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.

Findings may lead to new treatment strategy for phobia

A new study published in the latest issue of Biological Psychiatry reports the successful and instant reduction of fear in spider-fearful participants following a 2-minute exposure combined with a single dose of a regular pharmacological treatment.

11 Dec 2015

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be equally effective as second generation antidepressant for depression

Major depressive disorder affects more than 32 million Americans, and their first stop for treatment is often their primary care provider. A recent evidence review of several alternatives to medication found that using cognitive behavioral therapy as the first treatment for depression can be equally effective as using a second generation antidepressant.

10 Dec 2015

Oxytocin hormone strengthens social ties

Nowadays, much emphasis is placed on sustainability. The degree to which people are willing to donate their own money for this depends on their level of oxytocin. Scientists at the University of Bonn Hospital have discovered that the willingness to donate increases with the quantity of this bonding hormone. However, oxytocin only has an effect with regard to social sustainability projects. The hormone does not increase the ability to participate in the case of purely environmentally oriented projects.

26 Nov 2015

Health insurance coverage for transgender people is cost-effective, study finds

A new analysis led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that while most U.S. health insurance plans deny benefits to transgender men and women for medical care necessary to transition to the opposite sex, paying for sex reassignment surgery and hormones is actually cost-effective.

25 Nov 2015

Researchers identify genetic mutation associated with reckless drunken behavior

University of Helsinki researchers have identified a genetic mutation which renders carriers susceptible to particularly impulsive and reckless behaviour when drunk. More than one hundred thousand Finns carry this mutation.

17 Nov 2015

Medication not psychotherapy intensity sways treatment outcome in adult ADHD

Psychological interventions for adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder are best combined with methylphenidate, show findings from the COMPAS trial.

9 Nov 2015

Novel culturally-informed treatment benefits caregivers of people with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling psychiatric disorder that affects about one percent of the population in the United States. Approximately 60 percent of those suffering from this condition live with a relative. Despite the fact that that family interventions have shown to significantly improve outcomes for individuals with schizophrenia, only about seven percent of patients with this illness receive any family therapy.

6 Nov 2015

Expressive writing may improve functioning among combat veterans with reintegration problems

In a study of nearly 1,300 returning veterans reporting reintegration problems, those who completed online expressive-writing sessions showed more improvements than peers who had not written at all or who had engaged only in factual writing.

5 Nov 2015

Hypersexual disorder can be linked to hyperactive stress systems

New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that hypersexual disorder - known popularly as sex addiction - can be linked to hyperactive stress systems. In a stress regulation test using the cortisone drug dexamethasone, men with hypersexual disorder showed higher levels of stress hormones than controls, a finding that the researchers hope will contribute to improved therapy for this patient group.

3 Nov 2015

Public health policies targeting smokers may actually have opposite effect, study finds

Public health policies targeted at smokers may actually have the opposite effect for some people trying to quit, according to new evidence released today (Nov. 2).

3 Nov 2015

Plaques impair memory formation in Alzheimer’s disease during sleep

Alzheimer’s patients frequently suffer from sleep disorders, mostly even before they become forgetful. Furthermore, it is known that sleep plays a very important role in memory formation.

22 Oct 2015

Team-based, coordinated specialty care approach produces better outcomes for people with first episode psychosis

New research shows that treating people with first episode psychosis with a team-based, coordinated specialty care approach produces better clinical and functional outcomes than typical community care. Investigators also found that treatment is most effective for people who receive care soon after psychotic symptoms begin.

20 Oct 2015

Research findings open up new avenues for treatment of people with anorexia nervosa

When people with anorexia nervosa decide what to eat, they engage a part of the brain associated with habitual behavior. This finding by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, and New York University was published today in Nature Neuroscience.

13 Oct 2015

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to honor nine scientists with Outstanding Achievement Prizes

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation will honor nine scientists with its 2015 Outstanding Achievement Prizes for their work in schizophrenia, mood disorders, child and adolescent psychiatry, and cognitive neuroscience.

9 Oct 2015

Clinical trial initiated to determine feasibility, safety of focused ultrasound to treat depression

The first patient with depression has been treated with focused ultrasound. This procedure marks the beginning of a pilot clinical trial to determine the feasibility and safety of MR-guided focused ultrasound to non-invasively destroy a small volume of tissue deep in the brain - the anterior limb of the internal capsule - a well-established target for treating severe depression.

29 Sep 2015

Special issue provides update on mental health diagnosis and treatment of older adults

The aging of the population, shifting diagnostic criteria, and new health care policy initiatives are some of the factors driving changes in mental health treatment for older Americans, according to the September special issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

10 Sep 2015

WPA launches first ever global campaign to achieve fairness in mental healthcare

The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) is today launching the first ever 'World Mind Matters Day', a global campaign with the main goal of achieving fairness in mental healthcare for all.

4 Sep 2015

Ventura Recovery Center introduces new young adult addiction treatment program

Ventura Recovery Center, a residential rehab facility in Thousand Oaks, California, has just launched their new young adult addiction treatment program. As a spokesperson for the treatment facility noted, Ventura Recovery Center realizes that their community based model will also be very successful for young adults.

3 Sep 2015

Survey: Mental health care inaccessible to many Americans

Nearly 90 percent of Americans value mental health and physical health equally, yet about one-third find mental health care inaccessible, and more than four in 10 see cost as a barrier to treatment for most people, according to the results of a new survey released today by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

1 Sep 2015

IQWiG dossier assessment finds no added benefit for vortioxetine in depression

Vortioxetine (trade name: Brintellix) has been approved since December 2013 for the treatment of depression in adults, but did not become actually available before May 2015. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care examined in a dossier assessment whether this drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. Such an added benefit cannot be derived from the dossier because it contained no data evaluable for the assessment.

12 Aug 2015