Music therapy for neglected children: can music therapy improve the parent-child relationship?

In this blog, Nuala Livingstone considers an interesting study with Randomized Controlled Trials design, which looks at the effect of music therapy treatment on parent-child interactions.

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Having a laugh: Can medical clowns ease the pain of allergy tests?

In this blog, Jennifer Hanratty examined a study, which tested the efficacy of the “Dream Doctors” medical clowns in easing anxiety and pain in children undergoing allergy skin prick tests.

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Helping young people with psychosis return to work: early intervention services need to do more

Stephen Wood summarises a recent cluster RCT of vocational rehabilitation in early psychosis, which finds that early intervention services need to do more to help young people with psychosis return to work.

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Can schools prevent eating disorders?

In 2012 there was a call from Parliament to research school interventions to reduce body dissatisfaction. Helen Bould reports on an RCT of school-based prevention programme for eating disorders, which highlights the need for more work in this area.

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Internet-based alcohol and cannabis prevention: Climate Schools and salami slicing

Matt Field summarises the findings of a recent cluster RCT that uses internet-based prevention (an Australian programme called Climate Schools) to reduce alcohol and cannabis use, truancy, psychological distress and moral disengagement.

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The dark side of universal prevention: Limited effectiveness and harmful effects of classroom-based CBT in preventing adolescent depression

Depression is a common problem in adolescence, with statistics showing that around 20% of young people will go through at least one clinically depressive episode by the age of 18 years. Given the significant impairment and deleterious consequences of depression, sustained efforts have been dedicated to preventive and early intervention. In a recent large trial [read the full story…]