This chapter outlines the ‘history’ of the development and testing of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), one of the first time-limited, manualised, evidence-based psychological treatments for depression. This overview places the inception of IPT in greater context of social history and changes in best practices in the field of psychiatry. This chapter also highlights the career of Dr. Gerald Klerman, the primary developer of IPT, and the legacy of research in IPT that was largely continued by Dr. Myrna Weissman, his collaborator and spouse. In reviewing the history of IPT, this chapter provides a broad overview of the components of the intervention, it’s adaptations for different clinical populations and settings and the research studies that have established IPT as an evidence-based psychological treatment for the past 50 years. Hence, this chapter is an excellent overview of the very detailed chapters that will follow in the book. The chapter ends with a discussion of future directions and challenges for disseminating IPT to wider clinical providers and populations in the upcoming decade.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) is an evidenced-based intervention for the prevention of depression in adolescents. IST-AST is a group adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents (IPT-A) that has been provided in school-based settings and has extensive evidence for reducing elevated depressive symptoms in adolescents and decrease their risk for developing a clinically significant episode of major depression. This chapter provides the rationale for IST-AST and the adaptations that expand this intervention for treatment delivery in group settings. It clearly describes aspects of implementing IPT-AST at both the individual and group level for participating adolescents, while outlining the goals and strategies used in each session. The aspects of administering IST-AST are highlighted in a case vignette that illustrates both the individual adolescent and the group experience. Lastly, the chapter includes an updated overview of the empirical evidence that supports the use of IPT-AST as an effective and evidence-based psychological intervention for the prevention of depression in adolescents.

The first developmental adaptation of IPT was Dr. Laura Mufson and colleagues’ Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents (IPT-A). This seminal adaptation retained the structure and focus of the adult model of IPT, while a range of clinical strategies the developmental competencies and interpersonal issues common with adolescents. This chapter describes the original model of IPT-A as specified by Mufson and colleagues but also includes its relationship to a growing body of knowledge of adolescent development, including the intersection between neurological development and interpersonal changes that take place during adolescence. A case study illustrates the use of IPT-A techniques across phases of treatment and identifies many of the practical considerations of implementing this treatment model, based on our real-world experience of using IPT-A and working clinically with adolescents. The chapter concludes with a summary of the most current research on the efficacy and effectiveness of IPT-A that has established this evidence-based treatment as an enduring and thriving adaptation of IPT.

Physiological CTG interpretation refers to the application of knowledge of fetal pathophysiology and responses to hypoxic and non-hypoxic intrauterine stresses when interpreting changes in fetal heart rate observed on the CTG trace. The onset of regular uterine contractions that progressively increase in frequency, duration and strength as labour advances causes intermittent hypoxic stress to fetuses. Most can withstand such interruptions in the delivery of oxygen and transient accumulation of carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products without sustaining tissue hypoxia and the onset of metabolic acidosis or the development of metabolic acidosis in high-priority central organs resulting in neurological injury. International Expert Consensus Guidelines on Physiological CTG interpretation (2018) recommended the exclusion of pre-existing fetal compromise by looking for decompensation of fetal central organs at the start of CTG monitoring and determining features of different types of hypoxia and response to stress. The revised international consensus statement (2024) included relative uteroplacental insufficiency and fetal inflammation (chorioamnionitis) in the classification table.

In Chapter 10, we conclude with an overview of the broader themes seen throughout this work, showcasing the tell-tale signs of innovation failure. These patterns go to the core of our work, lessons learned from past innovations that can help us to avoid repeating similar mistakes in the future. No one, not even the cagiest upgrader, is going to be able to predict every new technology that will succeed or flop. But with this mindset, you can avoid some of the more obvious traps that investors, politicians, and the public continue to fall for, while valuing the evidence-based alternatives we so often neglect.

Suicide prevention requires a systematic approach to develop a framework that brings together different elements of a prevention strategy, including surveillance, mental health service access, restriction of lethal means, and public awareness campaigns. Originating with Finland's pioneering efforts in the 1980s, such strategies have since expanded worldwide, driven by the World Health Organization's call for action and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. It is imperative that these programmes/strategies are evidence-based, informed by local research, continuously monitored and regularly evaluated for effectiveness. By developing suicide prevention programmes/strategies, governments around the world show their commitment to mitigating preventable deaths, underscoring the need for sustained funding, leadership, and research-driven implementation.

