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
Why Psychology Must Reckon with Its Cultural and Historical Blind Spots
Psychologists propose teaching critical histories to foster a more just and equitable field.
Empty Plates, Troubled Minds: New Research Exposes Mental Health Costs of Food Insecurity
A Canadian study links food insecurity to developmental disorders, suicidal ideation, and substance use among children.
Reframing Antipsychotic Discontinuation: A Psychiatristâs Personal and Professional Call for Epistemic Justice
A psychiatrist with lived experience advocates for a more humane, collaborative approach to antipsychotic discontinuation that respects diverse ways of knowing.
No Bad Kids: How an Antiracist Framework Challenges the Oppositional Defiant Disorder Diagnosis
A new paper reveals how the overdiagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder fuels systemic racism and mislabels children of color.
Diplomacy for Mental Health: Can a Rights-Based Approach Reshape Global Health Policy?
Advocates call for a new model of mental health diplomacy that prioritizes dignity and cultural inclusion over coercion and biomedical dominance.
What COVID-19 Taught Us About Social Inequality and Mental Health
Californiaâs largest health survey reveals how social determinants shaped mental health outcomes in the early pandemic era.
How Psychology’s Grip on Our Minds Constrains Human Potential and Keeps Us Locked in...
David Pavón-Cuéllar exposes the ways psychology reinforces neoliberal individualism and explores paths to resistance.
Are Psychiatric Drugs Remaking Our Emotional Landscape?
New research examines the risks of overrelying on psychiatric drugs to scaffold emotional well-being, leaving broader issues unaddressed.
A Place to Grow: The Promise and Challenges of Recovery-Oriented Therapeutic Farms
A study of therapeutic farms reveals how shared humanity and interdependence foster healing.
Our Historical Minds: Can Metabletics Revolutionize Social Psychology?
What if our psyches are not isolated, self-contained entities but are instead profoundly shaped by and inseparable from the currents of history and culture?
This...
New Study Calls Out ‘Obstetric Violence’ in Rush to Medicate Postpartum Depression
Critics warn a new drug for postpartum depression may be more about profit than progress, urging a focus on social support systems for new mothers.
Ancestral Wisdom Meets Modern Medicine in African Mental Health
A South African study explores the potential of integrating traditional healing with modern medicine to create a more comprehensive mental health care system.
The Broken Promises of Neoliberal Homelessness Policy
While Housing First was designed to transform homelessness, cost-cutting measures have stripped it of its radical potential, leaving structural inequality untouched.
The Societal Costs of Childhood Trauma: Lessons from Honduras
A new study challenges traditional psychiatric models by exploring the link between childhood trauma and mental health in Honduras.
Exercise Prevents Depression, Researchers Confirm
In line with previous findings on exercise and depression, daily step count was associated with lower depression symptoms in a new meta-analysis.
Epistemic Privilege and Mental Health: The Case for Centering Lived Experience
Heidi M. Levitt argues for âstrong objectivityâ in qualitative research, urging psychologists to integrate lived experiences for greater equity.
From Community to Commodity: The Global Takeover of Western Mental Health Models
While promising healing, exported Western psychology often reinforces the very inequalities it seeks to address.
How Social Class Differences Shape Therapy for Working-Class Clients
A new study reveals that class disparities in the therapeutic relationship can create barriersâor opportunitiesâfor deeper connection.
Researchers Highlight the Dangers of Pathologizing Grief
Rather than relying on a biomedical approach to grief that seeks "magic bullet" solutions, experts recommend an eco-psychosocial approach.
More Therapy Is Not the Answer
Researchers say the science confirms âthe relative ineffectivenessâ of existing therapy treatments and propose policy change to address the societal ills that cause distress.
Healing Complex PTSD through Group Therapy: The Promise of a Mentalizing Approach
Trauma-focused mentalization-based therapy (MBT-TF) aims to address complex PTSD by bridging the gap between trauma and personality disorder treatments.
Psychology Beyond Neutrality: Rethinking Clinical Practice Through an Ecological and Psychopolitical Lens
An Italian case study challenges the status quo, exposing how clinical psychology reinforces inequality and suggesting transformative practices for a liberatory future.
The Treatment-Prevalence Paradox: Why Depression Rates Keep Rising Despite More Treatments
Is it time to stop treating depression as a malfunction? This new study argues for a shift from symptom suppression to supporting the deeper purpose of depression as an adaptive response.
Benzodiazepines Linked to Suicide, Study Finds
A new study finds that benzodiazepinesâalprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and diazepam (Valium)âare associated with an increased risk of suicidal events.
Psych Drugs Ineffective for Long-Term Pain Relief
A new meta-analysis finds no evidence that psychiatric drugs effectively treat chronic pain in the long term, while highlighting serious potential harms like deadly falls in older adults.
Psychosocial Disability Activism in the Global South: A Radical Path Toward Justice?
