During the course of COVID-19 pandemic, The respiratory system is the most commonly affected while many neuropsychiatric manifestations of the disease have been observed.

Emphasize the importance of eliminating the diagnosis of covid 19 infection in a pandemic context face to first episode psychosis.

Presentation of case report

A 29-year-old woman unemployed married with no personal medical history and with psychiatric family history. She wasn’t exposed to subject with covid 19 in her family circle. She was admitted in psychiatric care for acute behavioural disorders during five days. On physical examination: she was afebrile, eupneic and tachycardiac. Oxygen saturation was 96% and blood pressure was 100/50 mmHg. Specialized neurological examination was normal and cerebral CT scan was without abnormalities. At the psychiatric interview she was extremely agitated. She was distressed her speech was incoherent. She had auditory and visual hallucinations and a multi-thematic delirium. One day after her admission she died suddenly, the autopsy found positive RT PCR covid test and bilateral basal pneumonia.

In individuals presenting with new-onset psychosis in areas endemic to COVID-19, consideration should be made for neuropsychiatric manifestations of Covid 19 from where the importance to push the explorations and to test the patients.

No significant relationships.

Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is a cognitive regulation strategy aimed at changing how people think about certain stimuli in order to change their emotional impact. CR strategies have been used in research to try to change eating behaviors and other food-related responses. This study is the first to use a behavioral measurement to examine the effect of CR on food attentional bias (FAB) in people with elevated FAB.

It was hypothesized that CR would reduce FAB. Ninety-five participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: CR, upregulation (UP) or controls (CN).

All participants performed a computerized Visual Dot Probe (VDP) task using food stimuli to measure their FAB before and after the manipulation. The CR group recited five sentences aimed at curtailing the reward of high caloric food. Participants in the UP group recited five sentences aimed at strengthening the reward of high caloric food. The CN group recited five mundane sentences about their day. Participants also self-reported on eating disordered symptomology and BMI.

People with elevated FAB had more disordered eating than people low on FAB. A significant interaction was observed between group and time (pre/post-test), with the lowest FAB levels in the CR group following the manipulation.

CR, a self-administered strategy can be effective in reducing FAB. CR may be an effective strategy for developing resistance to tempting food stimuli and curbing high caloric food intake. Being highly attentive to food cues may contribute to obesity. The attentional bias paradigm can be used to detect early signs of FAB.

No significant relationships.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, which only rarely remits in adulthood[1]. A positive association between ADHD and obesity has been repeatedly observed, especially in adult samples[2]. However, only a few studies investigated the prevalence and correlates of ADHD in obese patients seeking bariatric treatment[3,4].

Our study was aimed to examine the prevalence of probable ADHD comorbidity in a sample of obese patients referred for bariatric surgery. Secondly, we sought to characterize differences in eating behaviour between obese subjects with and without probable ADHD.

The study sample was composed of 110 adult obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) consecutively referred for bariatric surgery to the Obesity Center of the Endocrinology Unit in Pisa University Hospital between November 2010 and May 2012. Probable ADHD was identified using a recently developed screening scale based on items selected from Symptom Check‐List‐90‐R (SCL-90-R)[5]. The extent of binge-eating/purging and night-eating behaviours were respectively estimated using the Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE)[6] and the Night-eating Questionnaire (NEQ)[7]. Wilcoxon test was used for statistical comparisons, with a significance level of p<0.05 set for all tests.

Probable ADHD was found in 14 subjects (12.7%, 95%CI=7.1-20.4%). Patients with probable ADHD showed significantly higher BITE symptom score (20.4±9.3 vs. 12.1±7.5, r=0.31, p=0.001) and NEQ total score (16.1±9.2 vs. 9.5±3.9, r=0.27, p=0.005).

ADHD is a relatively common comorbidity in obese patients seeking bariatric treatment, which is positively associated with disordered eating habits, such as binge-eating/purging and night-eating behaviours.

No significant relationships.

In accordance with the systematics of modern international clinical guidelines (DSM-V, ICD-11), catatonia is qualified as a transnosological formation, which boundaries expandes by including non-psychotic movement disorders (hysterical, affective, negative, etc.). This study presents the psychopathological systematics of movement disorders, based on a new dimensional model of catatonia.

60 patients with an established diagnosis of schizophrenia or SSD (F20, F21, F25.01, F25.11, F25.21, F25.22), catatonic disorders in the structure of which persist throughout the course of the disease or determine the clinical picture of phases.

