RESEARCH NEWS
Summaries of research findings that tell of a scientific need to “rethink psychiatry.”
An archive of research reports on psychiatric drugs can also be found here.Â
Research News
From Inclusion to Assimilation in Mental Health Research
A new paper names âparticipatory assimilation,â showing how mental health projects invite people in, then fold their ideas back into expert agendas.
Less Screen, More Sleep: Cutting Smartphone Use Lifts Mood and Lowers Stress
A randomized trial finds that reducing daily screen time improves well-being and sleep quality among young adults.
Psychiatric Labels Confine More Than They Clarify, Researchers Argue
A new article reviews evidence that diagnostic categories shape identity and worsen outcomes, calling for alternatives to fixed labels.
Medicine Is on the Brink of “AI-Induced Deskilling”
Research is piling up to show that once doctors use artificial intelligence, they begin to lose their vital skillsâand trainees may never learn them.
From Molecules to Meanings: Scholars Call for âPharmaceutical Humanitiesâ
The authors contend that pharmacists need narrative competence and a new disciplinary home that joins ethics, culture, and care with pharmacology.
New Research Suggests Early Childhood Behavior May Predict Cluster A Personality Disorders
By tracking children over 12 years, researchers suggest that traits and social experiences together may explain adolescent difficulties.
Study Finds Bipartisan Support for Mental Health Care Without Coercion
The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that federal calls for increased use of coercive measures run counter to public opinion.
Prescription Stimulant Use Linked to Higher Rates of Psychosis
A systematic study finds a higher incidence of psychotic and bipolar symptoms in individuals diagnosed with ADHD who are prescribed stimulants.
Trauma-Informed Care and the PTMF: How Does It Work in Practice?
The program reduced self-harm, seclusion, and restraint. Now we have a better idea of how it was able to achieve that goalâand the barriers preventing it from being used more often.
Micronutrient Supplements: Better Than Antidepressants for Depressed Pregnant Mothers and Their Babies
In NUTRIMUM, newborns ended up with fewer complications than even the newborns of women who didnât have depression at all.
AI Study Finds Psychiatric Diagnoses Overlap Too Much to Be Useful
New research shows that attempts to sort human distress into discrete boxesâwhether by experts or algorithmsâfail to capture lived experience.
Relational Depth in Psychotherapy Linked to Reductions in Depression and Anxiety
New research points to relational depth as a stronger predictor of change than traditional alliance measures.
âMedicine Is Awesomeâ Mentality Fueling Harmful Antidepressant Use, Say Experts
The authors call for a paradigm shift in mental health care that emphasizes empathy, context, and alternatives to medication as first-line treatments for depression.
German GPs Say They Need More Support to Help Patients Stop Antidepressants
New research from Germany shows how guidelines, system pressures, and lack of collaboration limit deprescribing.
When Peer Support Workers Must Be “Just Mad Enough”
NHS peer workers describe the burden of proving themselves as âsuccess storiesâ while concealing distress.
Collective Action May Protect Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young Adults
A new study finds that activism protects some LGBTQ+ young adults from the mental health toll of critical consciousness, while trans youth and people of color remain vulnerable.
Antidepressants Linked to Insomnia in Children and Adolescents, Meta-Analysis Finds
Sertraline (Zoloft) showed the highest risk, with odds of insomnia more than doubling compared to placebo.
What If Psychology Started With the Heart Instead of the Mind?
A new study explores how Chinese and Japanese traditions of âheart-mindâ open alternatives to psychiatryâs brain-bound models of distress and healing.
No Subgroup of Patients for Whom Antidepressants Are Effective
A reanalysis of STAR*D finds no support for the theorized subgroup of patients who do well on antidepressants.
Psychiatric Coercion Lacks Ethical or Legal Justification, Scholar Argues
Dirk Richter reviews the five ethical and legal standards for forced treatment and finds none are met.
How People Around the World Make Sense of Psychosis
Findings highlight the importance of cultural and spiritual frameworks in how people make sense of psychosis.
How Mental Health Rights Are Misused to Entrench Psychiatric Coercion
Emmanuelle Bernheim argues that legal rights often reinforce, rather than dismantle, coercive psychiatric practices.
Childhood Trauma Is a Global Mental Health Crisis, Researchers Warn
A survey of more than 16,000 youth across three countries shows a clear link between adverse experiences and mental illness.
Researchers Criticize Putting Preschoolers on Stimulant Drugs
Against guideline recommendations, preschoolers were often prescribed stimulants without even having the chance to try family behavioral therapy.
Scientists Warn of Overlooked Mental Health Effects From PFAS
A review of PFAS exposure highlights gaps in research but points to disproportionate risks for marginalized communities.
