Debate: COVID-19 to the under 19 - a Singapore school mental health response.

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic causes much disruption globally on sociopolitical, economic and healthcare fronts. While much of the impact has focused on the epidemiology and medical management of the pandemic, more need to be focused on the mental health impact of COVID-19. This article describes the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Singapore's schools and the response and adaptation of the school community mental health services. Singapore's response is one of balancing the needs of the population and demands in this crisis, with the utilization of technology and outbreak and support control measures. Further consideration needs to be afforded to increase capacity of the school and mental health services to support youth and tapping on technological innovations.

Child Community Mental Health Services in Asia Pacific and Singapore's REACH Model.

In recent decades, there have been concerted efforts to improve mental health services for youths alongside the challenges of rising healthcare costs and increasing demand for mental health needs. One important phenomenon is the shift from traditional clinic-based care to community-based mental health services to improve accessibility to services and provide patient-centred care. In this article, we discuss the child and adolescent community mental health efforts within the Asia-Pacific region. We also discuss Singapore's community and school-based mental health service, known as the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health (REACH). This article discusses how REACH has evolved over the years in response to the changing needs of youths in Singapore. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future directions for youth mental health care.

Stomaching uncertainty: Relationships among intolerance of uncertainty, eating disorder pathology, and comorbid emotional symptoms.

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is proposed to be a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor for various emotional disorders. There is robust evidence for the role of IU in anxiety and depressive disorders, but a paucity of evidence in eating disorders (ED). This study evaluated the factorial validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Short Form (IUS-12; Carleton, Norton, & Asmundson, 2007), and examined whether IU is associated with ED pathology and comorbid emotional symptoms, in a clinical sample with EDs (N=134). A unitary factor solution provided the best fit. The IUS-12 showed excellent internal consistency, and good convergent validity. IU had an indirect effect on dietary restraint, purging, and emotional symptoms via overvaluation of eating, weight, and shape. The indirect effect was not significant for bingeing. Findings provide partial support for the notion that IU is a vulnerability factor for ED pathology and support the notion that IU is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor for emotional symptoms. Limitations, research implications, and future directions for research are discussed.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its association with remission status in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

The neurotrophin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), characterises a probable neurobiochemical explanation of maldevelopments in schizophrenia and is a candidate biomarker of the illness. A paucity of studies examining neurobiochemical predictors of remission in schizophrenia exists. In this study, we seek to examine if serum BDNF level is associated with remission status in a sample of Chinese patients with schizophrenia. This study did not find a significant relationship between serum BDNF and remission in patients with schizophrenia. Identification of a suitable biomarker for diagnosis, management, and prognostic outcome is crucial and warrants further study.

Adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy for religious individuals with mental disorder: a systematic review.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered an evidence-based psychological intervention for various mental disorders. However, mental health clinicians should be cognizant of the population that was used to validate the intervention and assess its acceptability to a target group that is culturally different. We systematically reviewed published empirical studies of CBT adapted for religious individuals with mental disorder to determine the extent to which religiously modified CBT can be considered an empirically supported treatment following the criteria delineated by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. Overall, nine randomized controlled trials and one quasi-experimental study were included that compared the effectiveness of religiously modified CBT to standard CBT or other treatment modalities for the treatment of depressive disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia. The majority of these studies either found no difference in effectiveness between religiously modified CBT compared to standard CBT or other treatment modalities, or early effects that were not sustained. Considering the methodological limitations of the reviewed studies, religiously modified CBT cannot be considered a well-established psychological intervention for the treatment of the foregoing mental disorders following the a priori set criteria at this juncture. Nevertheless, melding religious content with CBT may be an acceptable treatment modality for individuals with strong religious convictions.