There is a developing body of research that suggests that there may be distinct categories of patients that can explain the relationship between psychosis and antisocial behaviours. Specifically, three pathways of offending, antisocial behaviour and psychosis have been described and there is an evolving empirical evidence base to suggest that these pathways are aetiologically distinct. Firstly, there is a pathway for early-start offenders, which have been identified as those with psychosis preceded by Conduct Disorder (SZ + CD). Secondly, a group that start to display antisocial behaviours in parallel to the onset of psychosis (SZ-AS). The third group involves those with a long history of a psychotic disorder and no history of antisocial behaviours, who will present to services following a first conviction for non-violent or violent crime (SZ). The authors hypothesise that each typology will utilise services differently throughout the clinical trajectory. This pilot study aimed to (i) examine the concurrent validity of the antisocial behaviour and psychosis typologies, and (ii) examine differences in the service utilisation patterns of patients between these groups.

The sample consisted of adult male patients admitted to low and medium secure forensic hospitals within the Northwest of England. A total of 90 patients were used.

A categorisation checklist was developed, and the typology of patients determined from data collected from electronic health records. Data were collected on patient demographics, psychiatric diagnosis, aetiological factors, and service utilisation. Two researchers reviewed the data and determined the typology. Statistical analysis aimed to assess the difference in aetiological variables between the typologies and examine the relationship with how each typology utilised services.

This study provided further evidence of distinguishing characteristics emphasising typology heterogeneity.

The CD-SZ group were more likely to have utilised mental health services <18 years (70%, p = 0.062), and to have used services preceding a diagnosis of psychosis (60%, p = 0.011). Following the onset of a psychotic disorder, the AS-SZ and SZ groups had a higher proportion that used general adult psychiatry services (p = 0.031), with CD-SZ coming in to contact with forensic psychiatry services and criminal justice services earlier and more frequently.

This study demonstrates that each typology has a different clinical trajectory through mental health services. This provides further empirical evidence towards different clinical typologies and trajectories of individuals with psychosis and anti-social behaviour. Understanding more about how these typologies utilise services will enable clinicians to introduce interventions help develop effective management plans that address the distinct characteristics of each typology of offender with psychosis.

The aim of this review is to systematically investigate simulation in psychiatry to enable the evidence based introduction of psychiatry simulation into the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Liverpool.

Transformations in the structure of psychiatric delivery and reductions in funding to mental health care have limited the availability of direct patient clinical experiences for medical students. Experiential learning through simulation can be utilised as a powerful pedagogical tool and provide exposure to a broad range of psychopathology.

Although psychiatric skills and knowledge are gained from the current University of Liverpool undergraduate curriculum, there is no specific well-designed psychiatry simulation.

The author searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases for studies that met the inclusion criteria. Search terms included ‘simulation (psychiatry or ‘mental health’). Studies were also searched using snowballing via citation tracking within the databases.

Inclusion criteria comprised studies of an educational intervention that involved simulation. The intervention had to be utilised within the field of psychiatric teaching.

The literature review illustrated the dearth of studies analysing role-playing (RP) and/or simulated patients (SP) in psychiatry with it typically encountered as part of the more general communication skills curriculum. Studies analysing SP and RPs demonstrate how they build on the social context of learning alongside drawing on a range of educational theories, including experiential learning. However, studies show that well-designed simulation training should encompass more facets of learning to be transformative, specifically reflecting upon ones experiences alongside understanding and interpreting this new knowledge, allowing it to guide future actions and change practice.

Studies analysing virtual-reality in psychiatry are limited but demonstrate significant improvements in students’ acquisition of key psychiatric skills and exposure to psychopathology. More studies are needed to evaluate the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of virtual-reality over more traditional methods.

Despite the increase in simulation teaching within psychiatry, and the expansion of innovative simulation approaches in other specialties, there was limited use of novel approaches found within the studies analysing psychiatric simulation. There were studies evaluating novel approaches to psychiatry simulation outside of the undergraduate curriculum.

Whilst there are barriers to overcome in simulation training, these are primarily logistical and are clearly outweighed by the educational gain demonstrated throughout this review. Simulation training in psychiatry has often remained limited to traditional communication-oriented scenarios using RP or SP. A greater emphasis on furthering the advancement and integration of more innovative approaches into psychiatric undergraduate teaching is needed.