Mehta's analysis reveals how activists in the Global South use psychosocial disability to resist systemic oppression and demand collective liberation.
How Cultural-Historical Perspectives Transform Mental Health
Is mainstream psychology ready to embrace the complexity of human experience? A cultural-historical perspective challenges the status quo in mental health.
Food Insecurity Linked to Serious Mental Illness, Study Finds
New evidence suggests that food insecurity may contribute to severe mental illness, challenging the idea that social issues are merely a consequence of mental health struggles.
Psych Drugs May Increase Likelihood of Death in Schizophrenia
The drugs, especially benzos and high doses of antipsychotics, led to an increased risk of death within five years. Antidepressants also did not reduce mortality.
Study Links Adverse Childhood Experiences to Lower Mental Well-being in University Students
A new study published in Child Abuse & Neglect finds that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with lower levels of mental well-being in...
Early Life Trauma Linked to Difficult-to-Treat Depression
Early life trauma (ELT) significantly impacts the symptoms and treatment of depression. In a new, scoping review published in BJPsych Bulletin, researchers found that...
Researchers Critique Psychiatryâs Flimsy Evidence for Psychedelic Drugs
Researchers expose how regulatory bodies approve psychedelic drugs for psychiatric use despite poor quality evidence riddled with biases.
Exploring the Connection Between Philosophy and Psychiatry
A new article published in Studia Culturae explores the interaction of psychiatry and philosophy. Author Olga Vlasova from St Petersburg State University in Russia...
Service Users Report Psychiatric Professionals as the Least Helpful Factor in Quitting Antipsychotics
A new study published in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice finds that psychiatrists and other doctors are the most unhelpful factor for...
Study Calls for a New Approach to Depression Focused on Social and Cultural Contexts
A new study published in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry challenges traditional mental health approaches and interventions by examining global mental health, biopolitics,...
Study Reveals Deep-Rooted Ableism in Mental Health Care
A new study led by Katie Wang of the Yale School of Public Health explores the experiences of people with disabilities in the mental...
Racial Bias, Lack of Clinical Workup, Missing Data: Latest Involuntary Hospitalization Trends in Boston
87% of involuntary hospitalization applications didn't include a clinical workup, the majority were Black, 17% did not have a listed psychiatric diagnosis, and 27% were not listed as a danger to self or others.
New Theory Suggests Mental Disorders May Be Evolutionary Shields Against Suicide
Mental illness is assumed to be a necessary condition for attempting suicide or suicidality, generally. If someone kills themselves, we assume itâs because they...
Study Finds Interpersonal Therapies Effective for PTSD
A new study published in the American Journal of Psychotherapy found Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) to be an effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)....
Childhood Trauma Tied to Higher Rates of Depression and Anxiety, Study Finds
A new study published in the Deutsches Ărzteblatt International (German International Medical Journal) links childhood trauma to depression and anxiety disorders in adulthood. The...
Digital AVATAR Therapy May Improve Voice-Hearersâ Lives
Although some results faded after 16 weeks, improvements in personal recovery, well-being, and more were all in favor of dialogic AVATAR therapy.
Why Psychiatrists Must Consider Global Perspectives to Address Mental Health Inequities
A new article published in BJPsych International argues that globalization is complicating the responsibilities of the psy-disciplines. The authors, led by Yansen Alberth Reba...
The Impact of Service User Organizations on Psychiatric Care in Sweden
Service users and their organizations have had a profound impact on psychiatric care by advocating for the inclusion of their narratives on mental distress...
Faulty Depression Data Could Hurt Mental Health Resources Globally
A new article published in the Community Mental Health Journal finds that Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates are likely inaccurate for major depressive...
Study Explores How Patients and Psychiatrists Negotiate Clinical Narratives
A recent study in Philosophical Psychology examined the dynamics between psychiatrists and their patients in closed psychiatric units. Led by Bram Salman from UMC...
Researchers: Psychiatric Diagnosis Changes the Way People View You
The label made people think you need professional help, need special help with your life activities, and had less control over your behavior/emotions. It may have also increased empathyâbut this finding wasnât consistent.
The Urgent Need for Social Justice in Mental Health Care
In a 2024 forum headed by James K. Kirkbride of University College London, the authors assert that social determinants of mental health are factors...
New Study Links Ozone Pollution to Increased Anxiety and Depression in Schizophrenia Patients
A new study published in Psychiatria Danubina finds that higher concentrations of the air pollutant ozone are linked to more severe anxiety and depression...
Withdrawal Symptoms Common for Those who Stop Taking Antidepressants
A new study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, investigates the prevalence and typical characteristics of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome (AWS) through analyzing available research. Researchers found...
Living in Urban Areas Linked to More Severe Psychosis Symptoms, Study Finds
A new article published in JAMA Network Open finds that participants experiencing psychosis had more severe psychotic symptoms when they lived in urban neighborhoods...