A Biopsychosocial Model Beyond the Mind-Body Split
Can a renewed biopsychosocial approach, grounded in an updated philosophy, foster person-centered medicine, and psychiatry?
New Traction for Art Therapy as a Treatment for Depression
New study investigates the acceptability of a phenomenologically informed, manual-based art therapy for clients diagnosed with moderate to severe depression.
“Hearing Voices: The People Who Say Talking Back is the Only Answer”
Journalist Emma Reynolds profiles Amanda Waegeli, Ron Coleman, Nathan Grixli and Lyn Mahboub about their experiences coming to the Hearing Voices Network (HVN). HVN was established 10 years ago in Australia and provided a support group that encouraged people to listen to their voices rather than trying to block them out. The group now operates in 25 countries.
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.
Anyone Can Be Trained to Hallucinate
From Flipboard: In a recent study on auditory hallucinations, all participants — not just those who had been diagnosed with psychosis — experienced conditioned hallucinations. The study...
Peer Providers of Mental Health Services Use Personal Narratives to Help
Interviews with peer providers indicate that they strategically use their personal illness and recovery story in order to assist others.
Mental Health Recovery Narratives Play Central Role in Trauma-Informed Care
New research synthesizes insights from 45 studies to construct a conceptual framework relating different elements of recovery narratives to trauma-informed approaches to care.
Psychologists To Livestream Summit on Global Interdisciplinary Health Care
The American Psychological Association is hosting a two and half day interdisciplinary summit on November 3rd through 5th entitled Global Approaches to Integrated Care: Translating Science And Best Practices Into Patient-Centered Health Care Delivery. The summit features presentations and discussions on social determinants of health, demographics, culture and health disparities, and patients’ perspectives, among others. It can be livestreamed here.
How Does Mindfulness Work?
A new study explores how mindfulness impacts self-compassion and meaning in life to increase mental health and wellbeing.
Humanistic Counseling Effective in Schools, Study Finds
Pilot study finds school-based humanistic counseling reduces emotional symptoms in students.
Victims of Success: An Update from Mad in America Continuing Education
Within days of announcing the webinar and providing the link to register, we were deluged with enrollments. It turns out that a great many professionals, advocates and clinical managers are interested in learning about Open Dialogue and its application to an American community.
How Helpers Empathize may Affect Their Personal Well-being
Researchers distinguish between two different forms of perspective taking and examine their impact on helpers’ wellbeing.
“What Are Delusions – And How Best Can We Treat Them?”
For The Conversation, psychologist John Done, from the University of Hertfordshire, explains his approach to discussing delusions with his patients. Done recommends more qualitative...
Self-Compassion Course Supports College Students to Support Themselves
New research on a brief self-compassion focused course aimed at the college students.
Stigma May Increase Distress in Individuals Who Hear Voices
Review finds that stigma around voice hearing is connected to isolation, secrecy, and poorer functioning.
“Programs Expand Schizophrenic Patients’ Role in Their Own Care”
Benedict Carey at the New York Times covers the push for new programs that emphasize supportive services, therapy, school and work assistance, and family education, rather than simply drug treatment.
Arts Participation May Improve Mental Well-Being and Social Inclusion
Introductory arts courses at Open Arts Essex show improvements in mental well-being and social inclusion for individuals with mental health challenges.
Therapy Recommended As First Line Treatment for Depression
Following an extensive systematic review of treatments for major depression, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a recommendation to clinicians suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a first-line treatment for major depressive disorder along with second-generation antidepressants. The results of the review revealed that CBT and antidepressants have similar levels of effectiveness but that antidepressants present serious side-effects and higher relapse rates.
Do Voice Hearers Have the Right to Refuse Psychiatric Drugs?
In this piece for STAT, Shirley S. Wang discusses the Hearing Voices Network and its non-pathologizing, rights-affirming approach to hearing voices and alternative realities.
"Many recovered...
Opening Doors in the Borderlands: An Interview with Liberation Psychologist Mary Watkins
MIA’s Micah Ingle interviews Mary Watkins about reorienting psychology toward liberation and social justice.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Interventions Target Depressive Symptoms
A new study finds self-coldness predicts depressive symptoms and supports self-compassion as a buffer.
Experiences of Depression Connected to Declining Sense of Purpose
In-depth interviews find that those who screened positive for depression did not explain their experience in terms of diagnostic symptoms.
Tom Arnkil on “Unconditional Respect for the ‘Otherness’ of Other People”
Tom Arnkil on the book he co-authored with Jaakko Seikkula, and the necessity for the "Unconditional Respect for the 'Otherness' of Other People."
What is Contributory Injustice in Psychiatry?
An article on contributory injustice describes the clinical and ethical imperative that clinicians listen to service users experiences.
More to Happiness Than Feeling Good, Study Finds
Cross-cultural data suggest that happiness involves feeling the emotions one deems as right, in accordance with personal and cultural values.
