The scientific study of human sexuality is now accepted as mainstream practice but early researchers in the field often attracted considerable criticism. Masters and Johnson were pioneers in observing and describing normal sexual function and consequently they provided unique insights into helping to understand sexual dysfunction. Their contribution to describing the physiological process of sexual response alongside potential psychological factors resulting in and maintaining sexual dysfunction is widely acknowledged. Their work continues to influence contemporary sexual medicine and psychosexual therapeutic practice.

Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is a shortterm, problem-focused psychosocial intervention. Evidence from randomised controlled trials and metaanalyses shows that it is an effective intervention for depression, panic disorder, generalised anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder (Department of Health, 2001). Increasing evidence indicates its usefulness in a growing range of other psychiatric disorders such as health anxiety/hypochondriasis, social phobia, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. CBT is also of proven benefit to patients who attend psychiatric clinics (Paykel et al, 1999). The model is fully compatible with the use of medication, and studies examining depression have tended to confirm that CBT used together with antidepressant medication is more effective than either treatment alone (Blackburn et al, 1981) and that CBT treatment may lead to a reduction in future relapse (Evans et al, 1992). Generic CBT skills provide a readily accessible model for patient assessment and management and can usefully inform general clinical skills in everyday practice.

As many as 10% of the population experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some time in their lives. It often runs a severe, chronic and treatment-resistant course. This article reviews the evidence base for typically recommended treatments such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It tabulates the major randomised controlled trials of SSRIs and trauma-focused CBT and reviews research on novel treatments such as ketamine, MDMA, quetiapine, propranolol and prazosin.

Psychological treatments in secure settings have traditionally been based on psychodynamic and cognitive–behavioural approaches. Recent developments, supported by an emerging evidence base, have generated a significant amount of interest in mindfulness-based psychological therapies and their utility in diverse areas of mental healthcare. In this article we analyse the current evidence base and describe possible mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based psychological approaches. On the basis of the evidence, we advocate a cautious but positive approach to using mindfulness-based interventions in secure services.

Clinicians trained in cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) are frequently not trained to work with dreams. Given the high prevalence and impact of nightmares and bad dreams, empowering CBT therapists to effectively work with these sleep phenomena is crucial to improve therapeutic outcomes. This article briefly outlines a cognitive–behavioural model of dreams and reviews some clinical guidelines for directly and indirectly addressing nightmares and bad dreams in CBT practice.

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most debilitating psychiatric conditions in young people. In DSM-5 it is no longer characterised as an anxiety disorder, but instead is part of a group of ‘obsessive–compulsive and related disorders'. In the past 10 years, cognitive—behavioural therapy (CBT) has become well established as the first-choice treatment. This article explains some of the elements of CBT and describes new directions in research which might improve interventions.

Shame and self-criticism are transdiagnostic problems. People who experience them may struggle to feel relieved, reassured or safe. Research suggests that a specialised affect regulation system (or systems) underpins feelings of reassurance, safeness and well-being. It is believed to have evolved with attachment systems and, in particular, the ability to register and respond with calming and a sense of well-being to being cared for. In compassion-focused therapy it is hypothesised that this affect regulation system is poorly accessible in people with high shame and self-criticism, in whom the ‘threat’ affect regulation system dominates orientation to their inner and outer worlds. Compassion-focused therapy is an integrated and multimodal approach that draws from evolutionary, social, developmental and Buddhist psychology, and neuroscience. One of its key concerns is to use compassionate mind training to help people develop and work with experiences of inner warmth, safeness and soothing, via compassion and self-compassion.

Understanding the philosophical foundations of cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is vital to drive theory and research forwards and to effectively conduct therapy using varied methods and techniques from different CBT models that may be rooted in distinct philosophical tenets. In the evolution of CBT as the most empirically validated form of psychotherapy, each of its three waves (behavioural therapy, cognitive therapy and acceptance-based therapies) has brought unique contributions to improve its effectiveness. Although some of the philosophical assumptions underlying the different CBT waves may be considerably dissimilar, in this clinical reflection I review the distinctive and cross-cutting features of such backgrounds, while suggesting a conciliation of epistemological perspectives that is capable of informing the practice of CBT in a consistent manner.

Parent–infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a psychoanalytic intervention that aims to improve parental and infant mental health. There is uncertainty about the clinical effectiveness of this intervention, particularly in comparison with other interventions. Based on a limited number of trials, this month's Cochrane Corner review aimed to summarise the best evidence available. Although the review found some tentative support for PIP in relation to attachment outcomes, overall the evidence was of low quality and PIP was not found to be more effective than treatment as usual or other interventions. This commentary contextualises and summarises the findings, and considers their implications for researchers and clinicians.

