Palliative psychiatry: research, clinical, and educational priorities.

BACKGROUND: Palliative psychiatry has been proposed as a new clinical construct within mental health care and aims to improve quality of life (QoL) for individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). To date, explorations of palliative psychiatry have been largely theoretical, and more work is needed to develop its approaches into tangible clinical practice. METHODS: In this paper, we synthesize existing literature with discussions held at a one-day knowledge user meeting titled "A Community of Practice for Palliative Psychiatry" to generate priorities for research, clinical practice, and education that will help advance the development of palliative psychiatry. RESULTS: Palliative psychiatry will benefit from research that is co-produced by people with lived experience (PWLE) of mental illness, that clarifies contested concepts within mental health care and wider medicine, and that adapts existing interventions that have the potential to improve the QoL of individuals experiencing SPMI into the mental health care context. Specific methods and tools might be developed for use in clinical spaces taking a palliative psychiatry approach. More work must be done to understand the populations that might benefit from palliative psychiatry, and to mitigate mental health care providers' (MHCPs') anxieties about using these approaches in their work. As palliative psychiatry is developed, current MHCPs, trainees, individuals experiencing SPMI, and their loved ones will all require education about and orientation to this novel approach within mental health care. CONCLUSIONS: There are several priorities in research, clinical practice, and education that can help advance the development of palliative psychiatry. All future work must be considered through a human rights-based, anti-oppressive lens. Research projects, clinical models, and educational initiatives should all be developed in co-production with PWLE to mitigate the epistemic injustices common in mental health care.

Comparing attitudes towards compulsory interventions in severe and persistent mental illness among psychiatrists in India and Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Psychiatrists face a major ethical challenge when deciding whether to make use of coercive measures in the treatment process of patients suffering from severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). As India and Switzerland show major cultural, political and financial differences, it is hypothesized that attitudes towards coercive measures among Indian and Swiss psychiatrists will vary too. Exploring differences in attitudes between cultures strengthens the critical reflection on one's own stances and in consequence, on our way of action. Especially when it comes to situations involving power imbalances between patients and health practitioners, self-reflection is essential to prevent ethically inappropriate behavior. METHODS: An online survey on aspects of care for patients with SPMI was sent to 3'056 members of the Indian Psychiatric Society between April and June 2020 and to 1'311 members of the Swiss Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy between February and March 2016. The respondents' answers were compared. This article deals with the questionnaire's items on autonomous decision making and the implementation of coercive measures in clinical practice. More precisely, participating psychiatrists were asked to rate the importance of patient's autonomy in general and their willingness to apply coercive measures regarding two specific case vignettes depicting a patient with schizophrenia and one with depression. The statistical analysis, namely descriptive data analysis and calculation of arithmetic means, Shapiro Wilks tests and Mann-Whitney U tests, was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27. RESULTS: Answers were received from 206 psychiatrists in India and 457 psychiatrists in Switzerland. Indian participants tended to value autonomous decision making as slightly less important than Swiss participants (62.2% vs. 91%, p =.01). Regarding a case of severe and persistent depression, psychiatrists in the Indian group were on average more in favor of acting against the wishes of the patient (55% vs. 34.1%, p <.0001) as well as of accepting a temporary decrease in quality of life due to coercion (40% vs. 23%, p =.008). Answers concerning a case of schizophrenia revealed that Indian participants were more in favor of acting against the patient's wishes than Swiss participants (39% vs. 37%, p =.007), whereas the comparison whether to accept a temporary decrease in quality of life regarding this case showed no significant difference (p =.328). CONCLUSIONS: The significant difference in attitudes towards coercive measures among Indian compared to Swiss psychiatrists found in this study might arise from a predominantly more collectivist society in India compared to Switzerland. Moreover, differences in financial resources, the organization of the health care system, and the historical background might have an influence. Continuous and critical reflection on one's own views and behavior is essential, especially if ethical principles and individual rights could be violated through a power imbalance, as in the case of coercive measures.

Palliative psychiatry for a patient with treatment-refractory schizophrenia and severe chronic malignant catatonia: case report.

