Depression Research
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Posted: February 11, 2022
Listen Up, HR Program Managers and Mental Health Innovators!
Behold Boatloads of Compelling Guided Imagery Research on Improving Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life!
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Posted: March 24, 2016Tags: weight loss & fitness
Researchers from Colorado State University and the National Institutes of Health examined the relationship between dispositional mindfulness to binge eating and associated eating attitudes and behaviors among adolescent girls at risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D).
One hundred fourteen overweight or obese girls with a family history of T2D and mild depressive symptoms were enrolled in the study.
The researchers collected adolescent self-reports of mindfulness, eating in the absence of hunger, and depressive symptoms. They also interviewed them to determine presence of binge eating episodes, and used a behavioral task to assess the reinforcing value of food vs. other non-snack food rewards. They also assessed body composition through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
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Swedish researchers from Linkoping University and Stockholm University looked at whether a blended treatment, with four face-to-face sessions and a smartphone application, could deliver comparable results to a full, 10-session course of behavioral treatment for people suffering from major depression.
The randomized, controlled non-inferiority trial compared a blended treatment (n=46) to a full ten-session treatment (n=47) with people suffering from major depression. The primary outcome measure was the BDI-II, administered at pre- and post-treatment, as well as six months post-treatment.
Results showed significant improvements in both groups across time on the primary outcome measure At the same time, the blended treatment reduced the therapist's time by an average of 47%.
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Posted: February 25, 2016
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
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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Researchers from the University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, Dalhousie University and the University of Calgary studied the efficacy of light treatment, as a sole therapy and in combination with fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac), compared with a sham-placebo condition in adults with non-seasonal major depressive disorder (MDD).
They implemented a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and sham-controlled, 8-week trial with 122 adults (aged 19-60 years) with MDD of at least moderate severity, in outpatient psychiatry clinics in academic medical centers across Canada.
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Posted: November 12, 2015Categories: Depression Research, Anxiety, Panic, Phobias Research, Stress Relief Research, Hot ResearchTags: stress relief
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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In this pre-test/ post-test pilot study, researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College in London, UK, compared the short term impact of a brief mindfulness training (n=19) to guided imagery relaxation (n=18) with patients suffering from acute depression.
Participants were introduced to either mindfulness or guided imagery/relaxation in a single session, and practiced daily over one week.
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Posted: October 08, 2015Categories: Depression Research, Anxiety, Panic, Phobias Research, Chemotherapy Research, Hot Research, Medical Procedures ResearchTags: depression
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: August 06, 2015
Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry,Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College in London, UK and Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany, conducted a pilot study to compare the impact of mindfulness meditation vs. guided imagery in improving symptoms and self-regulatory capacities for acutely depressed patients.
Participants were randomized to a brief training in mindfulness (n = 19) or guided imagery relaxation (n = 18) in a single session, and then instructed to practice daily for one week.
The investigators collected self-reported measures of the severity of symptoms, difficulties in emotion-regulation, capability for attentional control, ability to open up thinking beyond a narrow focus (de-center), and mindfulness capacity. Data was collected pre- and post-intervention, and at a one-week follow-up.