Research News

Summaries of research findings that tell of a scientific need to "rethink psychiatry."

ProPublica Offers Searchable Database of Nursing Home Inspection Reports

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ProPublica now offers a searchable database of 20,000 nursing home inspection reports, a service which may assist in determining homes that have violated guidelines...

Exploring the Role of Community Engagement in School Psychology

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New research emphasizes the impact of school connectedness and community engagement interventions on students' mental health.

“DSM-5: Caught between Mental Illness Stigma and Anti-Psychiatry Prejudice”

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Jeffrey Lieberman, incoming president of the APA, responds to criticism of the DSM and psychiatry, saying "it’s important to understand the difference between thoughtful,...

Landmark Schizophrenia Study Recommends More Therapy

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Results of a large government-funded study call into question current drug heavy approaches to treating people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The study, which the New York Times called “by far the most rigorous trial to date conducted in the United States,” found that patients who received smaller doses of antipsychotic drugs with individual talk therapy, family training, and support for employment and education had a greater reduction in symptoms as well as increases in quality of life, and participation in work and school than those receiving the current standard of care.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Does Not Meet Criteria for a Disorder

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Researchers in Italy found that of 105 subjects who met criteria for the DSM diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), only 18 had no...

New Study Investigates Negative Side Effects of Therapy

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Researchers find that nearly half of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) patients experience treatment side effects.

Most Cases of Tardive Dyskinesia are Permanent

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Only one out eight patients, out of 108 with tardive dyskinesia, recovered from the disorder in an Emory University Movement Disorders Clinic study. The...

Microfinance Loans for People With Mental Health Diagnoses

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The Toronto Globe & Mail reports on a project to provide "microfinance" loans of $3,000 up to $25,000 to people diagnosed with mental illness...

Another Failed Study of “Personalized” Depression Treatment

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Due to lackluster antidepressant study results, researchers test if subgroups of depressed patients show greater improvement.

Researchers: Antidepressant Withdrawal, Not “Discontinuation Syndrome”

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Researchers suggest that the pharmaceutical industry had a vested interest in using the term “discontinuation” in order to hide the severity of physical dependence and withdrawal reactions many people experience from antidepressants.

Adverse Childhood Events Contribute Significantly to Most Mental Health Problems

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John Read and Richard Bentall write in the British Journal of Psychiatry about the growing understanding and acceptance of the significant role adverse childhood...

Research Finds Ketamine Does Not Reduce Delirium or Pain After Surgery

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Contrary to widely-held belief, a new rigorous trial finds that ketamine is ineffective for delirium and pain associated with surgery, and the drug carries harmful side effects.

Study Finds Phone Apps Effective for Reducing Mental Health Symptoms

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Researchers found that participants using coach-assisted apps designed for depression and anxiety experienced symptom reductions in both conditions

Researchers Develop New Model for Understanding Depression

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Acknowledging that current depression treatments are failing many people, researchers from Michigan State and MIT have developed a new model for understanding how multiple psychological, biological, social and environmental factors contribute to depression.

Transgender Children Development Consistent with Current Gender, Not Sex Assigned at Birth

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Transgender children show strong identification and preferences stereotypically associated with their current gender identities, not their sex assigned at birth.

Researchers Propose Study to Test Whether Antidepressants Impede Recovery

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Evolutionary theorists suggest that antidepressants interfere with the adaptive function of depression and propose a test of this theory.

Childhood Social Function & Schizophrenia

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A 48-year longitudinal study of 244 subjects, published in Schizophrenia Research, finds that those with schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses had had the worst social functioning scores at...

Activity-Based Therapies Reduce Antipsychotic Use

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Researchers from the University of North Carolina found that activity-based therapy and care reduced the use of antipsychotics in a study of 107 people...

Despite Claims, EPA Supplement Does Not Improve ADHD Symptoms in Youth

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A new study reports that the supplement EPA improved ADHD symptoms but a closer look calls these results into question.

Marijuana Causes “Schizophrenia-Like” Brain & Behavior Changes

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Heavy pot users were found to have working-memory deficits and associated changes in brain morphology that were consistent with changes found in persons with...

Sleep Sweeps Toxic Metabolites Out of the Brain

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Adding to our knowledge about the connection between sleep and mental health, researchers from the University of Rochester and N.Y.U. find that sleep creates...

Group Mindfulness Shows Promise Reducing Depression Associated with Hearing Voices

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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.

Transparency and Outcome Reporting Not Improving in Behavioral Health Studies

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Randomized controlled trials published in four leading behavioral health journals show that new requirements for registering of trials does not seem to be improving trial design or transparency.

Adverse Reactions to Psychiatric Medications Hospitalize 17,000 Annually

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Nearly 90,000 American adults are going to emergency rooms every year in response to adverse events from psychiatric medications, according to a study in...

Benzos Quadruple the Risk of Suicide in Schizophrenia

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Finnish researchers found that among 2,588 patients hospitalized for the first time with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, benzodiazepine use predicted almost 4x the rate...