Clinical, psychometric (BFCRS, SANS, SAPS, HADS), statistic.

Three catatonic syndromes (S.) have been identified. 1. S. of stereotypical catatonia - presented by the mechanism of affiliation with negative symptoms (R between BFCRS Total Score (TS) and Avolition-Apathy SANS – 0,875): tendency to stereotypical activity; general, increasing slowness (SANS avolition-apathy -2,9±0,5; BFCRS TS – 11,1±0,2). 2. S. of parakinetic catatonia - includes paroxysms formes by the mechanism of mental automatism (with the loss of motor acts voluntary effect ) (R BFCRS TS/Persecutory Delusions SAPS– 0,764): irregular polymorphic movement disorders of hyperkinetic and akinetic types, impulsive actions, akinesias (Persecutory Delusions - 2,3±0,4; BFCRS – 19,5±2,3). 3. Affective - catatonic S. - including both the lightest (at the level of recurrent depression) variants of affective-catatonic phases (R BFCRS TS/HADS – 0,732; BFCRS – 5,1±0,4; HADS -15,1±2,4), and more severe affective-catatonic states based on schizoaffective psychoses (R BFCRS TS/SAPS TS– 0,783; BFCRS – 15,3±2,1; SAPS – 3,1±0,2).

Catatonia is not a single dimension, represented by heterogeneous movement disorders, differing both in the mechanism of formation and in the psychopathological structure.

No significant relationships.

There is increased migration of patients and physicians worldwide. In Norway, psychiatry is the medical discipline with highest proportion of foreign doctors (24%). We need empirical studies on transcultural clinical challenges among doctors training in psychiatry.

What perceived clinical challenges do foreign and native Norwegian young doctors meet when they treat patients from another culture, and what independent factors are associated with such challenges?

We developed a new 6-item instrument (alpha=0.80), Clinical Transcultural Challenges (CTC), with items about assessing psychosis, risk of suicide, violence etc. The doctors were recruited at mandatory training courses, and they filled in questionnaires about individual factors (age, gender, foreign/native) and work-related factors (training stage, frequency of transcultural meetings, number of working hours, work stress). Associations with CTC were analyzed by linear multiple regression.

The response rate was 93% (216/233), of whom 83% were native and 17% were foreign doctors, 68% were women. Native doctors reported higher levels of CTC than did foreign doctors, 28.8 (6.2) vs 23.8 (7.2), p<0.001, d=0.73. Both native and foreign doctors rated “assessing psychosis” and “lack of helping tools” as most demanding. Independent factors associated with CTC were being a native doctor, Beta 3.9, p<0.01, and high levels of work-home stress, Beta 0.29, p<0.05.

Native doctors training in psychiatry report higher levels of transcultural clinical challenges than foreign doctors do. Both groups of doctors may need more training in transcultural assessment of psychotic disorders. They also report needs for more helping tools, and we should explore this further.

No significant relationships.

There are some patients that remain resistant to treatment for major depressive disorder - who were treated with two or more different medications, and did not demonstrate any improvement in their mental-state. These patients can be treated with a new treatment – Esketamine. The recommended Esketamine treatment protocol includes 8-treatment sessions, each session lasts about two hours. In our clinic, we added a therapy group after each treatment. The therapy group is led by two co-therapist and lasts 30 minutes. The patients are invited to share their experiences from the session.

We will present a case report of a 44 year old man, that suffers from a major-depression for years, with symptoms such as loss of energy, recurrent thoughts of death and a decrease in functioning. He was treated with different medications, but there was no improvement in his mental state.

For the last six months, he was treated with Esketamine and also participated in the therapy group.

According to content that he raised in the sessions of the therapy group and following conversations with him and with his close environment, we observed a clinical improvement in his condition – a positive mood, a decrease of the thoughts of death, an increase in his function at work and at home.

He reported that the improvement is more significant because of the therapy group – he found a peer group, a place to process his treatment experience and to share his feelings and thoughts. We will present vignettes to demonstrate.

No significant relationships.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by lack of self-regulation and deficits in organizing behaviors in response to emotional stimuli. Methylphenidate (MPH) is one of the most effective psychostimulant drugs for ADHD, however, a possible predictive utility of brain hemodynamic data related to MPH administration and its relation to clinical symptomatology is still not clear. To address these questions, we used Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) technology, a non-invasive optical technique that allows to investigate the effect of psychopharmacological treatment on cortical hemodynamics.

