Risks of Preterm Births for Developing Brains

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-Nature explores our growing understanding about the risks of preterm births for the development of children's brains.

Police Killings Vicariously Impact Mental Health of Black Americans

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New research provides evidence that police killings of unarmed Black Americans impact the mental health of Black Americans.

Disease Theory of ‘Mental Illness’ Tied To Pessimism About Recovery

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Researchers recently completed a first of its kind, large-scale international survey of attitudes about mental health and they were surprised by the results. According to their analysis published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, people in developed countries, like the United States, are more likely to assume that ‘mental illnesses’ are similar to physical illnesses and biological or genetic in origin, but they are also much less likely to think that individuals can overcome these challenges and recover

Yes, Your Sleep Schedule is Making you Sick

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From The New York Times: Clinicians have long known that sleep schedules and levels of exposure to sunlight can have a significant impact on...

Is Addiction a Disease?

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From Scientific American: The current medical consensus is that addiction is a chronic and relapsing brain disease in which drug use becomes involuntary despite its...

Omega-3 Screening for Psychiatric Symptoms?

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There is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet may be connected to a diverse array of psychiatric symptoms. In a new study published this month, psychiatrist Robert McNamara and Erik Messamore provide an overview of the evidence and call for screening of omega-3 deficiency in people experiencing symptoms associated with ADHD, depression, mood disorders, and psychosis.

SSRI Exposure in Pregnancy Alters Fetal Neurodevelopment

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Alterations in gray matter and white matter development found in infants of mothers taking SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy.

The Case Against Empathy

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In this interview for Vox, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom provides a critical perspective on empathy and explains why empathy may be harmful in the long run. "My beef...

Is Spanking Harmful? Study Finds Link With Future Mental Illness

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From The Kansas City Star: A new study from the University of Michigan has found a link between spanking and serious problems in adulthood including mental health...

The Moment the Narrative Changed?

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From The British Psychological Society: BBC Horizon's recent documentary "Why Did I Go Mad?" has been monumental in changing the biomedical paradigm of mental illness....

Deficits in Psychosis Linked To Childhood Trauma Via Brain Changes

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In a study of 83 patients and 63 controls, researchers in Norway and the U.K. investigated  deficits in attention, concentration, language and verbal intelligence...

“Can Trauma Help You Grow?”

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For The New Yorker, David Kushner writes about post-traumatic growth, the sense of deepened meaning that many trauma survivors experience. “The existence of post-traumatic...

A Healthier Diet Reduces Depressive Symptoms

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The “Mediterranean diet” has been associated with reduced risk of depressive symptoms, and a new study demonstrates that dietary changes may be an effective treatment intervention.

The Effect of Psychiatric Diagnosis on Young People’s Sense of Self and Social Identity

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A new review highlights the effects that psychiatric diagnosis has on children and adolescents’ social relationships and views of self.

CNN: Are Medications An Effective PTSD Treatment?

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"CNN's Carol Costello explores Operation Tohidu, an experimental rehabilitation program to help veterans with PTSD." Operation Tohidu founder, Dr. Mary Vieten claims PTSD is not a mental illness and "there is no reason to medicate someone who has been traumatized by their war experience." When asked what percentage of soldiers returning with PTSD do not need drugs she responds, "100%."

Why We Fell for Clean Eating

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From The Guardian: Not only is the clean eating movement based on pseudoscientific beliefs not backed up by evidence, but it may also lead to...

Study Finds Racial Differences in Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment

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Black patients are almost twice as likely as their white counterparts to be diagnosed with schizophrenia while whites are significantly more likely to receive a diagnosis of anxiety or depression, according to a recent study published in the journal Psychiatric Services. The researchers also found that the likelihood of receiving psychotherapy for any diagnosis (34%), regardless of race or ethnicity, was much lower than the likelihood of receiving a psychotropic medication (73%).

Self-Compassion Course Supports College Students to Support Themselves

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New research on a brief self-compassion focused course aimed at the college students.

New York Times Hosts Debate on Psychiatric Institutionalization

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In the Room for Debate section of this weekend's New York Times, specialists in ethics, psychiatry, social work, addiction, and human rights hash out their...

Psychologists Argue for Decolonial Approach to Global Poverty

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Individualist psychological models of poverty pathologize poor communities, decolonial approaches that emphasize context and interdependence may be more sustainable.

The Trouble with Twin Studies

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As most readers are aware, it is widely believed that both within and without of psychiatry genetic factors play an important role in causing major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, ADHD, autism, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Twin studies provide the main pillar of support for this belief which is often, though mistakenly, presented as a scientific fact.

The Science and Pseudoscience of Women’s Mental Health: Conversation with Kelly Brogan

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A conversation with Dr. Kelly Brogan, a leading voice in natural approaches to women’s mental health. With degrees from MIT and Weil Cornell Medical College, triple board certification in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine and integrative holistic medicine, Dr. Brogan is uniquely qualified to challenge the pseudoscience of the chemical imbalance theory and the drug regimens that it spawned.

Childhood Stress Alters Memory and Brain Structure

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Researchers from the universities of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New Orleans collected MRI scans and assessments of executive functioning and stress exposure from 61...

Parental Conflict Changes Emotion Recognition in Children, Study Finds

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Study suggests interparental conflict causes lasting damage in the way children are able to recognize and process emotions.

“Veterans Let Slip the Masks of War: Can This Art Therapy Ease PTSD?”

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“Service members suffering from PTSD often feel like they’re wearing a mask,” Samantha Allen writes in Invisible Wounds. Melissa Walker, an art therapist, asks them to make one. “The results are stirring. One mask, striped in red and black with hollow chrome-colored eyes, is wrapped in razor wire with a lock where its mouth should be.”