Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
Researchers are finding several promising ways to reduce anxiety and worry. The strongest and most consistent clinical results so far come from giving psychedelic or fast‑acting drugs together with careful psychotherapy. Ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin show the quickest and clearest positive results in trials for related problems. Non‑drug approaches like talking therapies and physical activity also help and have longer histories of evidence. At the same time, many drug studies are still small, early‑stage, or done in narrowly selected groups. Important factors that shape outcomes include how the drug is given, the therapy around it, and safety monitoring. There are real risks and unanswered questions, so scientists say more large, diverse, and carefully run trials are needed before these treatments become routine.
This large review combined 441 randomized trials with 33,881 patients to measure how many people show a clear response to psychotherapy across eight mental disorders. Response was defined as at least a 50% reduction in symptoms from before to after treatment. Pooled response rates were modest (for example, about 42%…
This systematic review looked at 33 studies about social anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The studies suggest social anxiety increased in the general population. Women and people with low incomes appeared more likely to report higher social anxiety. Other links to higher social anxiety included poor coping, weaker social support,…