Twenty children with ADHD underwent a three-waves study and 25 healthy controls were recruited at W1. At W2 children with ADHD received first MPH administration and at W3 they reached the titration phase. At each phase children performed - during NIRS recording - an emotional continuous performance task with visual stimuli of different emotional content. Clinical data were also collected at W1 and W3. We investigated the relationship among the difference between NIRS activation at W2 and W1 (Delta1) and W3 and W2 (Delta2), for each subject, task condition and brain region. Lastly, we investigated correlations between the Delta1 and clinical symptomatology indexes at W1 and between Delta2 and clinical data at W3.

Our study results suggest that hemodynamic changes in right prefrontal region probably induced by first MPH administration could predict hemodynamic changes related to MPH titration phase. These biological indexes could be associated to clinical evidences related not only to core ADHD symptoms but also to affective correlates.

No significant relationships.

Premature death of people living with non-affective psychotic disorders are related to life-style somatic comorbidities. Current health-promoting treatment and care programs does not target people living with psychotic disorders and therefore prevention and treatment do not embrace the accompanying challenges.

To identify and explore outpatients with non-affective psychotic disorders who are not offered existing municipal health-promoting treatment and care programs despite having a need.

Two hundred and six eligible outpatients from multiple sites of the Psychiatric Services in the Region of Southern Denmark were invited to participate. At last, 165 outpatients met the criteria and agreed to participate. A screening scheme was used to identify socio-economic characteristics, life-style related somatic comorbidities, medication status and consumption of cigarettes, drugs and alcohol. In outpatients’ medical records measured values and blood samples were obtained.

Almost four-fifths of the outpatients were in need of health promotion out of whom more than half were not offered a municipal health-promoting treatment and care program. One or more of the investigated somatic comorbidities was found in more than one-third of the outpatients. 15% had type-2-diabetes mellitus and 10% had cardiovascular disease. Two-fifths of the outpatients were smokers. Mean number of cigarettes per day was 19 (SD=10) for smokers. Mean BMI for men was 29 kg/m2 (SD=7) and 34 kg/m2 (SD=8) for women.

In general, the outpatient’s state of health was poor. Many outpatients were not offered a municipal health-promoting treatment and care program despite having a need.

No significant relationships.

Alexithymia, the lack of words to express emotions, is a common problem in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

To investigate the prevalence of alexithymia in patients with MS and to evaluate the factors related to it, including depression.

We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, which took place in the neurology department in Sfax (Tunisia). It involved MS outpatients in remission phase. Data collection was done using a form exploring sociodemographic, clinical and radiological characteristics. We used the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) to evaluate neurological impairments, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess depressive symptoms.

Our study included 93 patients. They were married in 57% of cases. The total number of relapses ranged from 1 to 30, with a median of 5. The EDSS score ranged from 0 to 8. A temporal lesion on brain imaging was found in 29% of cases. MS patients had alexithymia in 58.1% of cases and depression in 26.9% of cases. Alexithymia was more frequent in unmarried patients (p = 0.028). Among clinical and radiological factors, the number of relapses was higher (p = 0.035), and temporal lesion was more frequent in alexithymic patients (p = 0.045). In this study, alexithymic patients were more depressed (p < 10-3).

According to our results, depression and alexithymia were found to be significantly inter-related in MS. Future longitudinal studies might better clarify the nature of this relationship in MS patients.

No significant relationships.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is common in chronic psychosis but also exists in the early stages. HOMA-IR is an independent predictor of cardiovascular diseases and has already been described in first episode of psychosis.

To determine whether HOMA levels differ according to MetS at each time assessment over 2 years.

MetS and HOMA levels are determined at baseline and at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in a sample of 50 patients participating in the PEPsNa Early Intervention Programme during two years of follow-up. Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria are used to define MetS. Insulin resistance measured with the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR) is computed with the formula fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL) times fasting insulin (mIU/mL) divided by 405. Mann-Whitney U Test are used to compare HOMA variable according to presence of metabolic syndrome.

The results showed that HOMA levels differed statistically significantly between patients who met MetS criteria and those who did not at 12 (p<0.046) and 24 (p<0.004) months of treatment.

