Traditional South African Healers Use Connection in Suicide Prevention
Study finds that traditional healers in South Africa, whose services are widely used by the country’s population, perform important suicide prevention work.
Reimagining Healthcare
The conventional Western classification systems of health conditions are based on flawed science shaped by reductionist, hierarchical, and profit-driven ideologies. THEN wants to create a new paradigm built upon principles drawn from systems science, the life course perspective, developmental neurobiology, and other evidence-informed studies.
Mental Health Concerns Not “Brain Disorders,” Say Researchers
The latest issue of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences features several prominent researchers arguing that mental health concerns are not “brain disorders.”
Psychologist Debunks Common Misconceptions of Maslow’s Hierarchy
Utilizing Maslow’s published books and essays, psychologist William Compton delineates common myths and attempts to respond to them.
Researchers Question the Utility of an ADHD Diagnosis
A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives
A Biopsychosocial Model Beyond the Mind-Body Split
Can a renewed biopsychosocial approach, grounded in an updated philosophy, foster person-centered medicine, and psychiatry?
The Power Threat Meaning Framework One Year On
The team that developed the Power Threat Meaning framework as a diagnostic alternative reflects on the response to the framework after one year.
Those at High Risk for Psychosis More Likely From Deprived Neighborhoods
A recent study published in Schizophrenia Research examines the incidence individuals deemed “Ultra High-Risk” (UHR) for psychosis and their neighborhood of residence
The Psychology of Inequality
From The New Yorker: A number of studies show that much of the damage done by being poor comes not from the conditions of poverty itself,...
Belongingness Can Protect Against Impact of Trauma, Study Suggests
A new study explores feelings of belongingness as a protective factor for childhood trauma and adult mental health outcomes.
Integrating Indigenous Healing Practices and Psychotherapy for Global Mental Health
As the Global Mental Health Movement attempts to address cross-cultural mental health disparities, a new article encourages integrating traditional healing practices with psychotherapy.
The Role of Racial Bias in the Overdiagnosis of Schizophrenia
Researchers detect disparity between white and African American patients diagnosed with schizophrenia when symptoms of a mood disorder are present.
Correcting Misconceptions of Trauma-informed Care with Survivor Perspectives
Trauma-informed approaches have the potential to promote recovery but must involve survivors and service-users to prevent the experience of retraumatization within psychiatric and mental health services.
Recovery: Compromise or Liberation?
The 90s were labeled - rather optimistically - as the ‘decade of recovery.’ More recently, recovery has been placed slap bang central in mental health policy. Is supporting recovery pretty much good common sense? Or is the term being misused to pressure those suffering to behave in certain ways?
Your Anxiety is a Political Issue
From Extra Newsfeed: Anxiety is a political issue, resulting directly from marginalization and structural inequality. The solution to anxiety is not self-help culture but activism...
“Mental Illness Mostly Caused by Life Events Not Genetics, Argue Psychologists”
According to psychologists, “mental illness is largely caused by social crises such as unemployment or childhood abuse.” If this is so, why are we...
New Podcast – is it Really Mental Illness?
From the University of Liverpool News: In a new podcast, Dr. Peter Kinderman, the vice-president of the British Psychological Society, argues that emotional distress is...
Study Finds Heavy Metal Music Beneficial to Mental Health
A new study highlights the role heavy metal music plays in the mental health of adolescents facing adversity.
Anti-Stigma Campaigns Enable Inequality, Sociologists Argue
Scholars contend that stigma functions as a mechanism of power in analysis of UK Heads Together mental health campaign.
Study Finds Recalling Experiences of Violence Impairs Cognitive Functioning
Recalling past exposure to violence worsens short-term memory and cognitive control.
An Alternative Perspective on Psychotherapy: It is Not a ‘Cure’
Kev Harding argues against conceptualizations of therapy as a ‘cure’ to an ‘illness’ and instead offers alternative approaches.
Western ‘Depression’ is Not Universal
Derek Summerfield, consultant psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, challenges the assumption that Western depression is a universal condition.
Ethical Failings in Experimental Drug Safety Trials
Leading human subjects ethics researcher questions exploitation of uninsured minorities in experimental drug trials.
School Discipline is Racially Biased and Increases Misbehavior
School discipline that punishes minor misbehavior may increase adolescents’ misconduct and lead to racial inequalities in school discipline.
Evidence for Chile’s School-Based Mental Health Program
Chile’s Skills for Life (SFL) program, the largest school-based psychosocial intervention program in the world, has demonstrated improved behavioral and academic outcomes for elementary students identified as “at risk.” A team of Chilean and U.S. researchers assessed the SFL program and will publish their results in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).
