Meditation, a component of ashtanga yoga, is an act of inward contemplation in which the mind fluctuates between a state of attention to a stimulus and complete absorption in it. Some forms of meditation have been found to be useful for people with psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression and substance use disorder. Evidence for usefulness of meditation for people with psychotic disorders is mixed, with reported improvements in negative symptoms but the emergence/precipitation of psychotic symptoms. This article narrates the benefits of meditation in psychiatric disorders, understanding meditation from the yoga perspective, biological aspects of meditation and practical tips for the practice of meditation. We also explain possible ways of modifying meditative practices to make them safe and useful for the patient population and useful overall as a society-level intervention.

Specialised early intervention (SEI) services have seen significant investment and expansion in the UK, aiming to improve long-term outcomes for psychotic disorders. This commentary discusses a recent Cochrane review that examines the evidence for SEI services delivered within the first 3 years of onset of psychotic illness. From a small number of studies conducted in high-income countries, the review draws the conclusion that there is low- to moderate-certainty evidence that SEI services improve recovery and reduce disengagement.

Significant developments in schizophrenia psychopathology are ready to be incorporated into clinical practice. These advances allow a way forward through the well-described challenges experienced with current diagnostic and psychopathological frameworks. This article discusses approaches that will enable clinicians to access a wider and richer spectrum of patient experience; describes process-based models of schizophrenia in the domains of both the brain and the mind; and considers how different levels of analysis might be linked via the predictive processing framework. Multiple levels of analysis provide different targets for varying modalities of treatment – dopamine blockade at the molecular level, psychological therapy at the level of the mind, and social interventions at the personal level. Psychiatry needs to align itself closer to neuroscientific research. It should move from a symptom-based understanding to a model based on process. That is – after having asked about a patient's symptoms and experience clinicians need to introduce steps involving a consideration of what might be the brain and mind processes underlying the experience.

The Cochrane review by Davies et al aimed to address the lack of clarity on the risks and benefits of switching and augmentation strategies in the pharmacological treatment of treatment-resistant depression in adults who did not respond (or partially responded) to at least 4 weeks of antidepressant treatment at a recommended dose. This commentary assesses their review and their conclusion that augmenting the current antidepressant with mianserin or with an antipsychotic improves depressive symptoms over the short-term (8 to 12 weeks). Their results need to be treated with caution owing to the small body of evidence and individual comparisons supported by one, two or three studies, the limited evidence on long-term effects and the significant gaps in the literature (e.g. a lack of studies assessing dose increases).

Given the impact of well-known chronic stressors on health and social care students, the concept of resilience has gained importance in the field of health professional education. Many interventions have been tested that are aimed at fostering students’ resilience, but the underlying evidence has not been rigorously assessed. This was the aim of the review in this issue's Cochrane Corner. In this Round the Corner section, we discuss those findings and put them into further context.

Antipsychotics are the cornerstone of schizophrenia management but they are not adequate in treating the negative and cognitive symptoms of the illness. The Cochrane review discussed in this commentary examines the safety and effectiveness of the wakefulness-promoting agent, modafinil, as an adjunct to standard care in the mitigation of negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Add-on modafinil, compared to add-on placebo and standard treatment, did not result in a clear benefit. Due to the heterogenous body of evidence, the quality of which ranged from very low to moderate, the review's conclusions are equivocal.

This commentary gives a very brief overview of depression in epilepsy (prevalence, risk, associations between the two conditions, antidepressant medication) and assesses the quality and results of a Cochrane Review comparing antidepressants with placebo and psychotherapy in managing the condition. Although antidepressants were not shown to be more effective than other interventions and no link between antidepressants and increased seizure frequency was observed, the low-quality evidence obtained cannot provide conclusive answers.

Parkinson's psychosis can be very challenging to manage, with limited treatment options available. There is a good evidence base to support the use of clozapine, but practical obstacles often prevent its use. There is a drive nationally to set up services so that people with Parkinson's psychosis can access treatment with clozapine in a timely manner and, where possible, with initiation in the community. The authors describe their experiences in setting up clozapine services specifically for this patient group in England and offer a practical approach to the assessment of Parkinson's psychosis. They also outline the evidence base in relation to treatment options and share their experiences of prescribing clozapine for Parkinson's psychosis.

This is the first of a series of articles on key works in psychiatry that should not be forgotten. Many were published before our current generation of psychiatrists had easy access to them, but they need recall. It is my strong belief that originality of thought only occurs in youth. Robert Kendell's book The Role of Diagnosis in Psychiatry (1975) illustrates this perfectly.