People Think Research is More Credible When It Includes “Extraneous” Brain Images
People show greater trust in studies with neuroscience language, graphs, and especially brain images.
Expanding Mental Health Care Beyond Adding More Psychiatrists
From STAT: Although many people believe that we need to train more psychiatrists in order to increase access to mental health care, there is no...
New Meta-Analysis: Mindfulness Interventions Effective for Psychiatric Disorders
A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions shows efficacy for treating depression, physical pain, smoking, and addictive disorders.
Social Support Improves Antipsychotic Discontinuation, Study Finds
A new study explores how people manage to discontinue antipsychotic medication and examines how social supports may improve outcomes.
Call for Client Inclusion in Recovery-Focused Psychiatric Diagnosis
A new review, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, examines the perspectives of clinicians and service-users on psychiatric diagnosis.
Ethicists: Access Needed After Brain Implant Clinical Trials
In a new study, Baylor College of Medicine researchers have raised ethical questions about clinical trials of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and other brain implants.
"'Generally,...
Online Communities for Drug Withdrawal: What Can We Learn?
From Psychiatric Times: Patients are increasingly turning to the internet as a source of information and support for antidepressant and benzodiazepine withdrawal due to the psychiatric...
Do Social Network Sites Help or Harm Well Being?
How does social network site use influence well-being? Researchers suggest this depends on the extent to which site use is “connection-promoting."
The Woeful Underfunding of Psychotherapy by Health Insurers
Psychotherapy reimbursement rates have been in decline for decades, even though insurance premiums have risen sharply. This is mystifying given that the vast majority of people prefer psychotherapy over medications, science shows it rivals the benefits of medications, and it saves insurance carriers money.
Here’s How to Beat Anxiety Without Medication
From The Independent: The medication that is frequently prescribed to treat anxiety often does not work in the long-term. According to a new study, a variety...
Every Sufi Master Is, in a Sense, a Freudian Psychotherapist
In this piece for Aeon, Sam Haselby explores the parallels and intersections between Freudian psychoanalysis and Islamic mysticism.
"The affinities between mystical Islam and Freudian thought...
Therapists Collaborate with Clients through Metatherapeutic Communication
Researchers develop an initial framework for understanding metatherapeutic communication practices that may inform future integration of collaboration in psychotherapy.
The Breaking Point
How did I become someone who could barely function? I was a high-performing sales executive ranked in the top 2% of an international business communications company. But now, after using powerful psych meds for depression and anxiety for more than a decade, I couldn’t do basic things like go to the grocery store, plan a meal, make dinner, or get together with friends.
Bringing Meals to People May Reduce Healthcare Costs
From The Los Angeles Times: A recent study found that regularly delivering meals to people with food insecurity can prevent health crises and drive down...
A Mental Health Crisis is the True Cost of University Marketization
From Red Pepper: University students are facing unprecedented rates of mental health crises due to a combination of financial insecurity and ever-increasing academic pressure.
"Meanwhile, our futures...
Philosophers Question the Separation of Medicine and Culture
Radically questioning the distinction between the objectivity of science and the subjectivity of culture can give way to powerful biocultural methods of healing.
Metacognitive Training (MCT): A New Treatment Approach for Delusions
Since psychosis does not occur instantaneously and suddenly, but is often preceded by a gradual change in the appraisal of one’s cognitions and social environment, empowering metacognitive competence may act prophylactically to prevent or hinder a psychotic breakdown.
How Victimization Affects Political Engagement in Adolescence
Study examines relationships between experiences of victimization, beliefs in government, and political participation among 12th grade students
Bright Light Therapy More Effective Than Medication Alone for Bipolar Depression
A new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has found bright light therapy to be a powerful intervention that could provide an alternative to medication for people with “bipolar depression.”
The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma
In this piece for The New Yorker, Junot Diaz reflects on the impact of his experience of childhood sexual abuse and the ways that therapy...
How Compassion Can Triumph Over Toxic Childhood Trauma
From Medical Xpress: New research findings suggest that when pregnant women who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) feel supported by those around them, their...
Parental Conflict Changes Emotion Recognition in Children, Study Finds
Study suggests interparental conflict causes lasting damage in the way children are able to recognize and process emotions.
Enjoying the Road Less Traveled
The people that my son and I continued to consult with over the years didn't talk of mental illness as a brain disease, a chemical imbalance, or a problem with one's genes. Depending on the therapy, they spoke in terms of restoring life force energy, changing cellular vibration, learning to listen and understand, and building a self.
Antonio Damasio, Feeling, and the Evolution of Consciousness
From the Los Angeles Review of Books: In his new book The Strange Order of Things, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio highlights the role of feeling and subjectivity...
Social Inclusion and Stipend Enhance Recovery, Study Suggests
A new study explores the benefits of a befriending program in the recovery of those with “enduring mental illness.”
