service users and clinical staff. Outside of research he continues to work clinically within the NHS as a forensic psychiatrist in secure hospitals and prison clinics.

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Antidepressants, safety warnings and suicide risk in young people

Andrew Shepherd reviews the recent controversial BMJ study that suggests the FDA black box warning about antidepressant use in young people, may have inadvertently caused an increase in suicidal behaviour. He finds it’s not quite that clear cut.

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Bereavement during childhood, but not before birth, is associated with an increased risk of psychosis

Psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, are often conceptualised as arising from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental influences (Tandon 2008). The impact of social influences on the risk of psychotic experience is undeniable. Recent reviews of this topic have called for a focus on maternal wellbeing as a means of primary prevention for mental [read the full story…]