All posts tagged: therapies

Eye Movement Therapies, Purple Hats, and the Sagan Standard

Eye Movement Therapies, Purple Hats, and the Sagan Standard

Published by skeptic

Editor’s note: Gerald Rosen and Gerald Davison coined the term purple hat therapy as a metaphor for treatment packages such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) that combine essential elements (cognitive and behavioral techniques) and nonessential elements (eye movements). Wikipedia now has a page dedicated to this concept. In the 1980s, several novel psychotherapeutic techniques were proposed for the rapid cure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At the forefront of these “power therapies” was Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a method developed by Francine Shapiro (1948–2019) and still commonly used today. Shapiro reported a 100 percent success rate treating trauma memories with multi-saccadic eye movements, and she assured clinicians who read her report that they could use eye movements to “achieve complete desensitization of 75–80% of any individually treated trauma-related memory in a single 50-minute session” (Shapiro 1989, 221). Shapiro then offered workshops that introduced her treatment to thousands of clinicians. Over time, EMDR came to enjoy the sun of scientific endorsement. We offer a less than sanguine view of EMDR, believing that …

Combining Individual and Couple/Family Therapies

Combining Individual and Couple/Family Therapies

Published by skeptic

My undergraduate education as a psychology major at UCLA in the 1960s was pretty standard for that time, with an emphasis on normal child and adult development, brain processes, psychopathology, assessment methods, and other aspects of individual functioning. To a significant degree, those foci were similar in the clinical psychology graduate program I completed at UCLA, with an emphasis on individuals’ diagnosable psychological disorders. However, in a case of being in the right place at the right time, that traditional psychology training was enhanced by the faculty’s pioneering work on family therapy. My first case as a therapist trainee (teamed with an advanced student co-therapist) was a family consisting of a mom, dad, 8-year-old son, and 5-year-old daughter. They had sought help for the son’s “misbehavior” at home and in school, and he clearly was on the hot seat in our first session. As the junior therapist, I sat quietly and observed my co-therapist interacting with the family. While the parents described their son’s transgressions (especially being aggressive toward his little sister), I noticed that …

Alternative Therapies for Menstrual Pain

Alternative Therapies for Menstrual Pain

Published by Sam

Editor’s note: This article is a slightly revised excerpt from Dr. Jen Gunter’s new book, Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation. While this excerpt focuses on alternative therapies, the rest of the book highlights evidence-based information. Thank you to Dr. Gunter and Citadel Press for granting permission. Pain, as defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain, is an “unpleasant sensory and emotional experience” and “a personal experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological, and social factors.” It’s the only sense that includes an emotional component. That doesn’t mean it’s in your head; rather, this definition encompasses the mind-body connection. As such, pain is not just the electrical signal the brain receives and interprets; many other factors, such as anxiety, depression, adverse childhood experiences, other pain conditions, sleep, stress, belief systems, and cultural factors, can all modify the pain experience in complex ways. Because of these complexities (and inadequate funding for studies), medicine doesn’t always have answers, or the answers have side effects. Sometimes a well-studied therapy doesn’t …

How psychedelic-assisted therapies can be more effective

How psychedelic-assisted therapies can be more effective

Published by skeptic

In just a few short years, psychedelic-assisted therapy involving controlled substances like ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin (the psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms”) have evolved from relative obscurity to the far edges of mainstream medical acceptance. Clinical studies have shown that their medical use can have positive effects for patients living with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes, these treatments prove effective where other, more widely-prescribed medications fall short. But new research suggests close bonds with a trained therapist is a key element contributing to effective psychedelic-assisted treatment, specifically psilocybin. [Related: 4 visionaries on the history and future of psychedelic medicine ] A surge in interest in therapeutic use of psychedelics has fostered a burgeoning industry of startups specializing in treatments. As of today, according to the psychedelics industry tracker Psilocybin Alpha, more than 50 publicly traded companies currently offer psychedelic therapy (mostly ketamine) and psychedelic retreats. Yet, the exact ways these companies administer psychedelics can vary widely. While some require patients to consume or inject the substance in the presence of a trained clinician, …

Open Strategic Autonomy for plasma therapies in the EU – POLITICO

Open Strategic Autonomy for plasma therapies in the EU – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

