Meditation Helps with Emotionality and Relationships
A meta-analysis in Psychological Bulletin of 595 studies on the psychological effects of meditation found that in the 163 studies deemed to have "sufficient...
Exercise as an Adjunct to Medication Does Not Help Depression
A study of 361 adults with depression published online in the British Medical Journal today finds no evidence that facilitated physical activity improved depression...
Similarity of Dissociation and Voice-Hearing in DID and Schizophrenia
A study of 40 patients with schizophrenia diagnoses and 40 patients with dissociative identity disorder (DID) found that "neither phenomenological definitions of dissociation nor...
Yoga Improves Cognition in Schizophrenia
Researchers from India and the Universities of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania found, in the first study of its kind, significantly greater improvement in cognitive function...
Anxiety and the Severity of Mania
Researchers from Spain, noting that "anxiety has scarcely been studied in acute mania," analyzed data from 242 patients admitted for a diagnosis of acute...
Negative Symptoms Predict Quality of Life
Researchers assessed 55 first-episode drug-naive people with schizophrenia diagnoses in New Delhi, India for the predictive value of symptoms on quality of life (QOL)....
Review of Dietary Supplements for Depression
A review of dietary drug supplements for depression in the May issue of the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services finds that...
Dissociative Experiences Mediate Childhood Trauma/Auditory Hallucinations
Researchers in Spain assessed 71 patients diagnosed with psychoses for dissociative experiences, trauma, delusions and hallucinations. Childhood trauma was positively associated with dissociation (r =...
Pain Predicts Psychopathology
Researchers from Italy, Hungary, and the U.S. investigated the extent that the subjective experience of pain in 575 psychiatric outpatients (without comorbid physical diagnoses)...
Attachment & Psychosis: Implications for Therapeutic Alliance
In what they say is the first study to investigate relationships between emotion regulation, attachment and the therapeutic alliance, researchers in Northwest England recruited 49...
Recovery through Learning Creatura, a Language of Life
There is a language underneath our familiar verbal language. Ordinarily it is called nonverbal communication. It is also called body language. I came to...
High-Fat Diet and Obesity Contribute to Depression, Brain Changes
"Chronic consumption of high-fat food and obesity induce plasticity-related changes in reward circuitry that are associated with a depressive-like phenotype," says a study appearing...
People With Schizophrenia Diagnoses Actually Do Listen
Contrary to the hypothesis that delusional beliefs in schizophrenia are a persistent general deficit, patients using a well-documented advice-taking task revise their beliefs, taking...
Skin-to-Skin Contact Benefits Mothers with Post-Partum Depression
In a study of 90 new mothers in Nova Scotia, five hours per day of skin-to-skin contact (SSC) reduced mothers' depression scores in their...
Exercise Benefits Psychosis
56 patients in an acute care setting for psychosis in Western Australia reported that a formal exercise program helped to manage their psychiatric symptoms,...
Nursing Homes Shift Tactics on Dementia
As part of a series on the inappropriate use of antipsychotics in nursing homes, the Boston Globe explores alternative approaches, such as llama therapy,...
10 Reasons Survivors Might Know More Medicine Than Psychiatrists
We've been discussing a potential role for psychiatrists on this site, and I wanted some of the doctors to understand why many mental health...
The New York Times Magazine Article on Antidepressants
In the Sunday New York Times Magazine, an article by Siddhartha Mukherjee entitled “Post-Prozac Nation” appeared. I eagerly read this article, wondering what position...
The “I Am Not The Butcher” Speech
On Thursday I had an interaction with a psychologist where I basically said, "I am not sure I want to attend a workshop you...
Fantasy Video Game Zaps Depression in Adolescents
SPARX, an interactive video game in which significantly depressed adolescents shoot down "GNATs" (Gloomy Negative Automatic Thoughts) in a quest to restore the balance...
You Are What You Eat – Part 2
There has been much attention in this site to the role of psychiatry and psychiatrists for people who are experiencing mental or emotional distress. One area that I have chosen to focus on with my patients is food since it is a place where I believe I can have a positive impact on their lives.
Psychedelics and Depression
The Sunday New York Times Magazine special edition, "Health is All in Our Minds," explores the use of psychedelic drugs to help people cope...
Federal Regulators Urge Cuts in Antipsychotics for Seniors
An Office of the Inspector General report says that nearly nine out of 10 prescriptions for antipsychotics given to Medicare beneficiaries are for unapproved uses....
What a new role for psychiatrists might look like
People have been wondering on this site lately if there is still a role for psychiatrists. The short answer is maybe, if they can...
Training the Brain for Well-Being
Experience shapes the brain, for better or worse. Richard Davidson & Bruce McEwen review the ways that adverse early experience create measurable changes in...
