- Written by: Administrator
The Canadian Mental Health Association’s 2015 Mental Health Week is from 4-10 May. You can participate on social media by posting relevant information using CMHA’s hashtag #GETLOUD or #MentalHealthWeek or #mentalhealth or #psychology. Visit www.mentalhealthweek.ca for more information. CMHA's message: "We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. It’s a state of well-being."
- Written by: Administrator
As part of an increasing trend worldwide, family physicians in the Netherlands have been advised to use antidepressants as a first line of treatment for patients with severe depression only. For other patients with depression symptoms, the published best practice guidelines recommend psychotherapy as the initial treatment of choice. (TheBMJ. 2012;344:e4211)
- Written by: Administrator
In February, 2005 the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care asked the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC) to make recommendations as to whether psychotherapists or psychotherapy should be regulated in the province. The purpose of regulating or licensing would be to protect the public. Several jurisdictions already have laws that regulate psychotherapy. These include California, Colorado, Florida, and New York. Other jurisdictions, like Ontario, are considering regulating psychotherapy. These include the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.
- Written by: Administrator
A two-year study reported in the September 2005 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry supports a widely held belief that effective treatment for Bipolar Disorder includes helping patients achieve stable rhythms in daily life. The specific treatment focused on helping patients maintain daily routine and gain balance and stability in their personal and social lives. Patients who had this treatment were less likely to relapse over the next two years than patients who had therapy with a different focus. It was especially important for this intervention to be done early. (Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:996-1004)
- Written by: Administrator
A series of studies at Duke University Medical Center in the USA reveals that physical exercise can be used as a treatment for depression and can help reduce relapse. In one study 156 patients with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder were divided into three groups. One group had an exercise program only, a second group had SSRI antidepressant medication only, and a third group had both treatments. After four months of treatment, patients in all groups had improved and there was little difference between the three groups. It appears that for these patients, the specific exercise program was as effective as antidepressant medication. After 10 months, however, there was a lower relapse rate in the exercise group than the medication group. (Psychosomatic Medicine. 2000;62:633-638)