From the COVID-19 pandemic to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the energy crisis, spiralling living costs, soaring heatwaves and environmental disasters, it might appear that we live in a continual state of crisis – all of which has had an impact on people’s mental health, exacerbating underlying concerns, fears, anxieties and anger. The nexus between mental health and violent extremism, and the importance of mental health as a contributing or driving factor in radicalisation and recruitment, is now increasingly being understood. In this edition of the RAN Practitioners Update we take a brief look at some of these challenges. To do this, the Update features the latest issue of the RAN Practitioners Spotlight magazine and the latest RAN Practitioners film, and highlights some of the key publications on the topic. The Update also features information on four training events on ‘digital skills’ for practitioners.