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Exposing rodents to a chronic regime of mild stressors (CMS) has been shown to produce enduring decreases in the consumption of palatable weak (1%) sucrose solution. This effect is thought to be analogous to the decreases in reward sensitivity observed in patients suffering from depression. It has been argued that this CMS model represents the most realistic model of depression. Chronic mild stress failed to produce any enduring reductions in sucrose intake, in either inbred or outbred Lister hooded male rats, in three studies. It was hypothesised that early abberant mother-infant interactions would facilitate the appearance of CMS-induced deficits. However, CMS failed to reduce sucrose consumption in either male (inbred Lister hooded) or female (inbred and outbred Lister hooded) rats which had undergone a regime of repeated maternal separation (RMS), or in the respective control rates. These findings add to the growing number of studies challenging the central status of CMS as a valid and reliable animal model of depression. Furthermore, these findings provide compelling evidence in favour of re-evaluating our approach to the study of chronic stress in this country and, furthermore, its contribution to the aetiology of depression. The RMS regime enhanced the locomotor activating effects of a low dose of d-amphetamine. Subsequent studies revealed that 24-hr maternal separation (at postnatal day 3) enhanced and reduced the locomotor activating effects of cocaine in females and males, respectively. These findings are potentially interesting with regard to the study of individual differences in the propensity to drug abuse. However, methodological difficulties impeded the full replication of these findings. The corticosterone synthesis inhibitor metyrapone produced a massive potentiation of the behavioural activating effects of d-amphetamine. This effect was probably the result of metyrapone-induced inhibition of cytochrome P450 2D1, an enzyme involved in the metabolism of d-amphetamine. This finding has potential serious implications for the current clinical use of metyrapone.

Introduction - This research aimed to investigate implicit emotional memory and the effects of positive suggestion during colonoscopy with conscious sedation. Evidence of emotional arousal in response to a word stimulus, without conscious recall, was investigated Method - During colonoscopy, under midazolam sedation and fentanyl analgesia, participants (N=25) heard either positive suggestion or nursery rhyme titles. Measures of mood, intra-operative distress, post-traumatic stress traits and sleep disturbance of the two groups, were compared throughout three time periods. Sedative effect on emotional memory formation was examined pre and post-procedurally, using the Skin Conductance Response (SCR) technique to compare participants' physiological reactions to nonsense-words, two emotive and one neutral. Procedural-based questionnaires and mood measures were completed one hour and two days after colonoscopy. Results - There was a significant difference between distress levels in suggestion-groups with the positive suggestion group demonstrating less intra-operative distress. There was no significant effect of what participants heard under sedation on mood-disturbance scores across time. Neither depression nor anxiety was affected by type of audio stimuli. Neither group showed any significant difference in levels of intrusive post-procedural memories or levels of dissociation. No participants demonstrated changes in dissociation post endoscopic examination. SCR differences showed physiological effects of priming with emotive words. Participants demonstrating implicit memory had significantly higher sleep disturbance scores than those with explicit memory for intra-procedural events. Conclusion –Hearing positive suggestion whilst under conscious sedation reduced intra-procedural distress and implicit memory for colonoscopy increased sleep disturbance in the days following the procedure. Evidence was found for midazolam sedation between 2-3mg impairing explicit memory whilst leaving implicit memory intact. Due to the low number of willing participants findings were tentative and difficult to generalise to a wider population.

The literature review explored adolescents‟ experiences of psychological therapies. Sixteen studies were reviewed and a narrative synthesis found that therapist characteristics, the wider context of mental health and personal feelings were important aspects of the therapeutic encounter for the adolescent population. Synthesis of the evidence was limited by methodological weaknesses. Further research regarding what hinders engagement in therapy and macro-level influences on the therapeutic encounter was suggested. The research study utilised a qualitative, semi-structured interview design to explore adolescents‟ experiences of psychological therapy. The accounts of eight adolescents were analysed using Grounded Theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The findings suggested that adolescents‟ attitudes towards psychological therapy were affected in a complex and dynamic manner by their experiences of the therapeutic process, their experiences of the therapist and their views about what others‟ think. The research also suggested that adolescents represent a high risk group for disengagement from psychological therapy. The findings were discussed in the context of existing research and it was suggested that professionals providing psychological therapy should consider taking an active political role in shaping future service developments to enable services to engage better with this client group. Further research exploring whether these findings are more widely generalisable was suggested. A personal account of the researchers‟ reflections on the research process is provided in the critical appraisal.

Homeless adults experience high levels of mental health-related difficulties, but experience barriers in accessing mainstream mental health services. To provide more equitable access, a small number of innovative services have developed in the UK. The current literature review explored the research evidence for their therapeutic impact. Based upon the narrative synthesis of 13 heterogeneous research studies, designated services for homeless adults were found to have a therapeutic impact, as measured on a range of outcomes. Methodological flaws however, were identified in all of the research studies reviewed. It was concluded that given the paucity of research in this field, clinical applicability was very limited. In particular, the need for further research into service users’ views of existing services was identified. The research study sought to understand service users’ experiences of: homelessness and mental health; psychological needs; a Homeless Psychology Service; and, their ideas regarding service development. Qualitative interviews were conducted with seven adults who had accessed a specialist Homeless Psychology Service in the UK. Analysis using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed that becoming and being homeless had a detrimental psychological impact on all participants. All but one of the participants benefited from engaging with the service (i.e. through catharsis, gaining insight, overcoming hopelessness, making positive changes). The findings provide insight into how they benefited or not and what makes homeless adults ‘different’. The findings support the need for specialist services which meet their needs by providing flexibility and by persistently seeking to combat ‘mistrust’ by encouraging engagement. The Homeless Psychology Service is promoted as a potential service model for future developments. The Critical Appraisal offers the Researchers’ reflections on conducting this study.

The aim of the present literature review was to critically appraise the most recent research in the field of gaming „addiction‟. Eighteen papers were selected from a literature search of prominent databases published between 2005 and 2010 and included „gaming‟ and „addiction‟ as the focal point. The papers explored several themes including: prevalence, time spent, individual traits, „addictive‟ potential of games, consequences of play and the concept of addiction. Current research paid scant attention to contextual factors and clinical assertions were made based on limited evidence. It was recommended that future studies synthesise the diverse subjects under investigation using different methodologies in order to create a holistic picture of gaming. The current study sought to understand the experiences of gamers who had encountered difficulty and to learn how these participants related to the activity and the feasibility of gaming „addiction‟. The aim was to offer a new insight into a poorly understood group. Seven adult male console gamers were recruited through online message boards and personal referral and interviewed using a loosely structured schedule. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to develop the themes of: love of gaming, illusion, goal-directed behaviour, game crazy, derision and self-help. A label of gaming „addiction‟, particularly for adult console gamers was considered to be unsuitable. For these participants, they did not appear to fulfill the core criteria of „addiction‟. Limitations of the current study included: self-sampling, poor response rate, and the use of face to face interviews. Research with children and adult gamers was recommended that did not emphasise the word „problem „and used online interview techniques. Intervention delivered via technology was suggested, as was the possibility of information sheets for clinicians to improve their understanding of gaming. The critical appraisal contained reflections of the experience of conducting a small scale piece of research.