Anxiety, Panic, Phobias Research
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Posted: March 17, 2016
Read more »In this RCT (randomized, controlled trial) researchers from the Mayo Clinic evaluated the effect of post-operative massage in patients who had undergone abdominal colorectal surgery, and found that it had a consistent, statistically significant, positive effect.
One hundred twenty-seven patients were randomized to receive either a 20-min massage (n = 61) or a social visit and relaxation session with no massage; n = 66) on the second and third day after surgery.
Vital signs and psychological well-being (pain, tension, anxiety, satisfaction with care, relaxation) were assessed before and after each intervention.
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Posted: February 25, 2016
Read more »Researchers from Leuphana University and Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany; VU University and University of Utrecht in the Netherlands; and the Black Dog Institute in Sydney, Australia, conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate whether Computer- and Internet-based cognitive behavioral treatments (cCBT) are effective as a treatment alternative for regular, face-to-face treatment for the symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents and young adults.
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Posted: February 18, 2016Tags: depression
Read more »Researchers from the National University of Singapore conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine the effects of relaxation interventions on anxiety and depression among older adults.
Their comprehensive literature search identified 15 published and non-published studies - 12 RCT's (randomized controlled trials) and three non-randomized controlled trials - undertaken between 1994-2014. Three reviewers selected studies, extracted data, and appraised the methodological quality.
The findings suggested that in most studies, older adults who received relaxation interventions experienced greater reductions in depression and anxiety than controls.
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Posted: November 12, 2015Categories: Depression Research, Anxiety, Panic, Phobias Research, Stress Relief Research, Hot ResearchTags: stress relief
Read more »Researchers from Walden University in Minneapolis conducted a randomized, controlled study to assess the impact of a yoga intervention on the psychological health of older adults.
Subjects were 98 older adults, ages 65 to 92, randomly assigned to 6 weeks of either chair yoga, chair exercise or a control group condition. They were assessed pre-and post-intervention, and at one month follow-up on their anger, anxiety, depression, morale and self-efficacy.
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Posted: October 29, 2015
Read more »Researchers from Harvard and McGill Universities performed a systematic review of studies investigating the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on stress and anxiety in healthy, nonclinical adults.
A total of 29 studies (n=2668) were included. Effect-size estimates suggested that MBSR is moderately effective in pre-post analyses (n=26; Hedge's g=.55; 95% CI [.44, .66], p<.00001) and in between-group analyses (n=18; Hedge's g=.53; 95% CI [.41, .64], p<.00001).
Outcomes were maintained at an average of 19 weeks of follow-up and the results suggest large effects on stress, moderate effects on anxiety, depression, distress, and quality of life, and small effects on burnout.
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Posted: October 15, 2015
Read more »Researchers from Saint Clare Health Systems in Dover, New Jersey investigated the effectiveness of the "M" Technique of structured touch (M), compared with guided imagery and usual care, for the reduction of pain and anxiety in patients undergoing elective total knee or hip replacement surgery.
"M" is a registered method of structured touch using a set sequence and number of strokes, and a consistent level of pressure on hands and feet,
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Posted: October 08, 2015Categories: Depression Research, Anxiety, Panic, Phobias Research, Chemotherapy Research, Hot Research, Medical Procedures ResearchTags: depression
Read more »Researchers from Cyprus University of Technology and the University of Athens conducted a randomized, controlled study, testing the effectiveness of guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation as stress reducing interventions in 236 patients with prostate and breast cancer who were being treated with chemotherapy.
Subjects were randomly assigned to either the control group or the intervention group (PMR and GI), and were observed for a total duration of 3 weeks. In total, 104 were randomized to the control group and 104 to the intervention group.
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Posted: June 11, 2015
Read more »Researchers from Örebro University's School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, in Örebro, Sweden, investigated whether the promising results gained by internet-based cognitive behavior therapy with college students suffering from social anxiety and public speaking fears, could also be achieved with high school students.
In this randomized pilot with a pre-test/post-test design, 19 speech-anxious high school students with social anxiety disorder were randomized to either 9 weeks of Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy or to a wait-list control group.
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Posted: May 21, 2015
Read more »Aussies love web and phone based interventions for health education and mental health, and are pre-eminent researchers and evaluators of digital services – probably because flesh and blood providers can be hard to come by in the vast, non-urban areas of this very big country that's also a continent.
This Australian study examines whether mental health self-efficacy (MHSE), a construct from Bandura's Social Learning Theory (SLT), influences the positive results of web-based interventions on such conditions as depression and anxiety.
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Posted: March 26, 2015
Read more »Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine performed a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of computerized CBT (cCBT) for anxiety disorders and the durability of treatment gains during follow-up.
They included randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of cCBT for non-OCD and non-PTSD anxiety disorders, resulting in 40 trials involving 2,648 participants.
Computerized CBT was compared to wait-list, in-person CBT, and Internet control. They also examined moderators of cCBT treatment gains over follow-up.