BACKGROUND: Palliative psychiatry is an emerging field that suggests a role for palliative interventions in the management of severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). Current literature describes using a palliative approach for patients with severe anorexia nervosa. To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing end-of-life care in a patient with treatment-refractory catatonic schizophrenia. CASE DESCRIPTION: We describe the case of a 49-year-old man with schizophrenia and severe chronic agitated/malignant catatonia who was hospitalized for ten months. Multiple treatment trials including medication such as neuroleptics and benzodiazepines, electroconvulsive therapy, and empiric interventions such as intravenous immunoglobulins were either not tolerated or did not result in clinically significant improvement. The patient continued to intermittently require intubation and sedation to control intractable behavioral and psychiatric disturbances. Ultimately, with collaboration of psychiatry, neurology, ethics, intensive care, and palliative care teams, the patient's parents decided to forgo further diagnostic testing and life-sustaining treatments. The patient died weeks later of aspiration pneumonia with good symptom control. CONCLUSIONS: This case permits discussion of palliative interventions in patients with SPMI such as treatment-refractory psychotic disorders who likely cannot achieve a quality of life that is acceptable to them. Here, it can be justified to prioritize relief of suffering and prevention of further burdensome interventions over treatment of the SPMI symptoms such as catatonia and even over keeping the patient alive.

Comparison of analog and digital patient decision aids for the treatment of depression: a scoping review.

Introduction: Patient decision aids (PDAs) are important tools to empower patients and integrate their preferences and values in the decision-making process. Even though patients with mental health problems have a strong interest in being more involved in decision making about their treatment, research has mainly focused on PDAs for somatic conditions. In this scoping review, we focus on patients suffering from depression and the role of PDAs for this patient group. The review offers an overview of digital and analog PDAs, their advantages and disadvantages as well as recommendations for further research and development. Methods: A systematic search of the existing literature guided by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses - extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was conducted. Three electronic literature databases with the appropriate thematic focus were searched (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science). The search strategy used controlled and natural language to search for the key concepts decision aids and depression. The articles were selected in a two-step process guided by predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We narratively synthetized information extracted from 40 research articles. Results: We included 40 articles in our review. Our review revealed that there is more focus on digital PDAs in research than in clinical practice. Digitalization can enhance the benefits of PDAs by developing tools that are more efficient, interactive, and personalized. The main disadvantages of both types of PDAs for the treatment of depression are related to time, dissemination, and capacity building for the health care providers. Digital PDAs need to be regularly updated, effective strategies for their dissemination and acceptance need to be identified, and clinicians need sufficient training on how to use digital PDAs. There is more research needed to study which forms of PDAs are most appropriate for various patient groups (e.g., older adults, or patients with comorbidities), and to identify the most effective ways of PDAs' integration in the clinical workflow. The findings from our review could be well aligned with the International Patient Decision Aids Standards. Discussion: More research is needed regarding effective strategies for the implementation of digital PDAs into the clinical workflow, ethical issues raised by the digital format, and opportunities of tailoring PDAs for diverse patient groups.

Deep wrist injuries from suicide attempts vs. accidents do not differ regarding sensorimotor outcome, but regarding patient-reported outcome measures.

Despite the clinical importance of deep wrist injuries (DWIs), data comparing the outcome of suicide attempt survivors vs. accident survivors are lacking. Patients admitted to our Clinic for acute treatment of a DWI from 2008 to 2016 were contacted for a follow-up assessment of sensory, motor and functional outcomes. Patients also completed the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire, the Modified Mayo Wrist Score, the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires. 51 patients could be followed up, on average 4.3 ± 2.9 years after their injury. Suicide attempt survivors did not differ from accidents survivors concerning two-point discrimination, grip and pinch strength, but showed poorer outcomes in self-reported disability, symptom severity, and quality of life. Patients with DWIs from suicide attempts vs. accidents do not differ in sensorimotor outcomes but patient-reported outcome measures. Level of Evidence: II.

A two-center pilot study on the effects of clinical ethics support on coercive measures in psychiatry.

BACKGROUND: The use of formal coercion such as seclusion, mechanical restraint, and forced medication is one of the most challenging and complex issues in mental health care, on the clinical, the legal, and the ethical level. Clinical ethics support aims at assisting healthcare practitioners in determining the morally most justifiable course of action in these situations. However, the effectiveness of clinical ethics support has hardly been studied so far. METHODS: Monthly moral case deliberation (MCD) was implemented in two acute wards of two different psychiatric hospitals in Switzerland. Frequency and intensity of coercion was measured on ward level (npatients = 405), and the Moral Attentiveness Scale, Knowledge on Coercion Scale, and Staff Attitudes towards Coercion Scale were applied on healthcare practitioner level (nHP = 46). Pre-post-comparisons were conducted using multi-level modeling where appropriate. RESULTS: After implementation of MCD, formal coercion was less frequent (particularly seclusion, small effect size; 9.6 vs. 16.7%, p = .034, Cramér's V = .105) and less intense (particularly mechanical restraint, large effect size; 86.8 ± 45.3 vs. 14.5 ± 12.1 h, exact p = .019, r = -.74), and approval for coercive measures among healthcare practitioners was lower when controlling for the number of MCD sessions attended. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical ethics support such as MCD may be a hitherto underutilized service for the reduction of coercion, complementing existing strategies and programs. Implementing clinical ethics support may help improve quality of care for persons suffering from severe mental illness.

