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.

112 papers

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research Note

Robert Goodman

Researchers gave the new Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the older Rutter questionnaires to parents and teachers of 403 children from dental and psychiatric clinics. SDQ scores were highly correlated with Rutter scores, and parent-teacher agreement was similar or sometimes better for the SDQ. Both tools were about equally…

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout

Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators
PubMed Central (PMC) Summary & key facts 2021 5,135 citations

This study reviewed surveys and used global models to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic changed rates of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders in 2020. It found that places with higher COVID-19 infection rates and bigger drops in movement had larger increases in these disorders. The authors estimate about 53.2…

COVID-19 and Mental Health Health disparities and outcomes Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry

Christina Maslach, Michael P. Leiter
World Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2016 3,519 citations

Researchers have studied burnout for several decades. They have made tests and theories and used studies from many countries. Most work has looked at human service jobs, especially health care. Research on psychiatrists shows similar causes and results as other fields. But psychiatry also faces some unique stresses, such as…

Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout Stress and Burnout Research Workplace Health and Well-being

Risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders: a meta-review

Edward Chesney, Guy M. Goodwin, Seena Fazel
World Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2014 2,040 citations

This study reviewed systematic reviews to measure death risks in major mental disorders. The authors screened 407 reviews and found 20 that reported mortality risks for 20 different disorders, covering over 1.7 million patients and more than a quarter of a million deaths. Every disorder showed higher all-cause death rates…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Mental Health Treatment and Access Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective

Gregory N. Bratman, Christopher B. Anderson, Marc G. Berman, B.J. Cochran, S. de Vries, Jon Flanders, et al.
Science Advances Summary & key facts 2019 1,741 citations

This review sums up research showing that being in or exposed to nature is linked to better mental functioning and mood. Lab and field experiments find short-term improvements in stress and mood from nature sights, sounds, and walks in green places. Population studies also find people living near green or…

Land Use and Ecosystem Services Urban Agriculture and Sustainability Urban Green Space and Health

Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative

James W. Pennebaker, Janel D. Seagal
Journal of Clinical Psychology Summary & key facts 1999 1,373 citations

This research found that writing about important personal experiences in an emotional way for as little as 15 minutes on three separate days was linked to better mental and physical health. The results were seen across ages, genders, cultures, social classes, and personality types. Computer text analysis showed that people…

Humor Studies and Applications Identity, Memory, and Therapy Mental Health via Writing

Effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress

Peter Salmon
Clinical Psychology Review Summary & key facts 2001 1,332 citations

This 2001 review looked at studies on exercise, anxiety, depression, and stress. It found that short-term emotional effects of exercise are mixed, but many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies report that regular aerobic exercise training reduces anxiety and depression symptoms and may protect against the harmful effects of stress. The clearest…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Eating Disorders and Behaviors Mental Health Research Topics

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

Mentalization based treatment for borderline personality disorder

Anthony Bateman, Peter Fonagy
World Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2010 637 citations

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness marked by big problems with emotion control, impulsive acts, and unstable self-image and relationships. Many people with BPD hurt themselves or try suicide (recurrent suicidal behaviour in about 69–80% and suicide rates up to 10%). Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) was developed to…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Personality Disorders and Psychopathology Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

Treating PTSD: A Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions

Laura E. Watkins, Kelsey Sprang, Barbara O. Rothbaum

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, often debilitating mental health disorder that may develop after a traumatic life event. Fortunately, effective psychological treatments for PTSD exist. In 2017, the Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense (VA/DoD) and the American Psychological Association (APA) each published treatment guidelines for PTSD,…

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Resilience and Mental Health Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Females with ADHD: An expert consensus statement taking a lifespan approach providing guidance for the identification and treatment of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in girls and women

Susan Young, Nicoletta Adamo, Bryndís Björk Ásgeirsdóttir, Polly Branney, Michelle Beckett, William Colley, et al.
BMC Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2020 431 citations

This ADDA article explains ADHD masking — when people hide or copy others to appear "normal." Masking can help someone function but often uses a lot of mental and emotional energy. The article says masking can delay diagnosis, cause burnout or mood problems, and may help explain why women are…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Telling Stories: The Health Benefits of Narrative

James W. Pennebaker
Literature and medicine Summary & key facts 2000 410 citations

Pennebaker reviews more than ten years of research on how telling or writing stories about traumatic or difficult experiences relates to health. He highlights studies done by him and other teams around the world. The essay focuses mainly on reported physical health benefits of writing about these experiences and summarizes…

Art Therapy and Mental Health Mental Health via Writing Pain Management and Placebo Effect
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