A couple new studies on alcohol dependence and ADHD were reported on by the CBC. Essentially, the new research links parental alcohol use and family stress to child ADHD and alcohol problems.
“We found that parental alcoholism predicted heavy problem drinking among the teenagers, that the association was partly explained by higher rates of stress in […]

For people in therapy, an important part of the process of change is assessing what has been accomplished. There are a variety of methods to do this, although few are scientific approaches. Instead, patients/clients need to be monitoring progress toward their goals and checking in regularly with their therapists to assess progress. A recent opinion […]

Here’s something to consider when updating your personal blog. Affectionate Writing Can Lower Cholesterol is a post in PsyBlog summarizing some recent psychology research on expressing affection. Seems that writing about your positive feelings toward a loved one (in first person, not third) for 20 minutes at a time over a few weeks can significantly […]

A Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD) is a legal document with instructions about exactly what type of mental health treatments you prefer in an emergency. If you have an episode involving psychosis, lack of insight, and/or difficulty thinking and communicating, a PAD will tell your treatment team what you can’t. It covers things like works for […]

I disagree with GNIF Brain Blogger Shaheen’s assertion that the only way to understand mental health issues is through the medicalization and organic markers for mental disorders and tests derived from such markers. Psychology and psychiatry have established a very deep, rich knowledgebase of mental disorders and it’s pretty well-established at this point that these […]

Many people with bipolar disorder are prescribed a mood stabalizer and an antidepressant as their medication treatment. However, a new study has shown some evidence that the antidepressant does not have much benefit in the mix.
“In this study, we do not show a benefit nor a problem due to antidepressants,” Sachs said. “We didn’t show […]

Doctors who are friends of empowered patients are also doctors who understand and emphasize the power of second opinions. A second opinion gives an individual the information to make a more informed decision about their health or mental health care. Professionals understand a person’s need to be sure they are accurately diagnosed and properly treated, […]

Reader Hank Roberts left some terrific comments on my earlier post about light and dark and how they affect sleep and bipolar cycles. Light is used as treatment [free reg req’d], and Hank and his wife recovered from insomnia and Seasonal Affective Disorder after changing indoor lighting to amber LEDs and low-blue compact flourescents instead […]

A few tongue-in-cheek pointers on How To Stay Stressed:
Are you worried now about how to stay stressed? You’ll have no trouble if you practice the following clinically proven methods:

NEVER EXERCISE. Exercise wastes a lot of time that could be spent worrying.

TAKE PLENTY OF STIMULANTS. The old standards of caffeine, nicotine, sugar, [energy drinks] […]

Apparently aversive conditioning techniques are still used in some states, including Illinois, where a couple uses a cattle prod device to handle the violent outbursts of their 48-year-old Autistic son. In an article posted on Intelihealth.com, titled “Shock Treatment Sought for Autistic Man”, the man’s mother says the shock is no more painful […]

On March 23 2007, a father of two in the UK went into a live chat room online (one where insults are traded for fun), and setup a live webcam and proceeded to hang himself with dozens of people watching. The man died.
I find stories like this a tragedy for so many different reasons, but […]

There have been a handful of studies examining the effects of other therapy delivery mechanisms besides traditional face-to-face work. Telephone based therapy has been one of the primary focuses, and a new study has shown that it can be effective at reducing depression.
At 18 months after the first session, 77 percent of the patients […]