Violence and aggression are relatively common and serious occurrences in health and social care and rates are higher in mental health settings. Despite the National Health Service's policy of ‘zero tolerance’ of such behaviour, reporting of violence and aggression against mental health staff remains low. This article considers the nature of violence and aggression against staff in psychiatric settings and the process of involving the police to ensure an effective outcome. It outlines each step, from the initial the multidisciplinary team assessment of the incident and its reporting to the police to the making of witness statements, should the case come to court. It also explains the discretionary role of the police in deciding whether to charge and of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in deciding whether to prosecute. The article stresses that NHS organisations need to provide an effective, streamlined and time-efficient reporting process, as this should reduce levels of patient violence, improve staff's well-being and morale, save costs and make the working environment safer for all.

Performing an effective literature search to obtain the best available evidence is the basis of any evidence-based discipline, in particular evidence-based medicine. However, with a vast and growing volume of published research available, searching the literature can be challenging. Even when journals are indexed in electronic databases, it can be difficult to identify all relevant studies without an effective search strategy. It is also important to search unpublished literature to reduce publication bias, which occurs from a tendency for authors and journals to preferentially publish statistically significant studies. This article is intended for clinicians and researchers who are approaching the field of evidence synthesis and would like to perform a literature search. It aims to provide advice on how to develop the search protocol and the strategy to identify the most relevant evidence for a given research or clinical question. It will also focus on how to search not only the published but also the unpublished literature using a number of online resources.

Antipsychotic drugs are associated with movement disorders, especially with long-term use. Tardive dyskinesia, a condition characterised by repetitive involuntary muscle activity, is considered to be the most chronic, distressing and disabling of antipsychotic-associated movement disorders. There is theoretical justification for the use of cholinergic drugs in tardive dyskinesia, and they are used in clinical practice. A Cochrane systematic review synthesised randomised controlled trial data evaluating the effectiveness of cholinergic drugs for tardive dyskinesia, and for a range of secondary outcomes, including quality of life. In line with the authors of the review, this Commentary concludes that much higher-quality evidence on the use of cholinergic drugs in tardive dyskinesia is necessary, and that a patient with tardive dyskinesia should be offered the opportunity to try a newer cholinergic drug, ideally in the context of a well-conducted and reported clinical trial. At the same time, given uncertainty regarding clinical effectiveness, and in view of their accepted adverse effects, it would be understandable if a person with tardive dyskinesia decided to avoid cholinergic drugs.

Network meta-analysis (NMA) is a statistical method that allows comparison of multiple treatments against each other. The use of NMA, and its advantages and potential limitations, is discussed here in the context of this issue's Cochrane review of psychological treatments for panic disorder. The review showed benefits for psychological treatment when compared to a waiting list, particularly for cognitive behavioural therapy in both the short and longer term. The findings were limited by the primary studies available, but despite these, this analysis using NMA presents the best evidence to date of the relative benefits of different types of psychological treatments in panic disorder.

This Cochrane review supports existing recommendations for risperidone and advances understanding of the use of valproate in patients with schizophrenia who are agitated or aggressive.

The assessment and management of violent behaviour in mentally disordered patients are no longer the sole domain of forensic psychiatrists, but are increasingly part of the day-to-day work of all psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Violence risk assessment has become a huge industry, and although the importance of dynamic, as well as actuarial, risk factors is now recognised, a more systematic approach exploring the psychodynamics in the aetiology, assessment and treatment of violent behaviour is often lacking. In this article I revisit some of the key psychodynamic principles and concepts relevant to an understanding of violence, summarising the historical contributions of key psychoanalytic writers on violence and aggression, and exploring the ideas of more contemporary writers working in the field of forensic psychotherapy. A psychodynamic framework for working with violent patients is introduced, focusing on the setting and containment, specific therapeutic interventions and monitoring countertransference reactions.

Prominent figures are frequently subjected to unwanted and intrusive attentions. Such stalking behaviour is often driven by psychotic illness, angrily blaming the public figure for delusional persecution (resentful motivation), or based on erotomanic delusions (intimacy seeking motivation), for example. This behaviour can cause psychological harm to both perpetrator and victim, and is unlawful. In the rare instances where a public figure has been attacked, the perpetrator has usually had a history of such stalking behaviour and of severe mental illness. For these reasons, early identification and diversion into appropriate care and treatment will be for the benefit of both parties and will prevent more serious violence in a minority of cases. The importance of the provision of education to improve both reporting rates by victims and an appropriate response from the criminal justice system is highlighted. A multi-agency approach involving the criminal justice system and mental health services is the most effective means of achieving these aims.

Formal communication skills training is the norm at UK medical schools, and evidence is mounting that it is effective in a number of domains, including patient satisfaction and shared decision-making, leading to improved treatment adherence. However, applying these models in mental health settings is challenging, despite the fact that positive therapeutic relationships and an ability to actively manage consultations are the cornerstone of psychiatric practice. Communication skills training is still too often regarded as better suited to physical health consultations than more complex psychiatric interviews. Here, it is considered why this might be, with reference to the one eligible randomised controlled trial identified in this systematic literature review.

Family or systemic therapy is often contrasted with psychoeducational approaches, but their historical differences have become blurred with the increasing development of integrated family interventions for psychosis. This article describes the theoretical context for the development of integrated family interventions and provides a framework for practice. It presents a collaborative, resource-oriented integrated family intervention for working with families and wider support networks within seven phases: the sharing of information and provision of emotional and practical support; identification of patient, family and wider network resources; encouraging mutual understanding; identification and alteration of unhelpful patterns of interaction; improving stress management, communication and problem-solving skills; coping with symptoms and relapse prevention planning; ending and ensuring that each session is a mini-intervention. It also includes guidelines for family intervention practice, as well as ideas for service development.

Polypharmacy and the risks of long term use of antipsychotic medications point toward the need for identifying practices for deprescribing in psychiatry. The following article gives a brief overview of key points around deprescribing antipsychotic medications in psychiatry, including identifying risks and benefits, considerations around timing, and steps involved.