Therapeutic Alliance: Implications for Practice and Policy
In this piece for Psychiatric Services, Dr. Sandra Steingard comments on the implications of a recent meta-analysis demonstrating the positive effects of the therapeutic alliance on pharmacologic...
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.
Self-Compassion Course Supports College Students to Support Themselves
New research on a brief self-compassion focused course aimed at the college students.
Filling the Crack in the Liberty Bell
Instead of an echo-chamber conference, in which treatment “experts” present to other treatment providers, and those with lived experience gather in their own rooms, the ISPS-US conference allowed for the clash of diverse opinions, which could sometimes amalgamate into something greater than the sum of its parts.
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.
REFOCUS Psychosis Recovery Intervention Ready for Trials
A new pro-recovery manualized intervention – called the REFOCUS intervention – has been developed and will now be evaluated in a multisite randomized control trials. The strengths-based intervention, which focuses on promoting relationships, is outlined in the latest issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Group Mindfulness Shows Promise Reducing Depression Associated with Hearing Voices
A new study out of Kings College London found that twelve sessions of a group mindfulness-based therapy relieved distress associated with hearing voices while reducing depression over the long-term. The person-based cognitive therapy (PBCT) intervention had significant effects on depression, voice distress, voice controllability and overall recovery.
Open Dialogue: Does the Current Research Data Support Further Investment?
A leading US journal published an extensive literature review and analysis of currently available research on Open Dialogue. An accompanying commentary concludes, “The present data on Open Dialogue are insufficient to warrant calls for further research on the program other than those projects that are currently under way.”
Speaking, Not Texting, May Prevent Dehumanization in Disagreements
Researchers found participants were less likely to dehumanize those with whom they disagreed when they heard their voices.
Emotional Intelligence Needs a Rewrite
From Nautilus: The traditional notion of emotional intelligence is based on two assumptions: that it is possible to detect others' emotions accurately, and that emotions...
The Revolution in Psychotherapy
Since the time of Freud, the field of psychotherapy has assumed that modalities and techniques were the instruments of change in psychotherapy. But the evidence is mounting that modalities and techniques have relatively little to do with effectiveness; evidence shows that it is the human elements of psychotherapy that are the most potent agents of healing
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.
Therapists Collaborate with Clients through Metatherapeutic Communication
Researchers develop an initial framework for understanding metatherapeutic communication practices that may inform future integration of collaboration in psychotherapy.
Childhood Adversity Influences Levels of Distress in Voice Hearers
Research finds that hearing negative voices explains how childhood adversity is related to distress.
Do Family Interventions for Psychosis Translate in China?
Researchers explore how family interventions for psychosis might be adapted to China’s emerging integrated mental health care landscape.
Study Explores Māori Community’s Multifaceted Understanding of “Psychosis”
A new study explores how “psychosis” and “schizophrenia” are viewed within the Māori community in New Zealand.
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...
Stigma May Increase Distress in Individuals Who Hear Voices
Review finds that stigma around voice hearing is connected to isolation, secrecy, and poorer functioning.
How Feedback Can Improve Psychotherapy Treatment
Researcher examines the impact of client feedback and progress assessment on improvement in outcomes.
Letters to the Editor: “The Treatment of Choice”
Readers respond to the New York Times article, “The Treatment of Choice,” about innovative programs for psychosis and schizophrenia that involve patients and their families in treatment decisions. “Narratives of success counter a drumbeat of faulty links of mental illness and violence, inaccuracies which serve only to further stigmatize and isolate individuals with psychiatric illness.”
“Veterans Let Slip the Masks of War: Can This Art Therapy Ease PTSD?”
“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.”
Interventions that Promote Disclosure Among Voice-Hearers
The perspectives of the voice-hearers featured in the research underscore that stigma and negative perceptions of voice hearing present significant obstacles within early intervention programs.
Researchers Present Structural Competency Training Model for Psychiatrists
Researchers argue that a structural competency and social determinants of health approach must be made central to psychiatry training.
Researchers Explore Sexuality and Gender in the Context of Psychosis
Nev Jones and a team of researchers examine how sex, sexuality, and gender-related content are underexplored in contemporary research on psychosis.
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.
