Editorial policy

This blog explains newly published mental health research in plain language. Everything here is written to be useful to someone trying to understand their own mental health.

How we choose what to write about

Once a week we search Europe PMC for open-access mental health research published in the previous year. We only consider studies in humans, published in peer-reviewed journals, whose full text is openly available — so anyone can check our summary against the source. We prioritise studies that answer a specific question a real person is likely to have, rather than restating what general health sites already cover well.

How articles are written

First drafts are produced with AI assistance. A language model reads the full text of the selected study — not just its abstract or press release — and drafts a plain-language summary. We are explicit about this because we think readers of health content deserve to know how it was made.

A draft is never published as written. It is a starting point for the review below.

How articles are reviewed

Every article is reviewed and edited by a licensed psychiatrist before it is published. That reviewer is Anna Gładka, MD, PhD, a practising psychiatrist and researcher at Wrocław Medical University. She checks that the article represents the study accurately, that its limitations are stated honestly, and that nothing in it could be misread as personal medical advice. She rejects drafts that don't meet that bar.

Each published article shows who reviewed it and the date of that review. Where an article is later re-checked, that date is updated — we don't refresh dates cosmetically.

How we handle uncertainty

A single study rarely settles a question. Our articles state the study design and sample size, and say plainly what the research cannot tell us. We avoid words like "proves" and "cures", because they are almost never warranted by one paper. Where evidence is preliminary, we say so.

Corrections

If you find an error, please email [email protected]. We correct factual errors promptly and note substantive corrections on the article itself.

Funding and conflicts of interest

This blog is published by Serena Technologies LLC, which makes an AI mental health companion. We do not accept payment for coverage, and no third party pays to influence which studies we cover or what we say about them. Where an article mentions Serena, that is disclosed by the fact that you are reading it on our site — we do not present our own product as an independent recommendation.

This is not medical advice

Nothing on this blog is medical advice, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from a qualified professional. It is general information about published research. If you are struggling, please speak to a doctor or a mental health professional. If you are in immediate danger or thinking about ending your life, contact your local emergency number or a crisis line in your country now.