Arrangement for psychotherapy fMRI studies using the couch of Sigmund Freud.

[No not really, although the authors did stretch the implications of their findings in the Discussion...]

by Michael D. Anestis, M.S.

The summer before I began graduate school, I received a package in the mail from Florida State University.  The package contained my first assignment as a graduate student, which consisted of reading two articles by Paul Meehl and a selection of work by Karl Popper. A page into the Popper document, I found myself wondering what I had gotten myself into.  The text was fairly dense, the material was hard to connect with, and I couldn't help wondering what the heck it had to do with mental illness and psychotherapy.

Fortunately, we devoted a good amount of time to discussing the paper early in those first few weeks of graduate school and it resurfaced on a number of other occasions, including during the oh-so-fun preparation for comprehensive exams.  That being said, my understanding of Popper's work has expanded and my appreciation for its importance has become almost limitless.

The more researchers delve into the research behind antidepressants — the class of drugs commonly prescribed to treat depression — the more they find that perhaps the majority of antidepressants’ treatment effect is based upon the simple belief that the drug will help.

Newsweek’s Sharon Begley has a lengthy article discussing the growing body of evidence that calls into question decades’ worth of prescriptions. It’s a story that we’ve covered previously, that TIME covered nearly a year ago, and that Therese Borchard had a response to. It seems to be journalists’ favorite “go to” story now in mental health, because there’s a black-and-white controversy — do antidepressants work or don’t they?

Greeting folks.  I have posted two new videos on the PBB YouTube channel.  On a high note, my film making skills improved to the extent that I now fit in the picture, but on the down side, I overshot the YouTube 10 minute limit by a long shot and had to divide the video up into two parts.  The videos are an overview of my critique of the Shedler article.  As always, the material on YouTube is much less detailed than our writings here.  They simply mark an attempt to reach another group of folks less inclined to read the site but still interested in thinking about this stuff.

As always, we welcome your thoughts but please keep them civil.  Even if you disagree vehemently, we can still discuss this without resorting to accusations, name-calling, and the like.  Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

[Disclosure: I am reviewing a free ePub copy of this book provided by the publisher without the expectation of a review, good or bad.]

The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems

by Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, Harvard
Guilford Press, 2010
Hardcover: $35.00
Paperback: 14.95

Amazon: $28.00/$10.17

by Michael D. Anestis, M.S.

The Association for Psychological Science has posted this interesting article (which sounds as though it could have been written by the American Psychiatric Association) on Current Status and Future Prospects of Clinical Psychology: Toward a Scientifically Principled Approach to Mental and Behavioral Health Care.

This is yet another call for an evidence-based model of diagnosis and therapy (generally translated as the "medical model" and cognitive-behavioral therapy, CBT) - see here and here for my take on this issue.

Before getting to the main article, here is an editorial comment appearing on the main-page of the ASP Site.

Current Status and Future Prospects of Clinical Psychology

Online support groups can be a great source of emotional support and valuable health information you won’t find on any website from the National Institute of Mental Health or others. Some people are a little leery of joining an online support group, however. Others don’t quite understand what benefit they may gain from joining one. Still others understand a support group’s benefits, but feel like they still don’t gain as much from joining one as they had hoped.

Your experience in an online support group will inevitably vary. But these tips may help you get the most from your experience, and keep your expectations in check.

1. Take what you need, leave the rest.

Many people come into an online support group with their story, asking a specific question about treatment or other people’s experiences. Some people may reply with experiences of their own, or advice about what the “best” treatment is for a given condition. This is how online support groups work.

But some people may not agree with the advice given, and that’s perfectly okay. We’re a diverse culture living in a diverse world and we will not always agree. Some people spend a lot of time arguing about opinions or things that are secondary to why they joined the support group in the first place. Take the advice that makes sense to you, and leave the rest alone.