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.

Newly developed treatment for severe grief shown more effective than standard therapy

A recently developed method for treating complicated grief, which includes discussing certain aspects of the death of a loved one, was found more effective than a standard therapy for depression, according to a study in the June 1 issue of JAMA.

25 May 2005

Alarms better than medication for stopping bedwetting

Alarms that buzz, ring or light up when a child wets the bed are more effective at stopping bedwetting than medications like the drug commonly used to prevent urination, according to a new review of recent studies.

2 May 2005

Antidepressant medication or psychotherapy may be effective in treating chronically depressed patients when the other is not

Switching from an antidepressant medication to psychotherapy or vice versa may improve symptoms in chronically depressed patients who prove unresponsive to their initial treatment, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 May 2005

Psychotherapy may improve schizophrenic symptoms

Two articles published in the May-June issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics survey the recent evidence which is available for the psychotherapy of schizophrenia.

23 Apr 2005

Do psychotropic drugs cure mental disease?

Joanna Moncrieff (University College of London and David Cohen (Florida International University) discuss what is the actual role of psychotropic drugs as to mental disease in the May-June issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

23 Apr 2005

Phobias and panic can be treated with internet-guided self-help

A group of researchers of the Imperial College of London headed by Professor Isaac Marks has published a randomized controlled study on internet-guided self-help for phobias and panic in the May-June issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

23 Apr 2005

Do life events precede the onset of heart attacks?

A group of researchers of the University of Bologna (headed by Dr Chiara Rafanelli) has verified in a controlled study whether heart attacks are preceded by stressful life circumstances.

23 Apr 2005

Naltrexone combined with psychotherapy helps treat alcohol dependence

Long-acting injections of the drug naltrexone, combined with psychotherapy, significantly reduced heavy drinking in patients being treated for alcohol dependence, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

7 Apr 2005

Finding opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects

In a finding that opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects, researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute report that changes in brain activity prior to treatment with antidepressants can flag patient vulnerability.

30 Mar 2005

Is life getting manic? A survey of bipolar symptoms in the community

A group of investigators of he University of Bologna have tested the frequency of symptoms related to the psychiatric concept of mania (being easily distracted, irritable, with racing thoughts, etc..) in the community.

21 Mar 2005

Psychiatric diagnostic criteria fail to identify psychological suffering in oncology

A group of researchers of the University of Ferrara studied the psychological and psychosomatic distress associated with cancer in the march issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

21 Mar 2005

Psychiatric trainees have no more psychological problems than other medical trainees

It has long been believed that psychiatrists should have more psychological problems than other doctors for making their choice. This does not appear to be true according to a study published in the March issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by psychiatrists in Serbia-Montenegro and Greece.

21 Mar 2005

A new method for analysing the therapy process

In clinical settings, therapy processes are complex dynamical systems where several variables are constantly interacting with each other. In general, the underlying mechanisms are difficult to assess.

21 Mar 2005

Drugs alone are not enough for fighting obsessions and compulsions

Both medication and psychotherapy are effective in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, they both have disadvantages. A group of researchers at the La Sapienza University studied the long-term effectiveness of integrated treatment compared with medication alone.

21 Mar 2005

Deep brain stimulation alleviates severe depression

Canadian researchers have found that severe depression, which is often unresponsive to standard treatments, may be alleviated with an experimental treatment called deep brain stimulation.

3 Mar 2005

Stop smoking services encourage more GPs to help smokers quit

Clinics to help people stop smoking have led to an increased number of GPs recording whether patients smoke and referring them for assistance to quit – according to a new report.

1 Mar 2005

Unique study of the use of deep brain stimulation

Canadian researchers have seen promising results from a unique study of the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS), in severely depressed patients resistant to standard treatments.

28 Feb 2005

Electrical deep brain stimulation can dramatically alleviate depression

Electrical deep brain stimulation can dramatically alleviate depression that is resistant to other treatments, researchers have found in an initial study on six patients.

28 Feb 2005

Dramatic evidence of how psychiatric disorders are underdiagnosed in hospital emergency departments

New research offers dramatic evidence of how psychiatric disorders are underdiagnosed in hospital emergency departments, affecting an increasing number of Americans who rely on such facilities for much of their primary health care needs.

23 Feb 2005

$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