There is broad political consensus that a prosperous and stable Europe depends on the EU’s attainment of open strategic autonomy and improved competitiveness. This consensus has only deepened with recent geopolitical instability and the EU’s determination to be better prepared for future health threats. Achieving these goals relies on the existence of resilient and diversified supply chains, along with a robust and well-performing industrial base. Accordingly, EU institutions, governments and businesses are working to better understand potential vulnerabilities and opportunities in key value chains, and to shape policies to ensure an industrial ecosystem that can deliver on this aspiration. Biotechnology is a core focus, given the crucial role this sector plays in ensuring citizens’ access to critical medicines and technologies. In this context, ensuring a resilient supply of plasma and plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) is a major imperative, recognizing that better solutions are needed at the EU and national level to achieve this. The unique nature of PDMPs — with the starting material coming from donated human blood plasma — requires a thoughtful, tailored and …

What Creative Arts Therapies Teach Us About DBT Skills Training

What Creative Arts Therapies Teach Us About DBT Skills Training

Published by skeptic

In the ever-evolving realm of mental health, therapists are always exploring new and innovative methods to enhance traditional treatments. Creative arts therapists have led the way in utilizing art-based interventions to teach DBT skills. Creative arts therapy combines visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing, and other creative processes to support clients in their healing process. Many mental health clinicians have embraced creative arts therapy interventions to improve their clients’ health and wellness. There is a growing body of research that indicates that therapists can utilize creative interventions to help clients learn and generalize DBT skills. In this post, I will provide a brief literature review of therapists who have been doing this integrative work and provide an example of how drama therapy can be utilized to teach the DBT skill of wise mind. Expressive arts therapists use creative strategies to teach skills and concepts from the behavioral therapies. Source: Pexels/Pixabay DBT and Art Therapy Research indicates that integrating art therapy into established psychotherapy forms, such as cognitive-behavioral therapies, can have significant positive effects on client …

Preventative cancer therapies can cause the disease to ‘hibernate’ and return later, research suggests | UK News

Preventative cancer therapies can cause the disease to ‘hibernate’ and return later, research suggests | UK News

Published by skeptic

Preventative treatment designed to stop the recurrence of breast cancer can actually cause the cancer cells to mutate and ‘hibernate’, only to grow again years later, according to new findings. Researchers who set out to explain why breast cancer can return years after initial treatment have found that hormone therapies used to prevent breast cancer from recurring, can trigger changes in some cells. These changes cause the cells to lie dormant instead of dying off, and the cells “wake up” years later, causing a relapse that is harder to treat. But the study has found there may be a way to target these “sleeping” breast cancer cells before they wake up, offering new hope for patients with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer – which makes up 80% of all breast cancers. Luca Magnani, professor of epigenetic plasticity at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “After surgery to remove primary oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer, patients are given five to 10 years of hormone therapy which aims to kill any remaining cancer cells. “We …

Talking therapies could help women through menopause, study finds | Menopause

Talking therapies could help women through menopause, study finds | Menopause

Published by skeptic

Talking therapies could help women going through the menopause, improving their quality of life and reducing symptoms such as depression and anxiety, research has suggested. The menopause marks the end of menstruation for women and it involves a transition that can last for several years. This is often accompanied by a host of symptoms due to hormonal changes, including hot flushes, night sweats, memory problems and psychological difficulties including depression and anxiety. Now researchers say talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) could help. Prof Aimee Spector, an author of the study from University College London (UCL), said there is a clear link between the physical and psychological symptoms of the menopause, giving hot flushes as one example. “When people have hot flushes they tend to get very anxious about having them, and that anxiety can often cause people to have more hot flushes,” she said. Spector said therapies such as CBT could help women counter the negative thoughts they may have over such symptoms, such as fears over what …

Stem cells grown in labs for experimental therapies pose a cancer risk

Stem cells grown in labs for experimental therapies pose a cancer risk

Published by skeptic

Stem cells can be obtained from unneeded embryos made during in vitro fertilisation nobeastsofierce Science / Alamy A kind of stem cell transplant that has long been seen as one of the most promising new kinds of medical treatments could bring a greater risk of cancer than we previously thought. A study has found that more than a fifth of stem cells being grown in laboratories for regenerative medicine research harbour cancer-causing mutations. The cells tested haven’t been put into people, but were being used in research to explore their medical use. The findings show… Source link