Community-level interventions are a key part of suicide prevention. The effectiveness of these strategies vary and objective measurement of the efficacy of these interventions are often challenging. Evidence shows that preventing access to means of suicide in the community, and ongoing education and awareness among primary care healthcare professionals about mental illness and suicide, both are effective, universal-level preventive strategies. Increasing awareness and mental health literacy among young people in schools shows promise, though most evidence is from high-income countries. Trials have demonstrated that brief follow-up contact interventions (BCI), such as sending postcards, text messages or a follow-up phone call, are effective in reducing suicidal ideation and repetition of suicide attempts.

Caesarean delivery is one of the most frequently performed operations. It is indicated in situations where the benefits associated with the procedure outweigh those of vaginal delivery. With appropriate indications, caesarean deliveries can be life-saving for both the mother and the fetus. The use of a correct surgical technique is essential to improve safety and reduce the risk of complications. As with most surgical procedures, different surgeons have different operating skills, technical difficulties may vary from case to case, and operating room conditions also differ in different parts of the world, so it is difficult to standardise the technique and to carry out research comparing different technical variations. Nevertheless, in this chapter, the published evidence is reviewed and summarised for the individual steps of caesarean delivery.

Health coaching and motivational interviewing (MI) are evidence-based approaches to support behaviour change and self-care in people with long-term conditions. Health coaching is a patient-centred process that involves goal setting, self-discovery, health education, and accountability mechanisms. Motivational interviewing is a conversational style that strengthens a person’s own motivation and commitment to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence. Health coaching and MI have been shown to improve health outcomes in various settings and populations, such as addiction, chronic disease, psychological health, oral health, and paediatric care. Health coaching and MI require training and practice to develop the necessary skills and competencies, as well as feedback and supervision to maintain and improve them. Health coaching and MI are important components of Lifestyle Medicine, helping clinicians to facilitate and enable healthy behaviour change.

CBT is, without a doubt, the most familiar psychological intervention. Nevertheless, it is not a unitary treatment. This is evidenced by the variability of CBT protocols used across clinical settings, which can vary in treatment components’ duration and format of delivery. This chapter outlines and focuses upon the diversity of interventions and approaches that fall under the category of CBTx as a system of therapeutics. It also provides rationale for why, given the variety of therapeutic interventions available, CBTx is well suited to a personalised medicine approach to ensure patients are getting the most appropriate treatment for their clinical presentation.

How much of what health and other professionals do is based soundly in science? Answers to the question, ‘Is our practice evidence based?’ depend on what we mean by practice and evidence.

The expansion of evidence-based medicne (EBM) has been a major influence on medical practice over the past 25 years. In this chapter, we examine the nature of what is nowadays more broadly referred to as evidence-based health-care (EBHC) and discuss its limitations. It is worth noting that in the UK this field continues to expand, particularly into the arena of social care, which often goes hand in hand with the provision of health-care. Increasingly, the term ‘evidence-based practice’ (EBP) is used as a catch-all. While this chapter focuses on health-care, the principles of EBP we describe apply equally to other disciplines, including public health and policy.

Written by a multidisciplinary team of experienced clinicians, this chapter provides the reader with an initial outline of some of the complex psychological mechanisms which underlie or can give rise to violence, such as trauma, problems with attachment and failure to develop a capacity to mentalise, as well as pointers for a wider review of the literature. This is followed by an overview of the range of current evidence-based psychological interventions and therapies available for the prevention and management of violence. Importantly, whilst their approach may differ, they all make use of the therapeutic relationship as an agent for change. The interventions include anger management, positive behavioural support, mentalisation-based techniques, application of a psychoanalytic perspective, family or systemic therapy, help with work experience, education and addressing substance misuse. This chapter will be of interest to professionals in a variety of settings who would like to find out more about how they can make sense of and try to prevent and reduce violence, as well as to patients, carers and the wider public.

This chapter describes some of the interventions that currently exist for children, young people and families, those which have been evaluated and the results for these evaluations have been reported. More rigorous methodologies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, to ensure that they, in effect, support children, young people and families. Comparison between interventions is difficult because they use different measures and compare different outcomes. The more effective interventions share core components but are also flexible to adapt to the specific needs of families. These core components include the provision of information, improve communication, emotional skills, increase social support and coping skills.