

24th European Congress of Psychiatry / European Psychiatry 33S (2016) S349–S805
S691
communication tools. Although it has become a part of everyday
life for most of our clients, yet we did not have the opportunity to
study its impact on compliance to therapy.
Objective
Assessment of impact of parallel social media group to
dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills training group in a sample
of Egyptian patients suffering from borderline personality disorder
(BPD).
Aim
The aim of the current study was to estimate impact of par-
allel social media group on compliance to DBT skills training group
and its adverse events.
Methods
Patients with BPD enrolled to an outpatient compre-
hensive DBT program in Alexandria were assigned either to group
(A) skills training, where a parallel Facebook group was crated aim-
ing at increasing to compliance to the original group, or group (B)
skills training alone and dropout rates were calculated based on
completion of 6 months full skills training. We considered patients
out of the group if they missed 4 sessions in a raw.
Results
Two patients of 15 patients who joined group (A) missed
four consecutive sessionswith a dropout rate of 13%, whereas group
(B) showed 43% drop out rate as 10 out of 23 patients did not
complete the group. The difference was statistically significant. We
reported only one privacy issue dealt with it immediately.
Conclusion
Utilization of social media group could lead to
increase patient compliance to DBT skills training group.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.2054EV1070
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for
bipolar disorder
T. Abreu
Penafiel, Portugal
Introduction
Bipolar disorder is a chronic disease with a major
impact on patient’s functioning and quality of life, not only dur-
ing episodes of mania/hypomania or depression, but also during
euthymic periods. In recent years, it has been noticed that phar-
macotherapy, albeit its great value, is not enough to prevent
recurrences of the disease. Therefore, it has been a greater invest-
ment in psychosocial interventions as adjuvant treatment. The
utmost studied of these interventions is Cognitive-Behavioral Ther-
apy (CBT).
Objectives and aims
Gather information about the efficacy of CBT
in bipolar disorder.
Methods
Literature review.
Results
Several studies have compared groups of bipolar patients
submitted to CBT to controls submitted to treatment as usual. The
methods and size of samples differ, but the results are in general
concordant. Individual or group CBT has had positive results in
reducing symptoms, increasing the euthymic periods, decreasing
duration of episodes and improving global functioning and quality
of life.
Conclusions
There are limitations on the application of CBT in
bipolar patients, mainly the decrease of its effects over time; less
efficiency in patients with more severe disease; major impact on
depressive symptoms than manic; and lack of human resources
trained to apply these techniques. Notwithstanding these limita-
tions, the demonstrated gain in the use of CBT on bipolar disorder
is evident; hence, investment in this area is undoubtedly important.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.2055EV1071
Can mindfulness bring post-traumatic
stress disorder patients to focus on
the present?
A.R. Figueiredo
1 ,∗
, T. Abreu
2, C. Freitas
31
Centro Hospitalar de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Department of
Psychiatry and Mental Health, Vila Real, Portugal
2
Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega e Sousa, Department of Psychiatry
and Mental Health, Penafiel, Portugal
3
Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega e Sousa, Department of Psychiatry
and Mental Health, Amarante, Portugal
∗
Corresponding author.
Introduction
Over the last years, literature has dedicated
increased interest to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a men-
tal disorder that was initially included in Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of mental disorders in 1980. Trauma is any event that
overwhelms the individual coping strategies. Patients with PTSD
experience symptoms of hyper-vigilance, intrusive thoughts, flash-
backs, re-experiencing the trauma event, avoidance of stimuli
relatedwith trauma or exaggerated startle response. Mindfulness is
the process of being aware, paying attention in the presentmoment,
in a non-judgmental way. Research has been showing that mind-
fulness has positive effects on mental health.
Objectives and aims
Assessment of eventual benefits of mindful-
ness in patients with PTSD.
Methods
Literature research.
Results
Many studies have reported on correlations between
self-reported mindfulness and mental health. Literature suggests
that mindfulness training can enhance life skills and its effec-
tiveness is being studied in several mental disorders. Its positive
effects on enhancing emotion regulation and decreasing anxiety,
hyperarousal and depressive symptoms, led to investigation in
the context of PTSD’s treatment. Some studies show decreased
perceived stress and post-traumatic avoidance symptoms and
increased positive states of mind. Most studies reviewed were
relatedwithwar veteranswith PTSD and showed thatmindfulness-
based treatments could enhance their quality of life. Other results
imply that mindful awareness alone may not be sufficient to help
reduce symptoms.
Conclusions
Mindfulness based therapies could be useful on
improving PTSD symptoms but, to assess its efficacy, further
research is needed, in different samples of patients.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.2056EV1072
Impact of expressive writing on
everyday memory functioning
B. Abuhamda
∗
, A. Soliman
Qatar University, Social Sciences, Doha, Qatar
∗
Corresponding author.
Introduction
The suppression of negative feelings and traumatic
events has detrimental effect on mental and physical health. One
of the promising techniques to reduce stress related to trauma is
expressive writing. Expressive writing has been found successful
with different types of maladaptive behaviors e.g., pain, depression,
anxiety and cognitive dysfunctioning.
Objectives
This study investigates the impact of different cat-
egories of expressive writing on improving every day memory
performance and cognitive functioning.