Category: Depression

Suicide Awareness Month

September is Suicide Awareness Month, a time to raise understanding, reduce stigma, and highlight the support available for anyone affected by suicide.

Talking about suicide can be difficult, but starting the conversation is vital. Libraries play a role in signposting to trusted information and resources that can help people find support for themselves or others.

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available:

Our library also offers a range of Reading Well titles, including books on mental health, resilience, and coping strategies, all free to borrow.

Together, we can help break the silence and support suicide prevention.

Depression and Anxiety Bulletin

With thanks to our colleagues from Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust please find the latest bulletin attached. Some articles are freely accessible, others require an Open Athens account.

In this edition:

  • NHS talking therapy is less effective for younger adults
  • New Mental Health Foundation study shows 32-hour work week boosts staff wellbeing without harming productivity
  • Tackling poverty could be key to improving mental health in Wales, Mind Cymru report finds
  • Verbally abused children more likely to have poor mental health as adults, study finds

For support accessing any of the articles, please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

depr_anx_bulletin_1sep25Download

How Accurate Is HADS-A for Detecting Anxiety Disorders?

A new Cochrane review (Issue 7, 2025) examines the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—Anxiety subscale (HADS-A) as a screening tool for anxiety disorders (such as generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder) in adults. Based on research published between 1990 and July 2024, the review highlights high variability across studies, methodological weaknesses, and insufficient details about participants’ prior mental health status.

Takeaway: Although HADS-A is widely used due to its convenience, current evidence on its accuracy remains inconclusive—underscoring the need for higher-quality, rigorous studies before using it confidently in isolation.

Read the full review here: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale Anxiety subscale (HADS‐A) for detecting anxiety disorders in adults – Fomenko, A – 2025 | Cochrane Library

Digital Front Door Technologies for NHS Talking Therapies (NICE HTE30)

Published 24 July 2025, NICE’s EVA guidance (HTE30) evaluates two promising “digital front door” tools—Limbic Access and Wysa Digital Referral Assistant—that help gather service-user information in advance of NHS Talking Therapies assessments for anxiety and depression. These tools can be used during a three-year evidence-generation period if they have the required approvals. NICE emphasises that more evidence on effectiveness, accuracy, equality, and system impact is needed, with future recommendations contingent on the outcomes of this data collection.

Read more on the NICE website: Overview | Digital front door technologies to gather service user information for NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression assessments: early value assessment | Guidance | NICE

digital-front-door-technologies-to-gather-service-user-information-for-nhs-talking-therapies-for-anxiety-and-depression-assessments-early-value-assessment-pdf-50262085491397Download

Collaborative Care for Depression – What Works Best?

A new National Elf Service article explores which parts of collaborative care make the biggest difference for people with depression.

Research shows that while collaborative care involves teamwork, structured plans, and regular follow-up, the most effective elements are manual-based psychotherapy and involving family or carers.

Despite strong evidence, collaborative care is still underused in practice, often due to limited resources and uncertainty about what really works. This study highlights where efforts should be focused to improve outcomes for patients.

Read more: Collaborative care for depression: what are the key components?

Depression and Anxiety Bulletin

With thanks to our colleagues from Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust please find the latest bulletin attached. Some articles are freely accessible, others require an Open Athens account.

In this edition:

  • GenAI chatbots can treat clinical level mental health symptoms
  • Black maternal mental health – interconnected issues at the heart
  • NHS launches first ever review to tackle LGBT+ health inequalities
  • Feeding the mind: early signs that keto could help with bipolar disorder
  • GLP-1 receptor agonists and the brain: could these medications boost more than metabolism?

For support accessing any of the articles, please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

depr_anx_bulletin_5aug25Download

Depression & Anxiety Bulletin

Depression & Anxiety The current bulletin for Depression & Anxiety, produced by Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust, is now available to view and download. 

In this edition:

  • The impact of COVID-19 on parents from Black ethnic backgrounds in the UK: what we have learned and why it still matters
  • Revisiting 15 000 hours: towards sustainable school systems for mental health, well-being and learning
  • Work stress and its association with suicidal ideation, health and presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional study in the UK health and university workforce
  • Teen drug use today, mental health struggles tomorrow? What the evidence says
  • Plus much more

For support accessing any of the articles within the bulletin please contact: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

depr_anx_bulletin_22july25Download

Depression & Anxiety Bulletin

The latest Depression & Anxiety Bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/depression-anxiety/2025/07/8-july-2025-2/

In this edition:

  • Ten-year health plan misses the mark for mental health
  • NHS App could offer AI-driven mental health support
  • Harnessing digital innovation for children’s mental health
  • One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds
  • Plus much more

Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.

Depression & Anxiety Bulletin

The latest Depression & Anxiety Bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/depression-anxiety/2025/06/24-june-2025/

In this edition:

  • Do We Practice What We Preach? A Mixed Methods Study of Stress in Stress Experts: Implications for Transfer of Awareness and Learning
  • The role of parenting styles and depression in predicting suicidal ideation vulnerability among university students
  • Behavioural activation for low mood and anxiety in male frontline NHS workers (BALM): a pre-post intervention study
  • Beyond the Binary: Understanding the mental health toll of gender non-conformity
  • Plus much more

Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.

New ONS Report Reveals Elevated Self-Harm and Suicide Rates Among LGB+ Adults

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released a ground breaking analysis linking 2021 Census data with NHS records, revealing that adults identifying as LGB+ in England and Wales face significantly higher rates of self-harm and suicide compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

Key Findings:

  • The age-standardised rate of intentional self-harm for LGB+ individuals was 1,508.9 per 100,000 people between March 2021 and December 2023, compared to 598.4 per 100,000 for heterosexual individuals.
  • The suicide rate among LGB+ adults stood at 50.3 per 100,000 people, more than double the rate of 23.1 per 100,000 observed in heterosexual adults.
  • Bisexual individuals exhibited the highest self-harm rates within the LGB+ group, at 1,669.5 per 100,000 people.
  • The risk of self-harm was notably higher among LGB+ females, with a rate 2.8 times greater than that of heterosexual females.
  • Young adults aged 16 to 24 identifying as LGB+ had a self-harm rate 2.8 times higher than their heterosexual peers.

These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health support and suicide prevention strategies within the LGB+ community.

Read the full report: ONS – Self-harm and suicide by sexual orientation, England and Wales