Given the small sample size the results of our study indicate that there is a sustained relationship over time between HOMA levels and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and that the HOMA IR may be useful in identifying those patients with an increased metabolic and cardiovascular risk.

No significant relationships.

Early life stress (ELS) is a significant risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using face emotion processing paradigms have found altered blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the cortico-limbic network both in individuals exposed to ELS and in patients with MDD. Thus, early life stress may have a long-lasting impact on brain areas responsible for the processing of socio-affective cues.

By applying a facial emotion recognition (FER) fMRI paradigm, we examined the long-term effect of childhood adversity on brain activity in MDD patients with and without ELS.

MDD patients without ELS (MDD, N=19), those with ELS (MDD+ELS, N=21), and healthy controls (HC, N=21) matched for age, sex, and intelligence quotient underwent fMRI scanning while performing a block design FER task with faces expressing negative emotions. The severity of ELS was assessed with the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

Both MDD and MDD+ELS patients were slightly impaired in recognizing sad faces. Statistical analysis of brain activity found that MDD+ELS patients had significantly reduced negative BOLD responses in the right anterior paracingulate gyrus, subcallosal cortex accumbens compared to HCs. Moreover, the MDD+ELS group had a significantly increased negative BOLD signal in the right postcentral and precentral gyri relative to the HC group. MDD+ELS patients had reduced negative BOLD response in their anterior paracingulate gyrus compared to the MDD group.

Our results support that adult MDD patients with significant ELS are impaired in facial emotion recognition and they display functional alterations in the frontostriatal circuits.

This work was financially supported by the Hungarian Brain Research Program (2017-1.2.1-NKP-2017-00002)

As of August 27th, 2021, the diagnosed cases of COVID 19 in Spain are 4 758 003 with a prevalence of 10.03%. 68.4% of the Spanish population is fully vaccinated

Primary: To compare the prevalence of COVID infection in a cohort of patients with schizophrenia to patients with a dual diagnosis of schizophrenia and substance use disorder Secondary: To compare the rate of fully vaccinated patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with and without a coexisting substance use disorder.

Retrospective descriptive study. The population in study is made up of patients with schizophrenia (46) and dual diagnosis schizophrenia (28) (following DSM 5 criteria) Confirmed cases were those cases with positive PCR

There was not a stadistically significant difference in the prevalence of COVID 19 infection between both groups of patients. The prevalence of COVID infection among the dual diagnosis schizophrenia was 3.57% compared to 6.5% in those without coexisting substance abuse disorder. Relative to vaccination rate, we didn’t find a stadistically significant difference between both groups. However, there was a higher vaccination rate in the dual diagnosis schizophrenia group (82.12%) compared to the non-dual diagnosis schizophrenia group (69.56%)

The prevalence of COVID 19 infection in the dual diagnosis schizophrenia cohort is 3.57% and in the group of patients with schizophrenia without substance abuse disorder is 6,5%. In those with dual diagnosis schizophrenia the vaccination rate was un 82.12%. It was 69.56% in those without coexisting substance abuse disorder.

No significant relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented detrimental impact on mental health in people around the world. It is therefore important to examine factors that may buffer or heighten the risk of mental health problems in this context.

This study explores the buffering effects of different flows of compassion (for self, for others, from others) and the magnifying effects of fears of compassion on the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety and stress, and social safeness.

4057 adult participants collected from the general community population across 21 countries from Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, Asia and Oceania, completed self-report measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, compassion, fears of compassion, depression, anxiety, stress, and social safeness.

Self-compassion moderated the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety and stress, whereas compassion from others moderated the effects of fears of COVID-19 on social safeness. Fears of compassion moderated the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on psychological distress. Only fears of compassion from others moderated the effects of fears of COVID-19 on social safeness. These effects were consistent across countries.

Our findings highlight the universal protective role of compassion, in particular self-compassion and compassion from others, in promoting resilience by buffering against the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness. Furthermore, our results reveal that fears of compassion have a magnifying effect on the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness.

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Stress is part of the daily life of many people, especially in Western countries. Recent studies have shown that cortisol has been listed as the primary hormone linked to stress. Currently, to measure cortisol values there are only tests that quantify it at a determined time point, without taking into account its variability and its changing pattern over time, depends on the circadian rhythm and other stress-related factors.

This randomized clinical trial of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona proposes to study the utility of accumulated hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a measure to correlate the levels of this hormone over time with the stress suffered by the patient.

