The Psych Review

This episode of The Psych Review is a very special and very personal one. Greg draws back the curtain on his own current active research work, and the other hosts are all very impressed! The STOP trial is investigating the efficacy of therapeutic lavender in the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder. Listen on to learn about how lavender is an exciting emerging treatment option with a growing evidence base. 

The reference for this episode is:
- Greg: Roebuck, Greg, et al. “The Silexan in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (STOP) Trial: Protocol for a 12-Week Randomised Controlled Trial of Adjunctive Silexan for PTSD.” BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, vol. 26, no. 1, 24 Feb. 2026, 10.1186/s12906-026-05312-7.

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

In this episode of The Psych Review the whole group is back to tackle the topic of menopausal hormone therapy for mood symptoms. Alanna leads the discussion which winds from our reflections on a lack of menopause related teaching during psychiatric training, to a critical consideration of the study design and quality of the findings, to also touching on the topic of menowashing. 

The reference for this episode is:
- Alanna: Glynne, S., Kamal, A., McColl, L., Newson, L., Reisel, D., Mu, E., Hendriks, O., Saini, P., Gurvich, C., & Kulkarni, J. (2025). Transdermal oestradiol and testosterone therapy for menopausal depression and mood symptoms: retrospective cohort study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2025.101

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

The Psych Review recorded this episode on the final evening of the 2026 RANZCP Congress. Alanna, Milla, and Mazz take us through their highlights. Milla thoughtfully reflects on the mindfulness workshop she attended, Alanna was moved by an experience of the intersection between psychiatry and the arts, and Mazz attended an action packed workshop covering the use of antipsychotic medications in mood states.

The reference for this episode is:
- Alanna: https://www.monash.edu/medicine/scs/southern-synergy/mindfulness/dare

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

The Psych Review is back with the first episode of 2026 and the first episode of Season 9! The crew is lead by Greg through a deep dive into potential side effects that can occur in relation to stimulant use. We discuss changes in ADHD assessment and management over the years, and potential consequences related to the increasing use of stimulant medications (including psychosis).

The reference for this episode is:

• Greg: Salazar de Pablo, Gonzalo et al. Occurence of Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder in Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Treatment with Stimulants - a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2025 ;82(11):1103-1112.

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

In our final episode of 2025 The Psych Review team are lead by Milla down the twisting rabbit hole that is inflammation in neuropsychiatry. The team discuss recent evidence around proposed inflammatory mechanisms that might underpin the psychiatric conditions we discuss every episode.

The reference for this episode is:

• Milla: Upthegrove, Rachel et al. Current Position and Future Direction of Inflammation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders, A Review. JAMA Psychiatry, volume 82, number 10, October 2025.

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

The Psych Review team are proud to introduce our second new host of 2025 in this episode - Milla! Milla has joined the cast in time for a very important exploration of involuntary psychiatric treatment. Alanna begins with an international perspective comparing different approaches to involuntary treatment worldwide, and Milla follows up with a local perspective from clinicians in Queensland.

The references for this episode are:

• Alanna: Harvery, Madeleine, et al. “Community Treatment Orders in Australia in the Context of International Literature: A Narrative Review of Consumers, Families and Health Professionals’ Perspectives.” International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, vol. 34, no. 3, 9 May 2025, https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.70061. Accessed 16 May 2025.
   
• Milla: Wild, K., Sawhney, J., Wyder, M., Sebar, B., & Gill, N. (2024). Reasons behind the rise in involuntary psychiatric treatment under mental health act 2016, Queensland, Australia – Clinician perspectives. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 98, 102061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2024.102061

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

In this episode of The Psych Review, a very brave Greg decides to tackle the very large, but also very interesting, 2024 Lancet commission report into dementia prevention, intervention, and care. Jump in to learn about newly discovered and previously unknown dementia risk factors, to understand about the surprisingly large size of the connection between depression and dementia, and to hear Greg nerd out about the unique methodology of this impressive project. 

The references for this episode are:

• Greg: Livingstong, G. et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. The Lancet Commissions (2024), 404: 572-628. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01296-0

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

As we move further into the year, 2025 brings further changes to The Psych Review team. This special episode is Shakira's last with the podcast, and we try to mark the occasion with a couple of very interesting and novel articles. Greg walks us through some exciting developments around the potential for GLP-1 receptor antagonists to treat psychosis, and Alanna digs into the complexity of delusions in psychosis and how things may be more complex than they seem. Goodbye Shakira, the team won't be the same without you!

The references for this episode are:

• Greg: Yan Xie, Taeyoung Choi & Ziyad Al-Aly. Mapping the effectiveness and risks of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Nature Medicine (2025). Published online on 20 January 2025
• Alanna: Pappa, E., Baah, F., Lynch, J., Shiel, L., Blackman, G., Raihani, N., & Bell, V. (2025). Delusional Themes are More Varied Than Previously Assumed: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Schizophrenia bulletin, sbae225. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbae225

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

The team is back with a brand new host for season 8! Greg bravely steps up to join the team and is unfortunately welcomed by an unexpected salvo fired by Mazz. This month is all about parents and babies, Shakira talks us through a large study looking at outcomes of babies who have parents with criminal convictions, and Mazz leads a discussion about the importance of gendered language in psychiatry. Welcome Greg!

The references for this episode are:

• Shakira: Järvinen, A., Lichtenstein, P., D'Onofrio, B.M., Fazel, S., Kuja-Halkola, R. and Latvala, A. (2024), Health, behavior, and social outcomes among offspring of parents with criminal convictions: a register-based study from Sweden. J Child Psychol Psychiatr, 65: 1590-1600. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14003
• Mazz: Isobel, Sophie. (2024), Should Mother Baby Units be renamed Parent Baby Units? A critical reflection on gendered language in perinatal psychiatry. Australasian Psychiatry, 32(6): 589-592. 

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.

It's December and as 2024 draws to a close so does year mark the moving on of on one of our founding hosts. It's Dave's last ever episode (for real this time) and we have the whole crew together to send him off. Dave's final article considers the often overlooked importance of exercise in treating psychiatric conditions, and with her article Alanna brings us up to speed on alternate approaches to defining personality disorders. We miss you already Dave!

The references for this episode are:

• Dave: Antidepressants or Running Therapy: Comparing Effects on Mental and Physical Health in Patients with Depression and Anxiety Disorders; This study evaluates the impact of two treatment modalities: antidepressant medication (specifically escitalopram or sertraline) and running therapy. Published in Journal of Affective Disorders, July 2023 https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbae058
• Alanna: Bach, B., Kramer, U., Doering, S., di Giacomo, E., Hutsebaut, J., Kaera, A., De Panfilis, C., Schmahl, C., Swales, M., Taubner, S., & Renneberg, B. (2022). The ICD-11 classification of personality disorders: a European perspective on challenges and opportunities. Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation, 9(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00182-0

The Psych Review was brought to you by Call to Mind, a telepsychiatry service that you can learn more about at www.calltomind.com.au. The original music in our podcast was provided by the very talented John Badgery, and our logo was designed by the creative genius of Naz.