Palliative Psychiatry for Patients With Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: A Survey on the Attitudes of Psychiatrists in India Compared to Psychiatrists in Switzerland.

Objectives: Palliative psychiatry is a new approach for the care of patients with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) which systematically considers biological, psychological, social, and existential factors of care. To assess the attitudes of psychiatrists in India toward palliative psychiatry for patients with SPMI and to compare these to the attitudes of psychiatrists in Switzerland. Methods: In an online survey, data from 206 psychiatrists in India were collected and compared with data from a previous survey among 457 psychiatrists in Switzerland. Results: Psychiatrists in India generally considered it very important to prevent suicide in SPMI patients (97.6%). At the same time, they considered it very important to reduce suffering (98.1%) and to ensure functionality in everyday life (95.6%). They agreed that palliative psychiatry is important for providing optimal care to SPMI patients without life-limiting illness (79.6%) and considered palliative psychiatry as indicated for patients with SPMI (78.2%). By contrast, curing the illness was considered very important by only 39.8 % of respondents. Relative to psychiatrists in Switzerland, psychiatrists in India were significantly more concerned about preventing suicide and less willing to accept a reduction in life expectancy, even at the expense of quality of life in patients with severe and persistent schizophrenia and recurrent major depressive disorder. At the same time, they were significantly more likely to advocate palliative psychiatry. Conclusion: Most of the participating psychiatrists in India agreed that palliative psychiatry can be indicated for patients with SPMI. The comparison with psychiatrists in Switzerland highlights the need to take account of cultural differences in future studies of this kind. In summary, this study shows the potential of palliative psychiatry as a genuine biopsychosocio-existential approach which systematically integrates biological, psychological, social, and existential factors of care.

Caught in a web of trauma: Network analysis of childhood adversity and adult mental ill-health.

BACKGROUND: Current interventions for adverse childhood experiences have only limited effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify optimal targets for the development of new interventions against adverse childhood experiences (ACE), that is, ACEs that a) are so central in the network of childhood adversity that curbing them is likely to impact other types of adversity, too, and b) are so central to the link of childhood adversity and adult mental ill-health that curbing them is likely to prevent this negative long-term effect from developing. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 384 adult psychiatric inpatients. METHODS: Using the R packages qgraph and IsingFit, we analyzed the ACE network and the common network of ACEs and adult mental disorders. RESULTS: We found two clusters of ACEs: direct interactions with the child and indirect traumatization via adverse circumstances. When controlling for interrelatedness, the associations of sexual abuse with posttraumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder were the only direct links between ACEs and adult mental disorders. CONCLUSIONS: As neglect and violence against the mother were the most influential ACEs, curbing them is likely to destabilize the whole network of adversity. Thus, neglect and violence against the mother lend themselves as candidate targets for the development of new interventions. As sexual abuse was the only link between childhood adversity and adult mental ill-health, interventions against it seem most likely to keep this negative long-term effect from developing. Further, ideally prospective, research is needed to corroborate these findings.

Neural basis of shame and guilt experience in women with borderline personality disorder.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by instability of affect, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal dysfunction. Especially shame and guilt, so-called self-conscious emotions, are of central clinical relevance to BPD. However, only few experimental studies have focused on shame or guilt in BPD and none investigated their neurobiological underpinnings. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we took a scenario-based approach to experimentally induce feelings of shame, guilt, and disgust with neutral scenarios as control condition. We included 19 women with BPD (age 26.4 ± 5.8 years; DSM-IV diagnosed; medicated) and 22 healthy female control subjects (age 26.4 ± 4.6 years; matched for age and verbal IQ). Compared to controls, women with BPD reported more intense feelings when being confronted with affective scenarios, especially higher levels of shame, guilt, and fear. We found increased amygdala reactivity in BPD compared to controls for shame and guilt, but not for disgust scenarios (p = 0.05 FWE corrected at the cluster level; p < 0.0001 cluster defining threshold). Exploratory analyses showed that this was caused by a diminished habituation in women with BPD relative to control participants. This effect was specific to guilt and shame scenarios as both groups showed amygdala habituation to disgust scenarios. Our work suggests that heightened shame and guilt experience in BPD is not related to increased amygdala activity per se, but rather to decreased habituation to self-conscious emotions. This provides an explanation for the inconsistencies in previous imaging work on amygdala involvement in BPD as well as the typically slow progress in the psychotherapy of dysfunctional self-conscious emotions in this patient group.

