Psychosocially Oriented Psychologists Struggle Against the Medical Model
Interviews with psychosocially oriented psychologists demonstrate their experiences of discomfort with the hegemony of the medical model in their place of work and the conflicts that arise when they attempt to provide alternatives.
How Does Mindfulness Work?
A new study explores how mindfulness impacts self-compassion and meaning in life to increase mental health and wellbeing.
Mindfulness Therapy Can Prevent Depression Relapse, Review Finds
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may be more effective at reducing the risk of depressive relapse compared to current standard treatments with antidepressant drugs. A...
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.
Better Outcomes Off Medication for Those Recovered from First-Episode Schizophrenia
A new study has found that of 10 people who were fully recovered from their first episode of schizophrenia (FES), those not taking antipsychotics did better in terms of cognitive, social, and role functioning—and reached full recovery more quickly.
United Nations Report Calls for Revolution in Mental Health Care
In a new report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Dainius Pūras, calls for a move away from the biomedical model and “excessive use of psychotropic medicines.”
Philosophers Challenge Psychiatry and its Search for Mechanisms of Disorder
Attempting to locate the mechanisms of psychiatric disorder is a step in the wrong direction and fails to challenge potentially unjust social practices.
Hope for Everyone
I am a very optimistic psychologist, but with reason. For 25 years I've been working with people who have had psychological problems in every conceivable area. Many psychologists have problems with burnout, especially early in their careers. For me, this has been very different. By using the treatment techniques that I do, I feel anti-burned out. It is so gratifying to see people get out of their serious problems, that I look forward to every day of clinical work.
When Does it Help to Have Background Information in Child-Centered Play Therapy?
Knowing the client’s history can help foster genuine empathic responding, a key component to child-centered play therapy.
New Meta-Analysis: Mindfulness Interventions Effective for Psychiatric Disorders
A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions shows efficacy for treating depression, physical pain, smoking, and addictive disorders.
Combining Art Therapy and Mindfulness for Refugees
A new article, published in The Arts in Psychotherapy, describes the ways art therapy and mindfulness have benefitted refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong.
Psychotherapists Reflect on Lack of Improvement in Therapy
Qualitative research examines the experiences of psychoanalytic therapists in their work with patients whose symptoms either failed to improve or worsened.
How to Promote Community Inclusion in Mental Health Practice
Practitioners and public leaders identify methods and barriers for integrating those diagnosed with mental health issues into community life.
Neurosexism: Study Questions Validity of Gender-based Neuroscientific Results
Neuroscientific results that class humans into two categories, “male” and “female,” tend to reify gender stereotypes by giving them the appearance of objective scientific truth.
What is Contributory Injustice in Psychiatry?
An article on contributory injustice describes the clinical and ethical imperative that clinicians listen to service users experiences.
Research Shows Mindfulness can Decrease Anxiety
A new study explores the impact of a Mindfulness-Based intervention on stress-related biomarkers in individuals diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
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.
How Relational Therapy Enhances a Sense of Self and Relationships
Relational therapy can be informed by the intersubjective dynamics observed in early childhood to facilitate the development of healthy relational patterns and a strong sense of self.
BPS Releases Review of Alternatives to Antipsychotics
BPS releases report encouraging behavioral interventions for people with dementia, rather than antipsychotics
Lack of Efficacy for Current Physical Activity Interventions in Persons Diagnosed with Severe Mental...
Review finds a need for more rigorous research to increase physical activity in people diagnosed with a severe mental illness (SMI).
Improving the Efficacy of Mindfulness in Schools
New research examines factors that make mindfulness interventions in school most effective for adolescent’s mental health outcomes.
Researchers Question the Utility of an ADHD Diagnosis
A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives
Is There an Optimal Sleep Duration for Adolescents?
A new study finds ideal sleep duration differs in adolescents for peak mental health and academic outcomes.
Madness and the Family, Part III: Practical Methods for Transforming Troubled Family Systems
We are profoundly social beings living not as isolated individuals but as integral members of interdependent social systems—our nuclear family system, and the broader social systems of extended family, peers, our community and the broader society. Therefore, psychosis and other forms of human distress often deemed “mental illness” are best seen not so much as something intrinsically “wrong” or “diseased” within the particular individual who is most exhibiting that distress, but rather as systemic problems that are merely being channeled through this individual.
A Social Psychiatry Manifesto that Takes Social Context Seriously
A re-visioned approach to social psychiatry aims to understand the broad influence of social life on mental health.