The book Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition (1968) is widely acclaimed as the masterwork of Joseph Wolpe, a great pioneer in the development of behavioural therapy, and is considered one of the most influential books in the history of clinical psychology. In this article, a brief biography of Wolpe is followed by a critical review of the book that illustrates his major contributions to the evolution of cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) as the most empirically supported model of psychotherapy.

This article describes how the core principles and techniques of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) can be used in general psychiatry to help in the management of patients with borderline personality disorder (or other moderate to severe personality disorders). It focuses on: knowledge – appreciating how an understanding of object relations assists the clinician in assessment and treatment; attitude – developing a stance to manage the confusing and negative feelings that may arise in both clinician and patient; and skills – describing how use of TFP techniques (technical neutrality, analysing the transference and countertransference, and judicious use of interpretation) helps the clinician to continue thinking in the fraught clinical encounter. The structural (including contemporary object relations) and structured approach in TFP are exemplified in clinical vignettes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated the use of online and remote mental healthcare provision. The immediate need to transform services has not allowed for thorough examination of the literature supporting remote delivery of psychiatric care. In this article we review the history of telepsychiatry, the rationale for continuing to offer services remotely and the limitations of psychiatry without in-person care. Focusing on randomised controlled trials we find that evidence for the efficacy of remotely delivered psychiatric care compared with in-person treatment is of low quality and limited scope but does not demonstrate clear superiority of one care delivery method over the other.

Transference-focused psychotherapy concepts and techniques have much to offer experienced psychiatrists and psychiatrists in training in their work with patients with borderline personality disorder and, as a consequence, help address the stigmatisation of this group of patients and improve their clinical care.

Critical trends in psychiatry are abundant today. Their impact on how psychiatry is currently practised is considerable. Yet what deserves close examination is the extent to which these modes of critique (anti-psychiatry, liberation movements, activism, existential, narrative or hermeneutic approaches, theories of values, psychoanalysis) inherently belong to or have become part of the very system that they criticise. Despite their political, social or scientific influence, which is undeniable, their critical power is often limited by their inability to radically challenge the deeper anthropological and philosophical presuppositions on which mainstream psychiatry rests. It can be argued that Foucault offers such a challenge. Implementing his historico-philosophical method, Foucault is sceptical of the anti-psychiatric quest for non-oppressive modes of psychiatric power and the humanist and postmodern efforts to moralise or relativise psychiatric truth. All these modes of critique rest on preconceived notions of nature, power and truth and have been integrated by the pluralism of the psychiatric universe. Yet Foucault's critique seeks precisely the opposite: to explore a new anthropological conception of insanity that has the power to challenge the legal, moral or reductionist constraints under which medical truth currently operates.

Determining the optimum next-step treatment for the numerous patients with depression who do not adequately respond to an initial trial of medication remains a source of uncertainty in clinical practice. Although a number of psychological treatments are known to be effective for depression, their relative merits in the treatment-resistant group have not been ascertained. The Cochrane Collaboration has recently published a meta-analysis of the evidence available for the use of various psychotherapies as an adjunct to antidepressants compared with antidepressants alone in treatment-resistant depression. This article provides a commentary and appraisal of the clinical utility of these findings.

A series of psychoanalytic theorists and clinicians have suggested that conflicts about anger play a central role in the development of depression. Research data have supported the notion that patients struggle with the experience and expression of angry feelings. Anger in people with depression often stems from narcissistic vulnerability, a sensitivity to perceived or actual loss or rejection. These angry reactions cause intrapsychic conflicts through the onset of guilt and the fear that angry feelings will disrupt relationships. These conflicts lead to anger being directed inwards, further lowering self-esteem, creating a vicious cycle. Defence mechanisms that are triggered, including passive aggression, reaction formation, denial and identification with the aggressor, are ineffective at managing these conflicts and further prevent the appropriate expression of anger. This article discusses how to identify and detoxify angry feelings and fantasies using a psychodynamic approach.

Although antipsychotic medication remains the mainstay of treatment for schizophrenia, medications alone are not always successful. Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is recommended as an adjunct to pharmacological treatment. The Cochrane review under consideration evaluates the effects of offering CBT as an add-on to standard care compared with standard care alone, and this commentary puts those findings into their clinical context.