Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Your new therapist: Chatty, leaky, and hardly human

Vince Lahey of Carefree, Arizona, embraces chatbots. From Big Tech products to "shady" ones, they offer "someone that I could share more secrets with than my therapist."

17 Apr 2026

US Medicaid data finds buprenorphine safe for long-term child development

Children born to mothers who used buprenorphine for opioid addiction during pregnancy do not have a greater risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD and autism, compared with children whose mothers took methadone, finds a large US study published by The BMJ today.

17 Apr 2026

Therapy access could tackle joblessness

Expanding access to NHS Talking Therapies may help reduce the long-term economic inactivity faced by people with entrenched mental health problems, University of Manchester researchers say.

17 Apr 2026

Smoothies vs juice: study reveals which fruit form is healthiest

Fruit smoothies are associated with improved health indicators, outperforming juices and solid fruits, emphasizing the need for dietary guidelines adjustments.

17 Apr 2026

Fast answers and extra research drive AI healthcare use in America

One in four U.S. adults - the equivalent of over 66 million Americans - report having used artificial intelligence tools or chatbots for physical or mental healthcare information or advice, according to new research released today from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America.

17 Apr 2026

Academic stress weakens mental resilience and triggers a reliance on gaming

China's highly competitive education system is known for its strict evaluation, rigorous intensity, and academic pressure. A recent study has highlighted the growing problem of this academic pressure leading to burnout amongst Chinese adolescents, which is pushing them towards online gaming.

17 Apr 2026

Psychedelic use is associated with major life changes across 10 domains

Researchers created a new questionnaire to measure major life changes linked to psychedelic use and found that most surveyed adults reporting naturalistic psychedelic use said psychedelics had influenced at least one major change in their lives. These changes most often involved goals, values, and spirituality, were usually rated positively, and were more commonly reported by people with more frequent use.

16 Apr 2026

Researchers prove magnetic seizures are comparable to ECT in clinical response

A landmark international clinical trial led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, has found that magnetic seizure therapy (MST) is as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-the current gold-standard treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression-with significantly fewer cognitive side effects. The study is the first large-scale, randomized clinical trial to directly compare MST with ECT, marking an important step toward a new treatment option for patients.

16 Apr 2026

New RNA sequencing method improves rare disease diagnosis

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) developed a new RNA sequencing strategy that can reveal how genetic variants disrupt gene function and improve the diagnosis of rare diseases.

15 Apr 2026

Parents' genes shape children's mental health beyond inherited DNA

What if some of the risk of anxiety and depression in children is not only about the genes they inherit, but also about their parents' genetic dispositions and how these influence the home environment?

15 Apr 2026

Calorie labels on menus may benefit people with binge eating disorders

Food calorie labels on menus in cafes and restaurants can be helpful for people with binge eating disorders, even aiding their recovery, finds new research from UCL and King's College London.

15 Apr 2026

Study reveals interhemispheric brain circuit crucial for spatial memory

A team led by the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), has identified a brain circuit essential for spatial memory.

14 Apr 2026

Feeling lonely impacts memory without accelerating mental decline

Loneliness affects the memory of older adults but does not speed up mental decline over time, suggests data from a major European study tracking more than 10,000 people over seven years.

14 Apr 2026

Study finds when parents are depressed may shape children’s mental health for decades

A long-running UK cohort study found that exposure to parental depression from pregnancy through young adulthood was linked to higher odds of depression and anxiety in adult offspring. Maternal depression in late pregnancy was uniquely associated with later psychotic symptoms, while paternal associations emerged more clearly from mid-childhood onward.

14 Apr 2026

A new model to break the cycle of chronic nightmares in children

The DARC-NESS model targets chronic nightmares in youth, promoting confidence and coping strategies to restore healthy sleep patterns and mental well-being.

14 Apr 2026

Study warns of rising teen dependency on AI companions

It's estimated that more than half of all of U.S. teens are regularly using companion chatbots powered by large language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

13 Apr 2026

Study finds higher anxiety and depression in children with brain injuries

A new study, published today in JAMA Network Open, reveals that schoolage children and adolescents with medically diagnosed traumatic brain injury (TBI) have significantly higher rates of anxiety/depression, and strong family support and resilience helps alleviate some of it.

13 Apr 2026

People with chronic pain are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes

New research from the University of Kansas shows people who experience chronic pain tend to consume cigarettes and e-cigarettes at higher rates than others.

13 Apr 2026

Brain pathways combine memory and reward to guide behavior

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the brain's memory center team up in a key reward region to help mice-and likely humans-combine memories of places and contexts with the drive to pursue rewards.

10 Apr 2026