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.

Chronic fatigue syndrome – eased by psychotherapy: Study

New British research suggests that people with chronic fatigue syndrome may be helped the most when standard treatment is coupled with cognitive behaviour therapy or exercise therapy.

20 Feb 2011

Grief after loss of a significant other may become a disease

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a group of French investigators headed by Guy Chouinard presents data that indicate that grief after the loss of a significant other may become a disease. One issue facing the DSM-V in the revision of the criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) concerns bereavement criterion E, which often leads to exclusion from major depressive episode (MDE).

16 Feb 2011

Studies highlight utility of Paykel's Clinical Interview for Depression in clinical research

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, investigators from the University of Bologna, Copenhagen and Cambridge present data that suggest that the most commonly used scale for assessing depression (the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) may not be sufficient and another, more comprehensive and accurate, is available.

16 Feb 2011

Non-specialist mental health staff can treat depression with psychotherapy

Depression can be treated effectively with psychotherapy by mental health nurses with minimal training, according to new preliminary research findings.

16 Feb 2011

Study: Women with anorexia draw themselves with prominently different characteristics

Women suffering from anorexia or bulimia draw themselves with prominently different characteristics than women who do not have eating disorders and who are considered of normal weight. This has been revealed in a new joint study from the University of Haifa, Soroka University Medical Center and Achva Academic College, Israel, published in The Arts in Psychotherapy.

14 Feb 2011

State roundup: Arizona Medicaid waiver; Mass. BCBS plans charge more for high-cost hospitals; Texas Dems' abortion fight

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's proposal to cut 280,000 people from the state's Medicaid rolls is being reviewed by U.S. officials who don't know whether they have the power to approve the action, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

10 Feb 2011

Psychiatric symptoms of bed breath

A study, published in the last 2010 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by a group of researchers of the University of Torino (Italy), has explored the personality correlates and psychiatric symptoms of bed breath.

7 Feb 2011

Ascend Health opens Mother-Infant Outpatient Program to treat post-partum depression

Ascend Health Corporation, through Cedar Hills Hospital, announced the opening of the Mother-Infant Outpatient Program, the first in the Pacific Northwest region where new mothers can receive treatment with their children in a safe, caring and convenient setting. Cedar Hills Hospital is a facility of Ascend Health Corporation.

5 Feb 2011

MSPP announces formation of spirituality and psychotherapy center

Most people have some form of spiritual practice or belief system that helps them find meaning in life. This orientation can profoundly impact the psychotherapeutic process, according to the founders of a formal center for the study of spirituality and psychotherapy at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in West Roxbury.

1 Feb 2011

Physicians suggest new target structure for deep brain stimulation

Nearly ten percent of all cases of depression are so severe that the patients do not respond to any established treatment method. Targeted stimulation of areas in the brain using a type of "brain pacemaker" has recently raised hopes: According to initial studies, half of patients with the most severe depression treated in this manner see a significant improvement in mood.

31 Jan 2011

Majority of Americans unaware of law mandating equal coverage of mental health benefits

An overwhelming majority of Americans remain unaware of a law mandating equal coverage of mental health benefits by insurance companies, a cause for concern by psychologists at a time when one-quarter of Americans are reported to have a mental health disorder and only a minority are receiving treatment.

25 Jan 2011

New study on pain-relieving effect of transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation

The medical device company cerbomed cooperated with the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University of Regensburg 2010 on a randomized, controlled study into somatosensory pain processing. The study, lead by Prof. Dr. Peter Eichhammer and Dr. Volker Busch, aimed to judge the pain-relieving effect of transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (t-VNS).

25 Jan 2011

Concomitant physical symptoms in patients with depression and anxiety associated with poorer prognosis

This study, published in the last 2010 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, indicate that concomitant physical symptoms in patients with depression and anxiety are associated with a poorer prognosis of symptoms of depression and anxiety and that it might prove worthwhile to pay attention to the role of multiple physical symptoms in the process of tailoring interventions to meet the needs of depressed and anxious patients in primary care.

19 Jan 2011

Study highlights utility of CDS for diagnosing major depression

In the last 2010 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a new scale for measuring depression in cardiac patients is presented. The Cardiac Depression Scale was initially developed specifically for cardiac patients. Its purpose is to allow measurement over the continuum between low-level depressive symptomatology and major depression.

19 Jan 2011

Study elaborates relationship between obesity and MDD-R, long-term use of ADs

This study demonstrates that patients using antidepressants continuously, mostly serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors, show significantly more overweight and obesity than those using them intermittently or not at all.

18 Jan 2011

New study unravels neural mechanisms underlying inability to express emotions

This German study demonstrates that the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is constantly activated more strongly in alexithymic subjects and that this activation is related to the symptoms of alexithymia and not to associated symptoms such as depression. These findings also support the hypothesis of an altered function of the ACC in alexithymia.

18 Jan 2011

Researchers present new findings on role of relationship between patient and therapist

This study published in the last 2010 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics suggests that therapist and patient ratings of therapeutic alliance predict therapeutic progress.

18 Jan 2011

7,8-Dihydroxyflavone holds potential for treatment of fear based disorders

Living a traumatic experience favours the persistence of fear associated with an aversive stimulus, known as fear conditioning and such effect, in mice, can be suppressed with a single dosis of 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone, a type of flavonoid which boosts the ability to acquire new emotional learnings.

13 Jan 2011

Mental health concerns for women

A new study said that more than 15 million women have suffered mental health problems of some kind, and are twice as likely as men to be depressed. The report from a support group Platform 51, formerly the YWCA found that depression in women can be seriously damaging leading women to engage in “self-destructive” behaviour such as drinking, sexual promiscuity and building up debt.

11 Jan 2011

Winter depression is more common in women than men

As the winter months approach bringing holidays and good cheer, certain health issues may arise that women should have on their radar. From mental health issues like stress, depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), to physical concerns like skin care, the winter can certainly pack a punch.

6 Jan 2011