Patients are classified into two groups: a control group and an intervention group. In the second group, the participants will follow a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) with the aim of reducing stress and, consequently, cortisol levels.

The purpose of this study is to validate the utility of HCC in order to, retrospectively, obtain cortisol secretion curves as a measure of the level of stress of each individual and personalize the treatments. Simultaneously, we intend to present new perspectives for treatment in psychiatric disorders where stress predominates, such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or major depression (MD), which are becoming increasingly important in our society.

HCC contributes to the practice of personalized medicine as it allows us to detect cortisol exposure in the months prior to obtaining the capillary sample, and thus to draw the trend of this hormone over time.

No significant relationships.

Serotonin syndrome is a mild to potentially life-threatening syndrome associated with excessive serotonergic activity within the central nervous system. Serotonin syndrome is associated with medication use, drug interactions and overdose. All drugs that increase central serotonin neurotransmission at postsynaptic 5-HT1A and 5-HT 2A receptors can produce SS.

Clinical case and literature review.

A 74-year-old female, married, diagnosed of major depressive disorder. Treated with: lithium 600 mg, quetiapine 50 mg, venlafaxine 300 mg. The doses had been maintained for the last months. Lithium levels in the normal range.

In an emergency room, she received a tramadol injection because of strong backpain. After a few hours, she felt an overall worsening, sleepiness and lack of response to external stimuli. Given the persistence of the symptoms and decreased appetite along with decreased water intake, she attended to Hospital. She had a high fever, rigidity and myoclonus. Her language was incoherent. Blood tests showed high CK, and high AST and ALT.

SS is a potentially fatal iatrogenic complication of serotonergic polypharmacy. Considered idiopathic in presentation, it appears tipically after initiation or dose escalation of the offending agent to a regimen including other serotonergic agents. While serotonin syndrome is often associated with the use of selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRI), an increasing number of reports are being presented involving the use of tramadol. It is vital that clinicians are aware of the potential for SS when psychotropic and non-psychotropic agents are co-administered to certain patients, such as those with both depression and pain.

No significant relationships.

Previous studies underline the importance of internalising disorders as risk factors of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), meanwhile only a few research draw the attention to the role of externalising disorders. The possible association between NSSI and pathological internet use (PIU) is also understudied.

The purpose of this study was: 1) to investigate the frequency of NSSI among adolescents with different psychopathology and in different internet user groups of adolescents, 2) to understand the mediator role of psychiatric disorders between NSSI and PIU.

Adolescents were enrolled from a clinical (Vadaskert Child Psychiatric Hospital, Budapest, Hungary) and a school based population (high schools in Budapest, Hungary). The used measurements were: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory, Young Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction, Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Kid.

There was significant difference in the frequencies of NSSI in SDQ subgroups (U=2127.000; z=-6.170; p <0.001). There was also significant difference in NSSI frequency between normal- and pathological internet users (U=2020.000; z=-2,501; p <0.017 p=0.012). According to the mediator model there was no direct association between PIU and NSSI, however it was mediated by different psychiatric disorders (affective disorders, anxiety disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, opposition defiant disorder, psychoactive substance abuse/dependence, psychotic disorders, suicidal behavior).

The results strengthen that both internalising- and externalising psychopathology are associated with NSSI. Moreover this study underlines the importance of careful screening and treating of comorbid disorders with PIU, which can have a role in the prevention of NSSI and suicide as well.

No significant relationships.

Bilateral cingulotomy and anterior capsulotomy are two neurosurgical procedures which are reserved as a last resort for cases of severe OCD in Spain; these procedures are not approved in cases of AN.

We present the case of a 29-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) when she was 15 (2006). Due to the severity of the case the patient needed to be hospitalized for many months due to excessive weight loss. She was also treated in an out-patient department and started several intensive psychotherapeutic procedures. In 2015 the patient’s family took her to a private clinic where she was diagnosed with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and had a bilateral cingulotomy and anterior capsulotomy.

A case report where the ethical implications of the case are weighed alongside a review of the relevant literature regarding neurosurgical treatments of AN.

There were no significant short or long term improvements in terms of Body Mass Index or reduction of symptoms, the patient’s cognitive functions showed a decline in neuropsychological tests. Contrary to that the patient has needed hospitalizations for at least 9 months per year since the surgery and has needed admission in the Intensive Care Unit at least 3 times because of extreme malnutrition. Due to her need for chronic hospitalization was institutionalized in a long-stay psychiatric hospital.

