Psychotherapy News and Research

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Psychotherapy is “talk” therapy. It involves talking with a mental health professional to treat a mental illness. Psychotherapy can occur one-on-one or in a group. Research shows that support from family and friends can be an important part of therapy.

$20 million advance in Canadian mental health research

University of B.C. President Martha Piper and Premier Gordon Campbell have announced a $20 million advance in mental health research, training and policy, generated by a $10 million gift, the largest ever to mental health in Canada, from a close friend of the university who wishes to remain anonymous.

23 Feb 2005

Ways to make hypnosis a more effective therapeutic technique

Hypnosis can serve as a valuable adjunct to certain kinds of psychotherapy, says Steven Lynn, professor of psychology at Binghamton University, State University of New York. But not everyone responds to it equally well.

23 Feb 2005

Early diagnosis and treatment is important for children and adolescents with bipolar disorder

"These new guidelines were formulated by a group of leading experts in child psychiatry and are the most up-to-date and comprehensive set of guidelines for the treatment of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder," said Dr. Kowatch. "They represent a major step towards practicing evidence-based medicine in this difficult to treat group of patients.

22 Feb 2005

Premenstrual exacerbation of depression common

Virginia Commonwealth University mental health experts have found that women with depression commonly report fluctuations in their symptoms across the menstrual cycle — a key factor that may help physicians better evaluate and treat depressed women.

30 Jan 2005

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood may increase HIV risk

Living in a disadvantaged urban neighborhood can increase a male residents’ risk of contracting HIV, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their study related disadvantaged neighborhoods to stress and stress to increased injection drug use in male study participants.

24 Jan 2005

Program aimed at improving the quality of treatment for depression is effective at reducing depression

An intervention for adolescents aimed at improving the quality of treatment for depression is effective at reducing depression, according to a study in the January 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Jan 2005

Doctors fail to recognise depressive symptoms in more than 40 per cent of older patients

Dr Jeff Looi, a Senior Lecturer at the ANU Medical School, said that while 15 per cent of Australians over 65 have depression, many are not diagnosed by their GP.

17 Jan 2005

Alternative therapies and conventional medical therapies should be held to same standards

Stating that health care should strive to be both comprehensive and evidence-based, a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies calls for conventional medical treatments and complementary and alternative treatments to be held to the same standards for demonstrating clinical effectiveness.

13 Jan 2005

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat major depression

Psychiatrists at Rush University Medical Center are testing a noninvasive technique that uses repeated short bursts of magnetic energy to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to treat major depression.

20 Nov 2004

Low dietary intake of folate may be a risk factor for severe depression

Two studies published in the 2004 November- December issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics suggest that dietary B vitamin complex has an important role as to the vulnerability to depression.

18 Nov 2004

Are HIV infection and personality linked?

Currently, HIV is one of the most widely spread epidemics in the world. The specificity of the mode of transmission, the well-known severity of the prognosis, and the kind of therapies used are peculiarities of this illness.

18 Nov 2004

Postpartum depression: Beyond the 'Baby Blues'

In a culture where giving birth is often believed to be the most joyful moment in life, many women instead feel tired, sad, anxious, distracted and depressed after the baby is born.

18 Nov 2004

D-cycloserine (DCS), used in concert with psychotherapy, is an effective treatment for some anxiety-related disorders

A tuberculosis drug called D-cycloserine (DCS), used in concert with psychotherapy, is an effective treatment for some anxiety-related disorders, according to research by scientists at Emory University School of Medicine and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN).

8 Nov 2004

Emotion-focused therapy - pioneering new treatment for emotional trauma and depression

If fighting emotion with emotion sounds unconventional, that’s because it is. York University Psychology Professor Leslie Greenberg is one of only a handful of researchers on the cutting edge of treatment for psychological trauma and depression using emotion-focused therapy, or EFT – a treatment he pioneered.

1 Nov 2004

Adults who were abused or neglected as children tend to visit doctors more often

"Many patients visit doctors with symptoms that cannot be explained by underlying physical disease," says researcher Francis Creed, M.D., of the University of Manchester. "Common examples are headache, abdominal and chest pains and constant tiredness."

21 Oct 2004

Awareness helps primary doctors prevent patients' suicide

Although few of their patients commit suicide in a year, primary care physicians should use office visits to note possible risk factors for suicidal behavior, bolstered by candid discussions if needed, according to a review of recent research.

18 Oct 2004

Researchers report the first physiologic evidence of the role of laughter during psychotherapy

Laughter may be the best medicine, but the role laughter plays in psychotherapy has been disputed since the days of Freud.

14 Oct 2004

New warnings on antidepressants for children and adolescents highlight the need for appropriate treatments for depression

“Taking an antidepressant comes with risks. When deciding whether an antidepressant is right for a son or daughter, parents should discuss with the physician the possible alternatives, including psychotherapy. Research by the National Institute of Mental Health shows that combining talk therapy and an antidepressant is the most effective treatment for teens battling depression,”

29 Sep 2004

"Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study" - a landmark study

The "Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study" (TADS), reported in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first multi- center, randomized clinical effectiveness trial to review a combination of treatments for the types of adolescent depression likely to be treated in routine community-based practice settings.

18 Aug 2004

Treatment of child depression most successful with Prozac and cognitive-behavior therapy combination

A new study by researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, have found that treatment of child depression was most successful when a combination of Prozac and cognitive-behavior therapy was applied.

18 Aug 2004

Psychotherapy News and Research

Further Reading

$20 million advance in Canadian mental health research

Ways to make hypnosis a more effective therapeutic technique

Early diagnosis and treatment is important for children and adolescents with bipolar disorder

Premenstrual exacerbation of depression common

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood may increase HIV risk

Program aimed at improving the quality of treatment for depression is effective at reducing depression

Doctors fail to recognise depressive symptoms in more than 40 per cent of older patients

Alternative therapies and conventional medical therapies should be held to same standards

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat major depression

Low dietary intake of folate may be a risk factor for severe depression

Are HIV infection and personality linked?

Postpartum depression: Beyond the 'Baby Blues'

D-cycloserine (DCS), used in concert with psychotherapy, is an effective treatment for some anxiety-related disorders

Emotion-focused therapy - pioneering new treatment for emotional trauma and depression

Adults who were abused or neglected as children tend to visit doctors more often

Awareness helps primary doctors prevent patients' suicide

Researchers report the first physiologic evidence of the role of laughter during psychotherapy

New warnings on antidepressants for children and adolescents highlight the need for appropriate treatments for depression

"Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study" - a landmark study

Treatment of child depression most successful with Prozac and cognitive-behavior therapy combination

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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