University of Iowa researchers have shown for the first time that an anti-depressant and a form of talk therapy each can prevent or delay the onset of depression in people who have had acute stroke.
The findings will appear in the May 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Previous studies on this type of prevention had not shown positive results; however, this new study, in contrast, was larger and double-blinded. The research was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health. [continue reading…]
It’s a new frontier for psychiatric illness: Brain pacemakers that promise to act as antidepressants by changing how patients’ nerve circuitry fires. Associated Press, Washington, May 26th 2008 <
 In todays New York Times, Benedict Carey reflects on Mindfulness Meditation, which has become perhaps the most popular new psychotherapy technique of the past decade. The article looks at this technique and questions wether “this psychological tool is just another fad”
At workshops and conferences across the country, students, counselors and psychologists in private practice throng lectures on mindfulness. The National Institutes of Health is financing more than 50 studies testing mindfulness techniques, up from 3 in 2000, to help relieve stress, soothe addictive cravings, improve attention, lift despair and reduce hot flashes.
Some proponents say Buddha’s arrival in psychotherapy signals a broader opening in the culture at large — a way to access deeper healing, a hidden path revealed.
Yet so far, the evidence that mindfulness meditation helps relieve psychiatric symptoms is thin, and in some cases, it may make people worse, some studies suggest. Many researchers now worry that the enthusiasm for Buddhist practice will run so far ahead of the science that this promising psychological tool could turn into another fad.
Link to read article:
New York Times
Lotus Therapy
Benedict Carey
27, May 2008
Source: New Tork Times
