The research on attendance at out-patient psychiatric facilities has produced conflicting evidence that provides little guidance for the practitioner. It is suggested that inadequate data exploration could explain some of the discrepant findings. Analyses of multi-way tables using linear–logistic models were undertaken to demonstrate patterns of association that cannot be revealed through the use of simple chi-square tests on two-way contingency tables. The variables chosen for these analyses were those that have produced conflicting findings in the literature on children's attendance at child guidance facilities.

The present study examined the utility of a new hospital-hostel with low staffing levels. Results showed that the hostel was able to maintain 9 of the 10 initially transferred patients and has been able to provide some improvements in their quality of life. However, unlike highly staffed hospital-hostels, it was not able to decrease patients' disabilities. Implications of this are discussed in relation to staffing levels and practices.

The CAMCOG, the cognitive section of the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly (CAMDEX), was administered twice to 53 patients with a clinical diagnosis ranging from no dementia to severe dementia. The stability of the total CAMCOG score was high (0·97). Patients with less than moderate dementia were differentiated well by the total score and by subscales with a range of more than 8 points, except when education was low or age was higher than 78. Because performance on most (sub)scales is modified by age and education level, stratified norms are desirable. Only the Praxis subscale, and specifically performance on drawing tasks, appeared to be influenced by depression.

A Cognitive Shift neurocognitive training module was developed in the attempt to ameliorate cognitive flexibility deficits in chronic schizophrenic patients. A procedural training approach hypothesized the exercise of specific neural network processes, identified from theories of frontal and prefrontal lobe functioning. Three male patients who underwent the intensive program demonstrated significant gains in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance, gains that were maintained at a six month reassessment. Expanded Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (a measure of symptomatology) and Life Skills Profile (a measure of daily functioning) measures showed smaller improvements. The ability to improve cognitive flexibility could have important implications for the treatment of schizophrenia.

This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of providing practice nurse support as an adjunct to standard general practitioner treatment to patients with depressive disorders prescribed antidepressant medication. With respect to the measures used and pilot study objectives identified, there were no statistically significant differences between the study groups in treatment adherence to the prescription of antidepressant medication or in the incidence and severity of adverse events to medication. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are in progress to assess the effectiveness of practice nurse interventions in the management of depressive illness in general practice.

There has been an adult psychiatry research group within the Institute of Psychiatry of the University of Verona since 1970. However, in 1980, the University of Verona established a Chair in Medical Psychology and since that time a separate department gradually developed. This department, primarily devoted to epidemiological studies in mental health and to teaching activities, was later involved also in clinical work and was officially recognized by the Regional Health Department and by the Local Socio Health authorities (ULSS No. 25, Verona), as Servizio di Psicologia Medica. They provided additional financial support and new infrastructures not only for its clinical activities but also for research carried out in its Research Unit.