In this week's PLoS Medicine, Riitta Luoto and colleagues from the UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, and University of Tampere, Finland, evaluate whether lifestyle interventions can reduce the risk of high birthweight babies and gestational diabetes amongst pregnant women at high risk for these outcomes. The original journal article is published in the open access journal, Public Library of Scien ...

For those soldiers worried about the stigma associated with seeing a therapist, virtual reality applications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be the alternative to the traditional "talk therapy." A new paper by Albert Rizzo from the University of Southern California, Institute for Creative Technologies, Los Angeles, and his team, reviews how virtual reality applications are bei ...

A group of researchers of the University of Amsterdam published a new study on the impact of psychotherapy for personality disorders in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. While psychopharmacological studies are common in patients with cluster A personality disorders (schizoid, paranoid, schizotypal), the effects of psychotherapy have received little attention. ...

Contracting an acute illness means an abrupt turn from everyday life to intensive care where one’s life is at stake. Surrounding the illness is traditional knowledge derived from the natural sciences, yet for the affected it means experiences of an existential nature that health care personnel do not possess the knowledge to treat. This is shown in Sven-Tore Dreyer Fredriksen’s DrPH thesis at the Nordic Sch ...

In the days immediately following Japan’s devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, survivors were grateful to have lived through it. But disasters that cause such wide-scale death, destruction, and disruption to daily life also leave lingering invisible wounds. Sheila A.M. Rauch, Ph.D., clinical research psychologist with Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System and assistant professor in the Depart ...

There is no doubt that undergoing infertility treatment is stressful with high rates of anxiety and depression reported by many patients. Mind-body therapies designed to help women reduce stress earlier in the treatment process result in higher pregnancy rates, but little is known specifically about the impact of these therapies on women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). ...

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a group of Italian investigators headed by Giovanni Fava (University of Bologna) published a randomized controlled trial on psychotherapeutic treatment of cyclothymic disorder. Cyclothymic Disorder a disturbance that is characterized by rapid alternation of mood swings. It is similar to bipolar disorder, but considered to be less severe. ...

Thinking happy thoughts, focusing on the good and downplaying the bad is believed to accelerate recovery from depression, bolster resilience during a crisis, and improve overall mental health. But a new study by University of Washington psychologists reveals that pursuing happiness may not be beneficial across all cultures. In a survey of college students, Asian respondents showed no relationship between po ...

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics data are presented that indicate that treatment of personality disorders may be successful, but requires different levels of care. The research suggests that specialized inpatient psychotherapeutic treatment deserves to be considered as a valuable treatment option for patients with personality disorder pathology. Unfortunately, in many countries, inpa ...

Frequently, depression and diabetes go hand in hand. And depression can be a major obstacle for people living with diabetes, making it less likely they’ll stick to a medicine schedule or exercise regimen. A team of researchers led by investigators at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan Health System worked to improve diabetes patients’ health by first addressing their depressio ...