Psychosurgery is a controversial therapy which has limited evidence in cases of AN. Our case shows the way in which neurosurgical procedures can do more harm than good and worsen the prognosis of patients.

No significant relationships.

Both alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression are potentially disabling and economically burdensome disorders. There is no available information about the prevalence of alcohol use disorder in the general population of Latvia.

To determine the 12-month prevalence of AUD and the association with depressive symptoms and socio-demographic factors among the Latvian general population.

Computer assisted face-to-face interviews were carried out in 2019-2020 among a representative sample of the Latvian adult population (n=2687). The study sample was selected using a stratifyed random sampling method. The respondents were interviewed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (a score of ≥10 was defined as indicating the presence of a clinically relevant depressive symptoms) and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was applied.

There were 1238 males (46.1%) and 1449 females (53.9%) recruited. Mean age of respondents was 49.9 (SD 18.2). The 12-month prevalence of AUD according to the M.I.N.I was 13.1% with a statistically significant difference between the genders: 23.6% in men and 4.1% in women (p<0.001). AUD was significantly more prevalent among the respondents younger than 40 years: 18.0% (p<0.001), especially among young (18-44 y.o.) men – 28.1% of all diagnosed cases (p<0.001); There was found an association between the severity stage of AUD and PHQ-9 screening results: 18.8% of those diagnosed with severe AUD had a score greater than 10 points in the PHQ-9 (p<0.001).

Young men are at particularly high risk of alcohol use disorder. Those with diagnosed alcohol use disorder should be also screened for the depressive symptoms.

No significant relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of digital psychiatry (DP) in everyday clinical practice, resulting in the need for a skilled healthcare workforce.

Our purpose was to investigate the level of training, knowledge and expertise of young mental health professionals and medical students in DP, as well as exploring their beliefs and experiences in this field.

An ad hoc cross-sectional survey was designed and administered to Italian medical students, psychiatry trainees, and early career psychiatrists.

Most of the sample declared that the topic of DP was never discussed within their academic training (89.1%), mainly revealing an overall lack of knowledge on DP. Nevertheless, they mostly declared that DP represents a valuable therapeutic tool in mental health (80%) and that the academic background should include a dedicated course/module (54.4%). Moreover, most subjects declared that DP is less effective than in-person interventions (73.2%), despite the emerging evidence that being trained in DP is significantly associated with the belief that digital and in-person interventions are comparable in their effectiveness (p≤0.05).

During the current pandemic, DP represented an ideal response to the need for physical distancing by ensuring the advantage of greater access to care. However, DP interventions are still uncommon, and there remains a certain resistance to their use in mental health care. The lack of formal training during the academic training could be a limiting factor. Therefore, addressing these issues in academic settings could be crucial to spreading this innovative practice also in the post-COVID-19 era.

No significant relationships.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, patients with mental illness turned out to be one of the most vulnerable groups of the population, since the forced self-isolation regime was a decrease in the availability of psychiatric care. During this period, the use of telemedicine increased to provide timely assistance.

To analyze the experience of telecare in program of psychosocial rehabilitation of patients with schizophrenia and their relatives and to evaluate its effectiveness.

80 schizophrenia patients in remission of varying quality and 41 relatives participated in rehabilitation program. To assess the effectiveness of telecare, PANSS, SF-36, URICA, PHQ-9, ISI, PSS-10, GAD-7 scales were used.

Psychosocial interventions through telecare were carried out for 12 months. Patients and relatives participated in video sessions on Zoom and Skype Internet platforms, as well as in instant messengers. Rehabilitation program for patients included psychoeducation, skills training, art-therapy, music therapy, bibliotherapy, psychological counseling. Relatives were provided with psychoeducation and psychological counseling. The analysis showed that the use of telecare contributed to increase in the availability of psychotherapeutic assistance, the participation of patients with low motivation and prompt problem solving. Within the studied period, only 5% of patients (4 persons) developed relapses, two patients (2.5%) were hospitalized. Patients and relatives showed a high level of satisfaction with the care provided, positive dynamics of psychological indicators.

The effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation program through telecare has been proven. The possibility of carrying out various psychosocial interventions in online format has been shown.

No significant relationships.