Research News
From Behavior Control to Justice: Rethinking School Social Work
A new paper challenges the punitive and pathologizing roots of school social work and proposes a justice-oriented alternative rooted in abolitionist thinking.
PTSD Treatments Work Equally Well, But Who They Work For Still Varies
EMDR performs just as well as other therapies in reducing PTSD symptoms, but new findings suggest that sociodemographic factors like employment and gender still shape outcomes.
Study Reveals Emotional Burden and Moral Distress Faced by Peer Support Workers
The study explores how peer support workers in Poland experience emotional and moral distress, with recommendations for organizational changes to reduce these challenges.
Antidepressant Withdrawal Is Common and Debilitating
Those using antidepressants long-term were more likely to experience withdrawal and to have severe withdrawal symptoms.
More Evidence That Antidepressants Work Via Placebo Effect
Antidepressants were more effective for depressed patients who were more “optimistic.” Still, only 30% responded to SSRIs.
The Climate Doom Paradox: Awareness Without Agency Fuels Anxiety
A growing number of people are overwhelmed by climate change not just physically but psychologically. New findings show that awareness without outlets can isolate but shared action can help.
People in Crisis Want Respectful, Personalized Support from Mental Health Professionals, Study Finds
A new qualitative study finds that service users in psychiatric crisis prioritize respectful, individualized support over standardized interventions.
From Stereotype to Slur in Three Clicks: Inside AI’s Mental-Health Hate Machine
Researchers trace how AI chatbots escalate mild stereotypes into full-blown attack narratives, raising alarms about tech already creeping into digital therapy and clinical decision support.
Coercion in Psychiatric Wards Tied to Worse Recovery, Spanish Study Finds
Investigators found that these experiences increase the risk of suicide and repeated hospitalization, fueling demands for compassionate, collaborative crisis services.
Survivor Accounts Reveal Longstanding Failures in Healthcare Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
Historian Ruth Beecher examines survivors’ own words to show the persistent failures of doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists to offer real help.
Disease Model of Addiction Lacks Empirical Support, New Study Finds
A new Lancet Psychiatry article argues that the brain-disease model of addiction lacks empirical support and obscures the social causes of substance use.
Profiting from Distress: How Outsourcing Mental Health Undermines Public Schools
A new Canadian study finds that privatized mental health programs in schools may erode public education, reinforce stigma, and ignore systemic roots of distress.
Beyond the Clinic: Community-led Mental Health Programs Offer Hope
A review of 35 studies finds that mental health initiatives built with community participation show promise, though lasting impacts on quality of life remain uncertain.
Half of Those Who Take Antidepressants Are Labeled “Treatment Resistant”
Millions of people are trying multiple antidepressant drugs without success, and psychiatry labels them “treatment resistant.”
Objectivity Isn’t Neutral: How Standardization in Psychiatry Can Undermine Epistemic Justice
A new article in Synthese identifies how psychiatric diagnostic tools contribute to the marginalization of patient voices.
Can You Tell If a Mental Health Message Was Written by AI? Most People Can’t
A new study finds AI can convincingly mimic peer support, raising difficult questions about authenticity, trust, and what we lose when the language of care is generated by machines.
Who Speaks for Global Mental Health? New Study Exposes Narrow Power Base
Dominated by Western, male, and psychiatric voices, the global mental health field remains fragmented and lacking in lived experience perspectives, researchers find.
Study Links Economic Hardship and Family Trauma to Teen Mental Health Issues
Norwegian researchers trace rising adolescent depression and behavioral issues to both poverty and adverse experiences at home.
The Certainties of Therapy-Speak Are Contributing to Our Social Collapse
A Lacanian and psychosocial critique challenges the assumption that more self-knowledge always leads to more freedom.
How Psychiatric Labels are Used as Tools of Abuse in Family Court
Even as diagnostic categories face scrutiny, they’re being used in courtrooms to make life-altering decisions about parenting and custody.
ADHD Drugs Linked to Cardiomyopathy
Presented at a major cardiology conference, the study suggests a 57% increased risk of heart muscle disease after 8 years of stimulant use.
Antidepressant Trials Last Eight Weeks, So Why Do We Take Them for Years?
The studies are of short duration and are riddled with methodological issues like unblinding and failure to assess withdrawal.
Direct Cash Aid Linked to Long-Term Mental Health Gains in Youth, New Study Finds
Structural solutions like cash transfer programs could be key to reducing emotional distress where traditional treatment falls short.
Nearly All Guideline Authors for Mood Disorders in Japan Took Industry Money
A new study reveals that 93% of authors writing treatment guidelines for depression and bipolar disorder received payments from the drug companies whose products they promoted.
A Glossary for Reimagining Mental Health Ethics, From ‘Tokenism’ to ‘Justice’
Psychiatry still sidelines survivors in research and care. A new framework says that has to change.
