What do Barack Obama and Sarah Palin have to do with your mental health?
Posted by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Sep 5th 2008
"In the United States right now, the political scene is really starting to heat up. The Democrats and Republicans have come out swinging drawing in millions of viewers to their conventions. For many of us, we can't deny it, it's downright exciting. Overexposure to the political landscape and pundits can cause serious stress, we need to be aware. If this is occurring here are a few tips to help you maintain balance for the sake of your own stress and your relationships to others: " More...

Free Public Forums on Mental Illness Occurring Across the Country
Posted by Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D. on Sep 5th 2008
"On Sunday September 14, 48 free public forums will take place around the United States and Canada in an event called Healthy Minds Across America. At each forum, three or more of the most prominent mental health researchers with talk about the state of mental health research and the breakthroughs that have occurred over the last 20 years. " More...

Are artificial intelligence and robots the future of mental health?
Posted by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Sep 3rd 2008
"Pet therapy has been gaining increasing attention in recent times to work with children on the autistic spectrum, emotionally disconnected adolescents and adults, and the elderly dealing with end of life issues. So what about those who are unable to responsibly care for a pet? These can be children on the autistic spectrum and the elderly. Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology thinks they have found the answer. " More...

An Interview with Ronald Dworkin, MD, Ph.D. on Artificial Happiness (using antidepressants to mask ordinary unhappiness)
Posted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. on Sep 2nd 2008
"In Dr. Dworkin's view, ordinary unhappiness is an important and helpful feedback mechanism serving to cause people to pay attention to problems they are experiencing in their environment or relationships which are not working. The use of antidepressant medication to provide relief from the discomfort of unhappiness (or any other intervention which serves to reduce pain or distract people from non-illness forms of emotional pain) is not in the best long term interests of the patient, as it inhibits the patient from taking corrective actions to actually fix the problems they are experiencing. " More...

How stressed out are you? 2 brain nuggets to help you break free today
Posted by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Sep 1st 2008
"Somewhere along the path our lives so many of us become disconnected with ourselves. We’ve become a culture that is constantly looking outside of ourselves to connect. We stay distracted and disconnected thinking that if we can just get that next gadget, that new piece of clothing, that better car…then we’ll be happy and at peace. Well, thousands of years of wisdom and more recent science and research are saying, "that's just not the case". Artistotle said "No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world."" More...