This overview explains antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinaemia and offers guidance on the management of this common and underestimated problem in general psychiatric practice.

We review thought disorder in psychopathology, including how one can assess it clinically, useful psychometric measures and its clinical importance. In the final section we discuss how recent studies in neuropsychology and neuroimaging have helped understand the mechanisms of abnormal speech and languages in psychotic illnesses.

Akathisia is a common and distressing side-effect of antipsychotic medication. The treatment of this condition is difficult and options are limited. This review of the literature was performed to develop an evidence-based algorithm for the management of antipsychotic-induced akathisia. There is limited high-level evidence to support the use of anticholinergics. Centrally acting β-adrenergic antagonists are potential treatments, although their use is limited by troublesome side-effects. Long-acting benzodiazepines and mirtazapine are potential well-tolerated treatments for the acute management of akathisia.

Currently, network meta-analyses (NMAs) are the only technique that allow us to compare and rank numerous treatments across trials. Evidence produced by NMAs relies on pooled data from both direct and indirect comparisons within studies. Consequently, NMAs are invaluable tools for informing clinical guidelines.

Cognitive—behavioural therapy (CBT) provides a structure to inform safe and effective practice. It can be helpful for understanding and working with patients, but it can have a wider potential benefit, offering clinicians and teams a self-reflective approach to how they respond to the challenge of working in busy clinical and managerial environments.

The discovery of conditions resulting from the expansion of unstable trinucleotide repeats, with their neuropsychiatric presentations crossing the boundaries of different specialties, provides ample opportunity for research and liaison work between medical and psychiatric subspecialties. Clinicians’ awareness of the presentations and genetic basis of these conditions improves management strategies and the quality of life of patients and their carers.

Supervision, both managerial and clinical, is integral to all areas of practice in health and social care and arguably constitutes the most important aspect of our work. Through supervision, we demonstrate our own suitability and can offer others support in identifying strategies for improvement. It is surprising that many healthcare organisations either do not have a supervision policy or do little to monitor the effectiveness of the supervisory process. The aim of this brief article is to offer a starting point for thought, discussion and reading to motivate and encourage readers to improve their own supervisory practice as supervisor and supervisee.

Transference reveals the mental state of the other to us through our countertransference. Our emotional responses to the transference relationship are different depending on the degree of disturbance evoked in us. Reflecting on our countertransference can convey emotional insight into the nature and meaning of the transference as a way of understanding the emotional experiences of the other.

Different forms of excessive reassurance-seeking safety behaviours are explored, along with reasons why these unhelpful responses occur across a range of mental health disorders. This short update covers the rationale for reducing and stopping these behaviours and offers interventions to help people understand and overcome the unhelpful impact that excessive reassurance-seeking can have on them and others.

Socratic questioning is at the core of collaborative clinical communication, with a wide array of applications in behavioural medicine and psychotherapy. This brief article describes the process of therapeutic Socratic questioning, illustrates its clinical applications in therapy and provides a brief update on its recent developments.