New Book Deconstructs Ideology of Cognitive Therapy
CBT forwards a hyper-rational perspective of human suffering that complements a managerialist culture of efficiency and institutionalization in the Western world.
Psychotherapy is Less Effective and Less Accessible for Those in Poverty
A special issue explores the connection between poverty, mental health, and psychotherapy.
Suicide Rates Rise While Antidepressant Use Climbs
Multiple media sources are reporting on new dataĀ from the CDC revealing a substantial increase in the suicide rate in the United States between 1999...
Traditional South African Healers Use Connection in Suicide Prevention
Study finds that traditional healers in South Africa, whose services are widely used by the countryās population, perform important suicide prevention work.
Study Finds Hearing Voices Groups Improve Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Hearing Voices Network self-help groups are an important resource for coping with voice hearing, study finds.
Study Confirms Higher Suicide Risk for Sexual Minority Adolescents
Researchers report that sexual minority adolescents have considered, planned, and attempted suicide substantially more than their heterosexual peers.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Reduces Self-Harm and Suicide Attempts
A new meta-analysis finds that DBT reduces self-harm, suicide attempts, and reduces the frequency of psychiatric crisis service utilization.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Halves the Risk of Repeated Suicide Attempts
A new study suggests that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) may halve the likelihood of re-attempting suicide, for those who have attempted in the past.
Therapist Empathy Predicts Success in Psychotherapy
An updated meta-analysis reveals that therapist empathy is a predictor of better psychotherapy outcomes.
Researchers Identify 27 Categories of Emotion
A new study finds that emotions may be represented by 27 categories, with each category relating to others in a more complex and continuous fashion than previously understood.
Opening Doors in the Borderlands: An Interview with Liberation Psychologist Mary Watkins
MIAās Micah Ingle interviews Mary Watkins about reorienting psychology toward liberation and social justice.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Does Not Exist
Since the 1980s, a type of psychotherapy called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has become dominant. Like it or loathe it, CBT is now so ubiquitous it is often the only talking therapy available in both public and voluntary health settings. It is increasingly spoken about in the media and in living rooms across the country. Yet when we speak about CBT, what are we talking of? For CBT only exists - as we will see - as a political convenience.
Reflections on 25,000 Hours of Being With People in Extreme States
Being with someone in an extreme state or other emotional pain, it feels like weāreĀ twoĀ young friends who have ridden our bikes to a quiet place by the river and my friend turns to tell me about awful things happening at homeĀ āĀ and they cry or yell in anger while I sit there and wonder what to say or do, and realize that just being quiet is okay.
Psychologist Debunks Common Misconceptions of Maslowās Hierarchy
Utilizing Maslowās published books and essays, psychologist William Compton delineates common myths and attempts to respond to them.
Fighting for the Meaning of Madness: An Interview with Dr. John Read
Akansha Vaswani interviews Dr. John Read about the influences on his work and his research on madness, psychosis, and the mental health industry.
Study Finds Heavy Metal Music Beneficial to Mental Health
A new study highlights the role heavy metal music plays in the mental health of adolescents facing adversity.
New Study Investigates Negative Side Effects of Therapy
Researchers find that nearly half of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) patients experience treatment side effects.
Study Investigates Long-Term Effects of Social and Emotional Learning Programs
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs have gained popularity in U.S. schools in recent years. A new study examines the nature and longevity of their impact on students.
Developing Alternatives to the DSM for Psychotherapists
A new article suggests counselors and psychotherapists are dissatisfied with current diagnostic systems and outlines some potential alternatives.
Study Deems Support, Not Drugs, Best for Youth at Risk of Psychosis
Research by five U.K. universities across multiple sites for up to two years divided 288 young adults (14-35 years) deemed at risk for psychosis...
Climate Change, Mental Health and Collective Action: An Interview with Jennifer Freeman
In an interview with MIA's Akansha Vaswani, narrative therapist Jennifer Freeman calls for a shift away from individualistic approaches to 'eco-anxiety' and toward responses that connect us all to a counter-tsunami of action for the planet.
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.
Mental Health Professionals Critique the Biomedical Model of Psychological Problems
While a great deal of the excitement about advances in psychological treatments comes from the potential for research in neuroscience to unlock the secrets of the brain, many mental health experts would like to temper this enthusiasm. A special issue of the Behavior Therapist released this month calls into question the predominant conception of mental illnesses as brain disorders.
Busting 7 Myths About the Practice of Psychotherapy
All in all, it is not enough that public policy pundits push for greaterĀ accessĀ to mental health services. Alongside improving access, there needs to be renewed focus on theĀ quantityĀ andĀ qualityĀ of psychotherapy the average American currently receives. Health insurers need to reexamine their false assumptions about the effectiveness of short-term, quick-fix therapies.
How Psychological Injuries Cause Physical IllnessāAnd How Therapy Can Heal It
How does experiencing physical abuse as an 8 year old shorten one's lifespan? How do insulting words turn into diabetes? Or sexual abuse trigger a heart attack 50 years in the future? Emotional wounds can damage DNA and produce a huge web of destructive effects, but therapy can turn the process around.