Traumatizing Oneself-Deep Wrist Injuries Self-Inflicted with Suicidal Intention are Associated with More Severe PTSD Symptomatology than Similar Injuries from Accidents.

OBJECTIVE: As suicide attempts by definition entail at least some threat to physical integrity and life, they theoretically qualify as an A1 criterion for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study uses the unique opportunity of deep wrist injuries to quantify the effect of intentionality on PTSD rates by comparing suicide attempt survivors with patients who sustained accidental injuries similar in mechanism, localization, and extent. METHOD: Patients who had been admitted with an acute deep wrist injury from 2008 to 2016 filled out the revised Impact of Event Scale and reported other known PTSD risk factors. Mental morbidity and intentionality of the injury were determined by psychiatric consultation during the index hospitalization. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients were followed up (72.5% male, 92.2% Caucasian, mean age at injury 42.3 ± 17.5 years, 72.5% accidental injuries), on average 4.2 ± 2.9 years after their injury. The intentionality of the injury alone predicted the severity of intrusions, avoidance, hyperarousal, and probable PTSD (aOR = 14.0). CONCLUSIONS: Traumatization in the context of a suicide attempt may be a hitherto unknown PTSD risk factor. Patients after suicide attempts, especially medically serious attempts, should be monitored for PTSD symptoms.

The Reason Matters: Deep Wrist Injury Patterns Differ with Intentionality (Accident versus Suicide Attempt).

BACKGROUND: Despite the clinical importance of suicidal deep wrist injuries (DWIs), we currently do not know whether their injury patterns differ from accidental injuries. METHODS: This retrospective study included all patients admitted to the Clinic of Plastic Surgery for acute treatment of a DWI from 2008 to 2016, except for isolated injuries to the palmaris longus (PL) and amputations. Intentionality of the injury was determined using documentation of psychiatric evaluations; cases that could not be categorized regarding intentionality were excluded. RESULTS: About 20% of DWIs stemmed from suicide attempts, which involved the nondominant hand in 94.5%. Suicidal DWIs were more likely to involve the median nerve, radial artery, PL, and flexor carpi radialis (FCR), especially on the nondominant hand, but were less likely to involve the ulnar artery and nerve on the dominant hand. The effect of the protective structures PL/flexor carpi ulnaris on the median nerve/ulnar artery could be confirmed for suicidal DWIs, but intactness of the FCR was associated with increased radial artery injuries. Longitudinal cut orientation in suicidal DWIs was associated with more radial artery injuries, but fewer injuries to tendons and nerves. Frequencies of various other injury constellations are tabulated to aid in clinical assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Suicidal and accidental DWIs differed in various aspects of injury pattern. Suicidal injuries were mostly localized to the nondominant radial side, and accidental injuries to the ulnar side. Also, the so-called protective structure FCR had the opposite effect in suicidal injuries. Thus, findings regarding injury patterns in accidental DWIs cannot be generalized to suicidal injuries.

Utilization of Mental Health Care, Treatment Patterns, and Course of Psychosocial Functioning in Northern German Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Depressive and/or Anxiety Disorders.

BACKGROUND: Comorbid mental disorders in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are common and associated with adverse somatic outcomes. However, data on utilization rates of mental health care and treatment efficiency are scarce and inconsistent, which we tried to remedy with the present preliminary study on Northern German CAD patients. METHOD: A total of 514 German CAD patients, as diagnosed by cardiac catheterization, were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. RESULTS: Global utilization of mental health care since onset of CAD was 21.0%. Depressive disorders, younger age, and lower GAF at onset of CAD were associated with higher utilization rates, while anxiety disorders and gender were not. Lower GAF at onset of CAD, female gender, and psychotherapy was positively associated with higher gains in GAF, while younger age and anxiety disorders were negatively associated. CONCLUSION: The majority of CAD patients with comorbid depression reported to have received mental health treatment and seemed to have benefited from it. However, we found preliminary evidence of insufficiencies in the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders in CAD patients. Further studies, preferably prospective and with representative samples, are needed to corroborate or falsify these findings and explore possible further mediators of health-care utilization by CAD patients such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.