Sociologist Questions Effectiveness and Ethics of Mental Health Services
Medical sociologist David Pilgrim argues that mental health care is neither effective nor “kindly,” as it often relies on flawed research and ineffective treatments.
Digital Media Use Linked to Increase in ADHD Symptoms
Increased frequency of digital media use can increase symptoms of ADHD among adolescents, study finds.
Study Explores Pain Assessment for Medically Complex, Nonverbal Children
To what extent are healthcare providers equipped to assess nuance in the experiences of pain among nonverbal children?
The Effect of Psychiatric Diagnosis on Young People’s Sense of Self and Social Identity
A new review highlights the effects that psychiatric diagnosis has on children and adolescents’ social relationships and views of self.
Psychiatric Retraumatization: A Conversation About Trauma and Madness in Mental Health Services
As a clinical psychologist and someone who was herself “diagnosed” and “treated” for “serious mental illness,” Noël Hunter has a unique vantage point to view the mental health profession. I spoke with her about her new book, which offers an insightful critique of mental health’s diagnostic and treatment irrationalities.
Social Adversity and Crime Victimization Increase Risk of Psychotic Experiences Five Fold
Researchers parse out factors within urbanicity that leads to risk for psychotic experiences.
Perfectionism May Lead to Significant Psychological Distress, Study Suggests
A new study suggests needing to appear perfect to others leads to mental health stigma and a higher risk of untreated psychological distress.
Psychologists Argue for Decolonial Approach to Global Poverty
Individualist psychological models of poverty pathologize poor communities, decolonial approaches that emphasize context and interdependence may be more sustainable.
Poor and Foster Care Children More Likely to be Diagnosed and Treated with Psychiatric...
Study details Medicaid-insured birth cohort’s exposure to psychiatric medications and mental health services.
Anti-Stigma Campaigns Enable Inequality, Sociologists Argue
Scholars contend that stigma functions as a mechanism of power in analysis of UK Heads Together mental health campaign.
In Defense of Healthy Depression
With the increasing medicalization of depression, and as more and more physicians see the treatment of depression as falling under their purview, it is imperative to distinguish between actual clinical depression and "healthy depression" — the adaptive and expectable responses to distressing life events that signal a need for rethinking one's life and recalibrating one's self-perceptions and emotions.
Police Killings Vicariously Impact Mental Health of Black Americans
New research provides evidence that police killings of unarmed Black Americans impact the mental health of Black Americans.
Addressing Depression and Heart Disease with Exercise and Physical Activity
A new study examines the effects of midlife exercise on depression and cardiovascular health later in life.
Counter-Messaging Downplays Effectiveness of Exercise for Depression
Counter-messaging and a lack of critical analysis may lead doctors away from suggesting exercise for depression.
Can Mindfulness Help With Burnout?
A new study investigates the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on employee’s wellbeing across different workplace environments.
Research Finds Parents’ Trauma May Impact Children’s Health
Study uncovers some of the intergenerational consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
Questioning the Philosophical Assumptions of Neuroscience Research
Are philosophical misunderstandings behind the failure of neuroscience to provide useful clinical research?
Psychological Research Suggests Systemic Interventions to Tackle Racism
A new special edition positions psychological science as offering valuable contributions to the study of contemporary racism.
Hospitalized and Heading Toward Homelessness
Upon my release I was dumped at a motel with no ID, no money or method of payment, and not even a cell phone to call friends or family for help. My belongings were still locked in a safe back at the hospital. Where are the real advocates for more low-income housing, and where the hell have they been for those who are incarcerated, whether it be in jails and prisons or mental facilities?
Despite the Evidence, Overprescription of Stimulants Continues
A new study finds that stimulant prescribing rates to children continue to rise despite the well-established evidence documenting overdiagnosis of ADHD and overprescription of stimulants.
Is Psychosis Natural?
Much of the wild world is now a garden: a rational, controlled space. Yet if we step out of the garden and back into the old growth, I believe the process of psychosis belongs as part of Earth’s “will,” of her wild. The physiological process of psychosis—that of amplified senses—is ecologically purposeful. Not good nor bad, but part of what Nature does trying to grow. Here I share a talk I gave in Boulder, Colorado exploring these themes.
Suicide in a Culture of Mandated Happiness – Who’s to Blame?
We live in a culture of mandated positivity and compulsory happiness, which somehow remains untouched by the current political, social, ecological and economic realities of the world. If you’re distressed, it must either be your bad attitude (which is a choice) or your broken brain (which is not a choice); god forbid we look anywhere outside the self.
Psychologist Debunks Common Misconceptions of Maslow’s Hierarchy
Utilizing Maslow’s published books and essays, psychologist William Compton delineates common myths and attempts to respond to them.
Are Students Benefiting From the Growth Mindset Model?
Results from two meta-analyses reveal shortcomings with the growth mindset theory as applied in schools.
Researchers Explore Sexuality and Gender in the Context of Psychosis
Nev Jones and a team of researchers examine how sex, sexuality, and gender-related content are underexplored in contemporary research on psychosis.
