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Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

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.

Physical Activity and Health Depression (economics)

3 papers

Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews

Ben Singh, Tim Olds, Rachel Curtis, Dorothea Dumuid, Rosa Virgara, Amanda Watson, et al.
PubMed Summary & key facts 2023 784 citations

This umbrella review pooled evidence from 97 systematic reviews (1,039 randomized trials, 128,119 participants) to examine whether physical activity affects symptoms of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adults. Overall, physical activity produced medium-sized reductions in symptoms (median effect size for depression = -0.43, for anxiety = -0.42; distress effect…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Eating Disorders and Behaviors Physical Activity and Health

Walking Psychotherapy As a Health Promotion Strategy to Improve Mental and Physical Health for Patients and Therapists: Clinical Open-Label Feasibility Trial

Nicole Koziel, Simone N. Vigod, Jennifer Price, Joanne Leung, Jennifer Hensel
PubMed Summary & key facts 2022 7 citations

This small open-label study tested whether therapists and patients could walk outside during trauma therapy sessions. Most people joined and found walking acceptable. Walking happened in about two-thirds of sessions. Some PTSD and stress scores were lower after 12 weeks, but the study had no control group and further randomized…

Cardiac Health and Mental Health Physical Activity and Health Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Walk-and-Talk Therapy Versus Conventional Indoor Therapy for Men With Low Mood: A Randomised Pilot Study

Andrea Dickmeyer, Jordan Smith, Sean Halpin, Stacey McMullen, Ryan Drew, Philip J. Morgan, et al.
PubMed Summary & key facts 2025 5 citations

This was a small randomized pilot study that tested whether outdoor “walk-and-talk” therapy is feasible and might work compared with regular indoor therapy for men with low mood. The trial included 37 men. Their average depression score (PHQ‑9) was 11.4 (SD 5.0) and their average age was 44.1 years (SD…

Art Therapy and Mental Health Physical Activity and Health Urban Green Space and Health
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