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Is Music the New Medicine? Exploring the Benefits of Music Therapy
The recent opioid epidemic has caused society to re-evaluate our current pain management practices. This article explores a unique option, music therapy, as a potential new treatment.
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Everything You Need to Know about RDoC: Answers to 5 Commonly Asked Questions
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a frequently referenced manual of clinical diagnosis published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), has been called the “Bible” for the field of clinical psychology. Consistent with its prominent role in diagnosis and treatment considerations, research on mental health has traditionally focused on the DSM’s classification…
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ADHD Medication and Risk for Later Alcohol and Drug Use
Many parents have to make difficult choices about how to help their children with an ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnosis. Two treatments have been proven in well-designed and carefully controlled research studies to be effective: behavioral management (also known as parent training) and medication (typically Ritatin or Adderall). Medication treatment has raised concerns about…
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Former Israeli Prime Minister’s Significant Brain Activity – How Do We Know?
Israeli scientists and UCLA’s Dr. Martin Monti recently found that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demonstrates significant brain activity. Seven years ago Sharon suffered two strokes. The second stroke caused him to lose most of his consciousness. Sharon is in a minimally conscious state, a little more aware than a coma or a persistent vegetative…
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“Silver Linings Playbook” Makes a Hit Film Out of a Risky Concept: A Romantic Comedy about the Mentally Ill
The following article contains spoilers. If you have not seen the film and do not wish to have key plot points and character dynamics revealed, do not proceed further
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A Dangerous Method? Film Tells the Story of the Rise of a Controversial Practice
Based on the 1993 nonfiction book by John Kerr entitled A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabrina Spielrein, the film chronicles the early days of psychoanalysis.
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Changing How We Look at Mental Illness and Changing Lives
One in five children in the US suffers from mental illness, but less than 25% of those children actually receive mental health services. That’s absolutely terrifying, especially if you consider all the kids who have other psychological struggles but don’t meet diagnostic criteria for a psychological disorder. How many children then aren’t getting the help…
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New Movie Portrays Cancer Perceptively but Psychology Offensively
Although the ending is not revealed, some spoilers from the film 50/50 follow in the article
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The Convenience of Therapy on your Computer
Finding a good therapist is important. As a graduate student in clinical psychology, I am often asked where to find one. Typically, I would recommend the psychology clinic associated with my university, or point them in the direction of therapists who use empirically supported treatments. Yet, there remains several obstacles for reaching a therapist. These include…
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What can we learn from the placebo effect?
An article in The Economist this week – “Think yourself better” – examined the effectiveness of alternative medical treatments such as acupuncture, crystal healing, Reiki channelling, and herbal remedies. Alternative medicine a booming business. Survey results released by the US National Institutes of Health found that in 2002 62.1% of adults in the country had…