Holistic

Criticisms of the DSM-5 spark alternative proposals and calls to reform diagnostic systems in the mental health field.

A new study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience has found that the smell of lavender extract has an anxiolytic effect.

Between 2007 and 2016, the FDA identified 776 herbal supplements containing active, unapproved pharmaceutical chemicals.

For the last six years we, a group of researchers, social work students, peer experts, and social professionals associated with the Amsterdam University for Applied Sciences, have been studying and facilitating the development of self-managed programs in homelessness and mental health care in the Netherlands. With our research we want to contribute to the development of new and existing programs through critical reflection. With this blog, I hope to share some of our findings, to give back to the respites from which we learned so much.

In the April issue of Science News, Laura Sanders covers recent studies that have begun turning up tantalizing hints about how microbes, the bacteria...

An article published in Pediatrics is the first to examine the relationship between physical activity and depression in middle childhood (years 6 to 10) longitudinally.

In recent months, two teams of researchers in the UK and the US published complementary findings about the epigenetic origins of schizophrenia that have scientific communities who indulge in ‘genetic conspiracy theories’ abuzz. While these results are intriguing, and no doubt involve pathbreaking research methodologies, this line of thought represents a decontextualized understanding both of the symptoms that are typically associated with schizophrenia, and their causes.

Study of older adults shows those who consistently exercised as little as 15 minutes, 3 times/week are less likely to develop depressive symptoms.

In this piece for Aeon, Bruce McEwen discusses how "good stress," "tolerable stress," and "toxic stress" act epigenetically on our brain structure, and how we can...

Professionals across the Western world, from a range of disciplines, earn their livings by offering services to reduce the misery and suffering of the people who seek their help. Do these paid helpers represent a fundamental force for healing, facilitating the recovery journeys of people with mental health problems, or are they a substantial part of the problem by maintaining our modestly effective and often damaging system?

In this interview for 3:AM Magazine, Chris Letheby argues that even though psychedelics may induce delusions or imaginary phenomena, their use can also lead to accurate...

A new review, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, examines the perspectives of clinicians and service-users on psychiatric diagnosis.

Researchers present loneliness as a health threat facing a growing number of Americans.

Kev Harding argues against conceptualizations of therapy as a ‘cure’ to an ‘illness’ and instead offers alternative approaches.

From Scientific American: Last year, a study at the University of Colorado Boulder found that injecting mice with beneficial bacteria helped increase their resilience and decrease...

From Aeon: The finding that only one in five people avoid any kind of mental health problems or psychiatric diagnoses through their lives has prompted...

In this interview for The New Inquiry, two co-editors and three writers of Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice Movements discuss prison abolition and...

From Aeon: A recent study at UCLA found that lifestyle changes including diet modifications, exercise, stress management, and increased sleep can significantly improve the memory and...

Researchers from the City College of New York and Columbia University published a study this month testing the hypothesis that people diagnosed with schizophrenia treated long-term with antipsychotic drugs have worse outcomes than patients with no exposure to these drugs. They concluded that there is not a sufficient evidence base for the standard practice of long-term use of antipsychotic medications.

The first ever population-level study of the brain-gut connection in humans finds evidence for a link between gut bacteria and mental health.

A new article reviews studies in the field of nutritional psychiatry and how nutrition can prevent and treat mental health issues.

Ethnic minorities and those who migrated during childhood have an elevated risk for psychosis, study finds.

Writing for CounterPunch, Paris Williams writes that when an individual is experiencing what has been termed “psychosis,” it is important to recognize that this may also be the manifestation of a breakdown in their larger social groups, the family, society, and even the species.

From Big Think: Recent studies show that walking helps people think more creatively and originally. In three different studies, 81%, 88%, and 100% of participants...

In this piece for TIME, Mandy Oaklander provides a comprehensive review of the current status of and potential future directions for the depression treatment industry. The...