Adolescents Diagnosed With ADHD and Autism Describe What Upsets Them
Young people say school rules, social exclusion, and sensory overload often trigger distress. A new study centers their voices and challenges deficit-based models.
Psychosis Severity Tied to Childhood Trauma, Not Inherited Mental Illness
A cross-national study shows traumaâs lasting impact on psychosis is not explained by parental mental illness.
ChatGPT Doesnât Identify Well-Known Retracted Studies, Claims They Are âInternationally Excellentâ
ChatGPT correctly identified none of the most well-known study retractions. Most of the time, it claimed these studies were world-leading.
Preliminary Results Suggest WHO Rights-Based Training Linked to Reduced Stigma
Global evaluation finds QualityRights e-training reduces support for coercive practices and negative attitudes; future independent studies will be important.
In Colombia, Disability Rights Advance on Paper but Stigma Endures in Daily Life
A preprint study shows that legal recognition has not dismantled deep cultural and institutional biases against people with psychosocial disabilities.
âTailored to the Treatmentâ: Patients Criticize Formulaic Therapy in NHS
Qualitative research highlights the frustration of patients who felt their sessions were scripted, with many calling instead for personalization and stronger therapeutic bonds.
âTechnoferenceâ in Parenting Raises Concerns for Child Development
Parental technology use in front of kids, or technoference, is tied to weaker attachment and more behavioral problems.
Patients Tell of ECT Harms
A new survey of patients who had ECT finds that while some found it helpful, the majority found it unhelpful or damaging on every measure.
Human Rights Frame New Mental Health Standards in Asylum Centers
A global panel calls for culturally informed, human rightsâbased support for asylum seekers, pushing back against the one-size-fits-all model of global mental health.
Study Warns of Overreliance on Rapid Tranquillisation in Womenâs Psychiatric Care
A national audit of psychiatric wards in England shows that women in crisis are disproportionately subjected to rapid tranquillisation, often in response to self-harm.
Doctors Who Accept Industry Cash Get More Patient Complaints, Study Finds
Physicians paid by drug and device companies are more likely to receive unsolicited complaints, pointing to the corrosive effects of industry influence on care.
Doctors: Patients Donât Want You to Use AI
New survey shows patients will avoid doctors who use AI, considering them less trustworthy, skilled, and empathetic.
U.K. Crisis Care Model Prioritizes Trauma, Empathy, and Collaboration
A new approach known as Comprehend, Cope, and Connect is reshaping mental health crisis care in the United Kingdom, with promising early results across inpatient and community settings.
How an Ecological View of Mind Could Rewrite Psychology and Psychiatry
A radical shift in comparative cognition is exposing the limits of mainstream psychology and psychiatryâs theories of what a mind is.
âMad or Bad?â How Judges Weigh Mental Health in Federal Court
A study reveals that mental health diagnoses interact with race and sex in complex ways, challenging the promise of uniform federal sentencing guidelines.
Safety Alerts Rarely Change How Doctors Prescribe, Review Finds
A systematic review finds that most drug safety communications have only modest effects on prescriber behavior, leaving patients exposed to avoidable harm.
Fully Recovered after Psychosis, Without Antipsychotic Drugs
A new study demonstrates that far more people are able to fully recover from psychosis than typically thoughtâand that many can do so without antipsychotic drugs.
Rethinking Trust in Psychiatry: When Mistrust Is Misread as Madness
A new paper challenges the idea that therapeutic mistrust is pathological, reframing it as a rational stance against historical and cultural marginalization.
Study Finds Key Role for Emotion Recognition in Adolescent Well-Being
Longitudinal research links alexithymia to worsening emotional regulation and psychological distress in adolescence.
Cannabinoids Linked to Worse Psychosis Outcomes in Longitudinal Study
Natural cannabis users improved less than non-users. Synthetic cannabis users showed the worst outcomes across nearly all clinical dimensions.
Forced Hospitalization Increases Suicide and Violent Crime
Proponents claim involuntary treatment is necessary to reduce suicide and crime, but new research shows it doubles the risk of these outcomes.
Mental Health Workers Say They Want Recovery-Oriented Care. So Why Do They Still Endorse...
A new study in Greece reveals that mental health professionals often accept involuntary hospitalization as a ânecessary evil,â despite supporting community-based care.
Psychological Disorders Are âShapeshifters,â Not Fixed Labels, Study Finds
Internalizing disorders, including depression and anxiety, shift their shape depending on cultural, physiological, and personal factors.
Philosophy Majors Improve in Critical Thinking, New Study Finds
A study by two philosophers finds evidence that majoring in philosophy increases oneâs verbal reasoning ability, open-mindedness, and other essential intellectual virtues.
Early Life Adversity Predicts Later Mental Health Issues Around the World
Exposure to childhood trauma raises the risk of adult mental illness by 66%, according to a global systematic review.