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Category : Patients and Families

Effective Psychotherapists Must Focus on Trustworthiness, Says New Book

While there is broad agreement—among therapists, students, and patients alike—that trust is important in psychotherapy, author Jon Allen, Ph.D., argues in a new book, “Trust in Psychotherapy,” that it deserves a closer look, and we should shift the focus. While therapists are inclined to focus on patients’ problems with trust, Allen suggests that therapists should give equal attention to becoming trustworthy to their patients. Cultivating trusting psychotherapy bonds—especially for patients who have experienced developmental trauma in close relationships—is complex, challenging, and a critically important topic, Allen suggests.

Study Asks: Can a Hit Song Help Prevent Suicides?

In 2017 the song “1-800-273-8255,” by the hip-hop artist Logic, featured the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number and a hopeful story of survival. A new study finds that this song was associated with a noticeable increase in calls to Lifeline and a reduction in suicides.

7 Check-ins For New Year’s Mental Health

We often focus more on treating illnesses, both physical and mental, than on staying healthy. But the absence of mental illness does not necessarily mean good mental health. And we’ve all been dealing with the ups and downs, losses, uncertainties and changes brought on by the pandemic. The start of a new year is a good opportunity for self-assessment with a brief mental health checkup.

How to Write Effective Letters of Medical Necessity

While significant progress has been made in recent years, there are still challenges to obtaining insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Insurance companies may deny claims for a variety of reasons, including that the care is not “medically necessary.” A recent paper in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice takes a practical look at what is needed for an effective letter of medical necessity and how psychiatrists can help to secure appropriate insurance coverage for mental health treatment.

How Historical Trauma Impacts Native Americans Today

November is Native American Heritage Month and one issue impacting many Native American is the historical trauma associated with American Indian boarding schools operated by the U.S. government. As many as 100 American Indian residential schools operated in the U.S. from the mid-1800s until the 1960s. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, noted in a memo earlier this year that the purpose of these boarding schools “was to culturally assimilate Indigenous children by forcibly relocating them from their families and communities to distant residential facilities where their American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian identities, languages, and beliefs were to be forcibly suppressed.”