Smoking during Pregnancy and Child’s Psychotropic Medication Use Not Linked

May 21st, 2013 . No Comments

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy (SDP) put themselves and their unborn children at risk for a variety of health issues. Existing research has indicated that smoking can increase the rate of psychological problems for children, and, in particular, increase the odds of conduct and oppositional defiance problems and attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD). Other studies... Read More

Mental Health Stigma in South Asian Communities

May 21st, 2013 . 1 Comment

I am not sure how I was led to write about mental health issues and the South Asian Community. Maybe it has always been a calling, which I never listened to until now. My field of counseling and psychology has taught me how to listen, feel, believe, trust, and share. Since I have taken on this new venture of spreading mental health awareness in the South Asian community, I have... Read More

Five Things That Help When I’m Depressed

May 16th, 2013 . 5 Comments

Those of you who’ve read my chapter in the anthology Goddess Shift: Women Leading for a Change know that I have had plenty of personal experience with depression, and that I have a unique relationship with it. I believe this has been an enormous help to me in helping others with depression. So I thought it might be useful to share some of what I do when I get depressed. What resolves depression is grieving ... Read More

Can Social Network Activity Reveal Risk for Suicidal Ideation?

May 15th, 2013 . 5 Comments

Social networking sites (SNS) are the most popular venues for young adults to meet, share information, and communicate. Across the globe, users are staying connected with various SNSs like Facebook. In Japan, the most popular SNS is called “mixi.” With over 25 million users, mixi allows members to join for free, create friendships, and join communities. It also presents a ripe environment for data retrieval. Because so many young adults use mixi, Naoki... Read More

Does Cognitive Ability Suffer When We Stifle Our Emotions?

May 15th, 2013 . No Comments

Everyone has experienced a situation during which he or she stifled emotions. Whether this happened as a result of something threatening, funny, or sad, the stifling or suppression of emotions is not uncommon. Take, for instance, when someone slips and falls. The first reaction may be to laugh at the funny event. But, most often, people suppress their laughter because the person may be injured and to laugh would be considered an inappropriate response. Another form of emotional ... Read More

Would You Want to Know Your Risk of Developing Mental Health Issues?

May 14th, 2013 . 16 Comments

If someone has a family history of cancer, they probably undergo early screenings because of their genetic risk. Likewise, when someone has a close family member with a rare genetic disease, or even cardiovascular disease or diabetes, they may be more sensitive to factors that will increase their already heightened risk for these diseases. However, disclosure of the actual risk is different than testing for the risk. When it comes to psychological illnesses, many people... Read More

Evidence Lacking to Warrant Depression Screening in Cardiac Clients

May 13th, 2013 . 13 Comments

Several years ago, the American Heart Association (AHA) made a recommendation to have all individuals with cardiac issues screened for the presence of depressive symptoms. This recommendation was made based on the finding that nearly one in five coronary heart disease (CHD) clients have depression and, therefore, are at risk for poorer physical and mental outcomes. However, since that recommendation, no analysis has been made to see if screening for depression... Read More

Alexithymia Increases Risk of Heart Disease in Individuals with HIV

May 9th, 2013 . 3 Comments

HIV-positive individuals are at increased risk for a number of health issues that can threaten their physical and emotional well-being. For example, people with HIV are more likely to get cardiovascular disease (CVD) than people without HIV. Risk factors that exist in the HIV population include diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Other conditions that can increase the risk... Read More

Heart Rate Indicates Self-Awareness and Self-Objectification in Women

May 9th, 2013 . 3 Comments

The heartbeat perception test has been effective at gauging a person’s awareness of his or her own physiological processes, known as inetroceptive awareness. This method was recently used in a study by Vivien Ainley of the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway University in London. Ainley focused her study on self-objectification and interoceptive awareness in women in order to determine if low levels of interoceptive awareness, as measured by the heartbeat perception results, would indicate which women were at risk of self-objectification. Behaviors... Read More

Displacement Behaviors Can Lower Stress in Men

May 8th, 2013 . 4 Comments

A new study reveals that displacement behaviors, which are behaviors that are not direct results of stress, but rather behaviors used as coping methods for stress, can actually decrease the negative effects of stress for men. Displacement behaviors include actions like randomly touching the face, biting the lip, or even scratching oneself during a stressful experience. Some studies have begun to explore how this type of coping strategy, if it actually is a coping strategy,... Read More

Can a Stress Questionnaire Identify People at Risk for Depression?

May 7th, 2013 . 3 Comments

The Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) is a tool used for assessing stress in the workplace. The questionnaire consists of 57 questions relating to emotional stress, physical stress, social conditions, and quality of life at home and at work. It has been successfully used for years and is a reliable tool for identifying work-related stress. In fact, many companies and organizations have found that use of the BJSQ allows them to recognize what factors contribute... Read More

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The Psychology of Risk-Taking

May 7th, 2013 . 9 Comments

We all know an adrenaline junkie: the friend who jumps out of airplanes for fun, the sibling who spends her time traveling to war-ravaged countries, or the co-worker who spends her weekends speeding on a motorcycle. Adrenaline rushes are readily available at just about every turn. A number of factors can affect whether a person ends up a risk taker or a quiet homebody, but there’s evidence that a little risk-taking now and again is good for almost everyone. Effects on the Brain Risk-taking causes real changes in the brain, which might account... Read More

Sleep Patterns Can Protect from and Predict Emotional Vulnerability

May 6th, 2013 . 4 Comments

Sleep has long been known to be closely associated with emotion. Dreams are tied to emotional states, and many theorize that dream content is based on emotional reactions during waking hours and, in particular, negative emotions such as fear, worry, and anxiety. Sleep patterns are also common predictors and symptoms of affective problems, such as depression and posttraumatic stress (... Read More

Decision Motivation Differs in Bipolar and Schizophrenia

May 3rd, 2013 . 4 Comments

Bipolar (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are two mental health conditions that share many symptoms related to psychosis. However, both of these conditions also differ in unique ways. One such way that BD and SZ differ is in the neurological processing of incentive discrimination. Using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a test used to identify various decision making processes in people with a spectrum of mental health issues including ... Read More

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The Good Therapy Blog

Smoking during Pregnancy and Child’s Psychotropic Medication Use Not Linked

Mental Health Stigma in South Asian Communities

Five Things That Help When I’m Depressed

Can Social Network Activity Reveal Risk for Suicidal Ideation?

Does Cognitive Ability Suffer When We Stifle Our Emotions?

Would You Want to Know Your Risk of Developing Mental Health Issues?

Evidence Lacking to Warrant Depression Screening in Cardiac Clients

Alexithymia Increases Risk of Heart Disease in Individuals with HIV

Heart Rate Indicates Self-Awareness and Self-Objectification in Women

Displacement Behaviors Can Lower Stress in Men

Can a Stress Questionnaire Identify People at Risk for Depression?

The Psychology of Risk-Taking

Sleep Patterns Can Protect from and Predict Emotional Vulnerability

Decision Motivation Differs in Bipolar and Schizophrenia

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