APA Blogs
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Social Media in the Therapy Session
Digital communications – text messages, Facebook, Instagram, other social media – are a big part of most of our everyday lives. In a recent study, researchers are looking at how these electronic communications are being used in therapy sessions. Researchers at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School surveyed clinicians, primarily psychiatrists, psychologists and licensed clinical social workers, providing outpatient psychotherapy at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Advanced Care Planning – It’s Not Just for Your Grandparents
- By Claudia L. Reardon M.D., Danika Johnson
Many people have heard of the term “advanced care planning.” Advanced care planning is the process of making and documenting decisions about the medical care you want to receive if you ever become unable to make medical decisions for yourself. However, it is a common misbelief that advanced care planning is meant only for people who are nearing the end of their life. Medical crises happen every day, leaving people either temporarily or permanently unable to make their own medical decisions. The purpose of advanced care planning is to ensure that that you always have a voice in your own medical care, no matter what happens. Advanced care planning can also include your preferences regarding future mental health treatment.
Thousands of Mental Health Apps Available: Supporting Evidence Not So Plentiful
There are more than 10,000 mental or behavioral health apps publicly available; however, there is little available information on the quality and effectiveness of the apps, “leaving consumers with very little to go on when trying to determine which apps might be helpful and worthwhile.” Several recent studies highlight the need for better information on the effectiveness and quality of mental health apps.
Mental Health Education for Youth: Focus on Mental Wellness
Despite frequent media coverage, public understanding of health and mental health issues is still lacking, according to recent study in the Journal of Mental Health. Overall, they concluded that people are “equally and relatively poorly informed” about relatively common mental and physical health conditions. A new study finds that education efforts for teens that specifically focus on mental health and well-being, rather than mental illness, can help.
Sense of Smell, Memories and Emotions
Many people have had the experience of a familiar smell bringing up a memory or a feeling. That is just one of several ways our sense of smell is associated with mental health and emotions. Memories associated with a specific odor may be particularly strong. In writing about the relation of these odor-evoked memories to our mental health, psychologist Rachel Herz, Ph.D., concludes that “from numerous perspectives it is evident that the autobiographical memories and emotional associations that are triggered by odors are essential to our psychological and physiological health.”