There is little doubt that schizophrenia (SZ) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are among the most severe disorders to impact humanity. They are both common, significantly disabling and have the tendency to strike during critical developmental periods in a young person's life. Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the global population and OCD has a lifetime prevalence of between 2% and 3% in the general population. The comorbidities in both SZ and OCD are common and frequently diagnosed, and research has generally found that comorbidities are associated with conditions that are more complex to diagnose and treat, and often result in less favorable prognoses. We review the research that has taken place regarding the co-occurrence of SZ and OCD, discuss it's theoretical conceptulization and clinical differentiation and diagnosis. We then propose recommendations for the best practice of cognitive behavioral therapy in this difficult population, as well as areas that need exploration for future research.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the gold-standard non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia, a complex disorder that comprises psychological, behavioral, and physiological components. This systematic literature review aimed to evaluate a growing body of exploratory studies that have examined CBT-I treatment effects using neuroimaging assessment. Nine studies met current review selection criteria, of which six studies compared insomnia groups with good sleepers, waitlist, and/or control groups. CBT-I administration varied in treatment length and duration across the studies, as did neuroimaging assessment, which included task-based and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and structural magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). Functional connectivity abnormalities were observed in participants, including reduced engagement in task-related brain regions and apparent difficulties in regulating default mode brain areas that appeared to reverse following CBT-I treatment. Taken together, the neuroimaging results complement behavioral measures of treatment efficacy, indicating support for the effectiveness of CBT-I treatment in the recovery of brain function and structure.

Public health crises, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have wide reaching implications on mental health, and have resulted in unique OCD presentations specific to respective crises. The distribution of highly efficacious and effective vaccines for COVID-19 present a crossroads for the COVID-19-specific OCD presentation, including the potential for COVID-19 presentation perpetuation or remission in the face of vaccinations. Individual differences may play a unique role in who does and does not see a reduction of OCD symptoms specific to this virus as a function of vaccination status. Here, we discuss prior health crises that have resulted in unique OCD presentations, review relevant assessment and intervention guidelines, discuss potential implications that vaccines may have on this COVID-19-specifc presentation, and provide case presentations and future recommendations for treatment providers and researchers.

The ACTION treatment program was developed as a school-based CBT program for girls in grades 3 to 6 to address depression. It has shown to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms and disorders. The treatment relies on a strong case conceptualization and follows a treatment protocol that is used to help children learn and apply coping skills, problem-solving, and cognitive restructuring. A case description is presented to give a detailed example of how this treatment protocol can be applied in individual therapy, and an emphasis on the therapists' thoughts and decision-making points is highlighted. Many subtle aspects to treating depressed youth are described.

This study investigated the roles of adherence and usage activity in adolescents' (n = 161) gains during a 5-week web intervention program based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Program adherence was calculated as adherence percentage in relation to intended usage, whereas completion percentage, usage time, and usage weeks were used as indicators for usage activity. Subjective well-being was measured by self-reported life satisfaction and stress before and after the intervention. First, regression analysis results showed that higher adherence predicted an increase in life satisfaction during intervention. Second, three subgroups of adolescents were identified using K-means cluster analysis in regard to adherence, usage activity and intervention gains: (1) "Adhered, committed users with relatively large intervention gains" (35%), (2) "Less committed users with no intervention gains" (42%), and (3) "Non-committed users with no intervention gains" (23%). The results showed that the highest gains from the Youth Compass intervention program are most likely obtained when the program is used as intended in its design. In addition, time investment and engagement in doing exercises seem as important as filling the minimum adherence criterion. The results support the feasibility of ACT-based web intervention programs in promoting adolescent well-being, although more attention should be paid to motivating adolescents to commit to them and invest enough time in them.

Estimated rates of co-occurrence between obsessive and compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder (PD) are notable, but vary considerably, with rates from epidemiological and clinical studies ranging from 1.8% to 22% (Rector et al., 2017). We reviewed the current empirical literature on the etiology, treatment, diagnostic assessment, and differential diagnosis of co-occurring OCD/PD. Best practices for cognitive-behavioral treatment, including identifying and addressing treatment barriers are also addressed. Although it is acknowledged in current literature that co-occurring OCD and PD levels may be clinically significant, there remains a need to thoroughly examine the possible consequences and future research directions of this overlap. Future research must continue to elucidate the biological and environmental causes of OCD/PD co-occurrence.

Although negative life events are a risk factor for developing depression, cognitive control can help maintain one's mental health. However, whether thought-control ability (TCA) can alleviate the adverse effects of negative life events on depression is unclear. Therefore, two studies were conducted to test if it does, by having participant's complete measures of negative life events, TCA, and depression. Study 1, which included 140 healthy young adults, showed TCA mediated the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms, and that TCA also moderated the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms. Study 2 recruited patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to test whether the findings could be generalized to individuals with MDD. Study 2 found TCA also mediated the relationship between negative life events and symptoms of MDD. Suggesting that improving the ability to control negative thoughts in daily life help maintain mental health and prevent depressive symptoms.

The aim of this study was to develop a 2-day intensive-format, Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) based group program targeting weight stigma in women with overweight and obesity, and to conduct a pilot study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Participants were 15 females aged 18-62 years (mean [M] = 43.60, standard deviation [SD] = 12.38), who participated in the program and completed measures of self-compassion, internalized weight stigma, psychological distress, life-satisfaction, loneliness, eating self-efficacy, body dissatisfaction, and body shame, at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Significant improvements were found from pre-treatment to post-treatment for self-compassion and internalized weight stigma, with gains maintained at 3-month follow-up. Significant improvements were also found on measures of psychological distress, life satisfaction, loneliness, eating self-efficacy, and body dissatisfaction at the post-treatment assessment. Credibility ratings of the program were high. This study has contributed to existing stigma research, being the first proof-of-concept study to demonstrate support for an intensive, CFT based group approach targeting the effects of weight stigma for women with overweight and obesity. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential of CFT to assist women develop resilience to the harmful effects of weight stigma, and possible future research directions to further develop and evaluate this approach.

The overprediction and underprediction of fear, pain, and other constructs have been linked with etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. We aimed to extend this research to depression by investigating the overprediction of effort and the underprediction of reward and enjoyment associated with a simple task. Participants with depression (n = 20) and a control group (n = 40) predicted how much effort and reward/enjoyment would be experienced during a short walk around the university. Post-walk, participants reported the actual effort required and the actual experienced reward and enjoyment. Compared to the control group, who demonstrated accurate predictions, depressed individuals significantly overpredicted the required effort associated with the walk even though there were no between-group differences in actual effort required. There was no evidence to suggest that the depressed group underestimated or were inaccurate in their predictions of walk-related reward and enjoyment relative to the control group. Implications for cognitive and behavioral approaches to depression are discussed.