After exposure to terrifying or catastrophic events, most people, about 70-80%, eventually recover and resume a normal life with little or no professional intervention. A large number of people, about 20-30%, experience prolonged psychological distress that may interfere with their … Continue reading →
Grief, bereavement, or loss is the price we pay for love and attachment. Sadness or heartbreak is a natural response to losing someone or something precious. When despair is intense, prolonged, unrelenting, and causes trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and … Continue reading →
Do you feel sad much of the time? Does it seem as if nothing feels good, as if you don’t care about anything? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, chances are you have depression. Severe depression or Major … Continue reading →
The rate of new-onset psychosis peaks during young adulthood. This is the time when most people are going to school or just starting to work. Psychosis can negatively affect a person’s intellectual, social, and personal growth for the rest of … Continue reading →
I froze like “a deer caught in the headlights.” My clinical supervisor repeated the question: “What would be a contraindication for this medication?” A reasonable question from a clinical supervisor for a senior medical student! Only ten minutes earlier, I … Continue reading →
I am a nervous wreck! I am to conduct my very first series of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) sessions as a resident physician training in psychiatry. I have read Dr. Beck’s “Cognitive Behaviour Therapy” and Dr. Padesky’s “Mind over Mood.” … Continue reading →
What do we already know? After decades of research and collective practice, mental health care clinicians generally regard cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as the treatment of choice for mild to moderate depression and anxiety in people of all ages. Face-to-face … Continue reading →
Foreword by the Editor of the Psychotherapy Matters Blog: Giorgio Tasca, Ph.D., C. Psych. is a compassionate believer in evidence-based and accessible psychotherapeutic care for all who need it. He is the Research Director of the Centre for Eating Disorders … Continue reading →
A group of researchers lead by Dr. Colin Espie at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, asked a daring question: Can CBT for chronic insomnia be delivered by an automated, media-rich web application? Such a web application would have the advantage … Continue reading →
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) aims to change thought patterns, for example reducing unrealistic expectations and changing overvalued ideas about sleep. Sleep-related cognitive distortions are replaced with positive attitudes and sleep-conducive behaviour. Consistent, good-quality patient-oriented evidence (Grade A) indicates that CBT … Continue reading →