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Psychotherapy and shame

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He looked right through me…..I was so ashamed!

We need to feel seen, to be recognised. Even the self-sufficient person may carry a fear of not being acknowledged; self-sufficiency can be a way to avoid the pain of being ignored. The narcissist is often reacting to a terrible fear of being rejected.

The pain of not being seen varies according to who is looking right through us. Being ignored by a stranger is different to being cold-shouldered by our partner. However, no matter what the level of intensity, most of us fear being ignored.

What are our reactions when we feel ignored? We feel awkward, we feel embarrassed and blush. To be ignored is a source of shame. Another person’s rudeness may diminish them in our eyes, but for us the main person who is cut down in size is ourselves. Even the possibility of shame can stop us from reaching out to others and can lead to acute social anxiety. Read more Psychotherapy and shame ›

The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy

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A team from the Justus-Liebig University Giessen in Germany has conducted a systematic search for evidence for the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy. They concluded that this form of therapy was effective for a range of common mental disorders including major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, some personality disorders, somatoform pain disorder and anorexia nervosa. They also found some evidence for effectiveness in treating dysthymia, complicated grief, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and substance abuse/dependence. Read more The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy ›

Prenatal depression and infant development

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There is strong evidence that a mother’s depression during pregnancy tends to be associated with later psychological difficulties for her child, including the child’s own depression. Are these later difficulties linked to infant development in utero and so directly related to the prenatal depression? Or are the child’s difficulties more associated with its experiences after birth, perhaps to a continuation of the mother’s depression, postpartum? Recent research suggests some answers to these questions. Read more Prenatal depression and infant development ›

Skunk and psychosis

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Does the regular use of skunk cause psychosis? A study in South London set out to test that link and found a high correlation between daily skunk use and first episode psychosis. However, no correlation was found in this study between psychosis and the daily use of the less powerful form of cannabis, hash.

Previous studies have suggested a link between cannabis use and psychosis. The UK’s 2012 Schizophrenia Commission claimed that cannabis use is the most preventable risk factor for psychosis. This present study is important because it attempts to clarify which type or frequency of cannabis use contributes to this risk factor. Read more Skunk and psychosis ›

Birth complications and autism

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Do birth complications increase the risk of autism? Some previous studies have suggested a link, but more recent research has cast doubts upon this connection. Amongst research findings rejecting this link are those presented in a paper delivered to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) 2015 Annual Pregnancy Meeting.

The cause or causes of autism are not yet fully known, although studies of twins suggest that there is a strong genetic component to the condition. Environmental factors are also thought to play a part and while a variety of factors have been considered, none have been conclusively implicated. However, it is likely that some environmental factors have an effect very early in the child’s life, hence the interest in what happens during birth. Read more Birth complications and autism ›

Talking therapy changes the brain

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Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have identified changes in the metabolic activity of a key brain region in patients successfully treated for depression with psychodynamic psychotherapy – talking therapy.

The study involved 16 patients with major depression who were offered weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy sessions. Each of the participants had unsuccessfully tried treatment for their depression with medication. Nine of the patients completed the course of psychotherapy and ‘almost all’ reported a greater than 50% reduction in their depression. Read more Talking therapy changes the brain ›

An overabundance of synapses and autism

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Some of the symptoms of autism may be due to the brain failing to prune synapses during the early, crucial years of a child’s life. The resulting overabundance of synapses could contribute to some of the symptoms of autism and an understanding of the mechanisms behind this failure to prune may lead to future treatments for the condition.

A study by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center, reported in Neuron, found higher densities of dendritic spines in the brains of children and adolescents diagnosed with autism, compared to those without that diagnosis. Dendritic spines are those parts of the neuron where synapses are found, the connections that carry signals between neurons. According to one estimate, each neuron contains on average around 7,000 synapses. Read more An overabundance of synapses and autism ›