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.

Older Americans suffer from full-blown depression: Report

Maureen Duffy's memories of her grandmother are cloudy. Not because of time, but by a condition that cast a shadow over the woman Duffy had visited as a child.

10 Aug 2010

Pfizer announces unrestricted access to patient assessment aids for mental disorders

As part of its commitment to improving the quality of patient care, Pfizer today announced that it will make available assessment scales used by physicians and others in the healthcare community to support the evaluation and diagnosis of patients suffering from certain mental disorders.

23 Jul 2010

Call for greater support in mental health services for children

As support for funds for mental ailments mounts, a coalition of mental health experts are lobbying for greater support for mental health services for children. The coalition comprises The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists; the Australian Psychological Society; NIFTeY (National Investment for the Early Years); the Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association; the Australian Association of Infant Mental Health, and the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network.

22 Jul 2010

MDMA (Ecstasy) holds promise for chronic treatment-resistant PTSD

MDMA (-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as Ecstasy), may one day offer hope for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even people for whom other treatments have failed. Clinical trial results out today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, suggests that MDMA can be administered to subjects with PTSD without evidence of harm and could offer sufferers a vital window with reduced fear responses where psychotherapy can take effect.

20 Jul 2010

Active family engagement is important for recovery from substance abuse, chemical dependency

Active family engagement and commitment is one of the most underappreciated aspects of recovery from substance abuse and chemical dependency, according to clinical staff at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, a leading eating disorder and addiction treatment center.

16 Jul 2010

New study finds no evidence in support of LTPP's superiority over shorter-term methods of psychotherapy

This paper criticizes the methodology of a meta-analysis and 8 studies published in the JAMA last year which indicated that longer term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LTPP) was more effective than short therapies. The investigators found a miscalculation of the effect sizes used to make key comparisons and found no evidence to support claims of superiority of LTPP over shorter-term methods of psychotherapy.

16 Jul 2010

Survey shows only few Canadians identify painful physical symptoms of depression

Although the majority of Canadians believe in a mind/body connection, agreeing how they feel physically is related to how they feel emotionally (87 per cent), only half make the link when it comes to depression.

12 Jul 2010

Combination therapy for severe depression

Severe depression is life threatening. So it is worth every effort to get depression under control and make life more manageable. For most people, that means some combination of antidepressant drugs and talk therapy.

29 Jun 2010

Researchers demonstrate efficacy of routine psychotherapeutic treatment for depression

Depression is one of the most common forms of psychiatric disorder. It can occur at any time of life and it may affect children and adolescents as well as the elderly. However, depression can usually be suitably managed with the help of cognitive behavioral therapy. Researchers based at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have been able to demonstrate both the efficacy and the extent of the beneficial effect of routine psychotherapeutic treatment for depression.

11 Jun 2010

Therapies for female sexual dysfunction

Many women experience problems in the bedroom at one time or another. Female sexual dysfunction is not uncommon and although some women and healthcare providers have difficulty discussing it, it has been recognized by the medical community for decades. In fact, for the last twenty years, it has been listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association, used to classify and diagnose psychological disorders.

10 Jun 2010

Depressed mood makes pain more unpleasant

When it comes to pain, the two competing schools of thought are that it's either "all in your head" or "all in your body". A new study led by University of Oxford researchers indicates that, instead, pain is an amalgam of the two.

8 Jun 2010

Focus on physical, emotional and social needs can result in complete cessation of SIB

Parents, teachers, and healthcare providers are among those most concerned by an alarming increase in self-injurious behaviors among young people. Indeed, it has been estimated that the trend has doubled in the past three years and continues to climb as the seemingly bizarre behavior reaches into the middle schools. Despite this emerging epidemic, effective treatment for this challenging anomaly remains elusive.

28 May 2010

Women with recurrent miscarriages can have successful pregnancy with supportive care

For women who have multiple miscarriages, the pain of repeated loss is often compounded by another reality. The causes behind miscarriage are complex and often difficult to identify, and even those conditions and associations proposed as causes are poorly understood.

28 May 2010

Research studies on depression in preschool-aged children

It is difficult to imagine a depressed third-grader. It is even more difficult to imagine a depressed preschooler. Although childhood depression is a well-recognized and treated disorder, only recently have research studies begun looking at depression in children younger than six years old.

20 May 2010

Study identifies suppression as a mediator between negative emotions and desire to binge

A German study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics explores what is behind binge eating.

19 May 2010

Choir singing induces state of stimulated regeneration in IBS patients

A Swedish investigation has compared choir singing and group discussion in irritable bowel syndrome in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

19 May 2010

Study reveals association between depression and coronary spasm

A study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics explores the relationship between depression and coronary artery spasm.

18 May 2010

Goodtherapy.Org receives BBB Accreditation

Today, GoodTherapy.org announces its commitment to marketplace ethics by earning Accreditation with Better Business Bureau. As a BBB Accredited Business, GoodTherapy.org has met BBB's Code of Business Practices and has agreed to maintain honest and reliable business practices.

15 May 2010

Study reveals association between cardiac vagal activity and functional somatic symptoms

A study in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics outlines some novel insights between cardiac vagal activity [heart rate variability in the high-frequency band (HRV-HF)] and symptoms that do not find an organic explanation.

11 May 2010

Multicomponent psychological intervention helps reduce alexithymia and cancer pain

An Italian study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics examines the relationship between cancer pain and inability to express feelings and the effects of treatment.

10 May 2010