Animal Therapy Provides Support for Traumatized Youth ..read more

Debates about the meaning of life and the nature of art are not conversation topics we would typically expect of children. But research at the ..read more

Treating an eating disorder can become tricky when combined with other co-occurring conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and/or substance abuse. Anorexia nervosa being one of ..read more

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the 2nd leading cause of death among youth in Canada ages 15-34 years. But what about those who survive a suicide attempt? Over 90 percent of suicide attempts do not result in death, and these survivors face a unique and complicated set of challenges. I spoke to LivingWorks suicide awareness trainer Colleen Taffe to learn more about life after a suicide attempt. Taffe tells us that the majority of people who survive suicide experience regret regarding their attempt, either instantly or after a period of reflection. National Ca ..read more

This post was co-authored by Robert T. Muller, Ph.D., and Daniel Sanchez Morales. Source: Thought Catalog / Unsplash Social media and dating apps have revolutionized the way we establish relationships with others, offering accessibility and flexibility that have shifted our ideas about maintaining connections. Unlike other relationships, online dating provides a platform to connect to people outside of direct personal networks, reducing a sense of social responsibility and making it easier to end communication with someone. Leah LeFebvre, an associate professor at the University of Alabama, p ..read more

When I was a child, my grandfather’s tattoos were associated with his time in the military. Now, not a day goes by without seeing someone with body art. A study at the University of Saskatchewan, in Canada, explored how a visible tattoo and what kind of tattoo affected prospective clients when evaluating a potential psychologist. While participants generally rated the psychologist without a tattoo as more professional, this did not affect client willingness to obtain services from one with a tattoo. In fact, the psychologist with the most provocative tattoo was perceived as most competent whe ..read more

Source: Alex Ivashenko/Unsplash Co-authored by Jenna Zorik and Robert T. Muller, Ph.D. “Stadiums fill up with people to see what’s going to happen between the lines. But life isn’t only about visible realities. There are invisible and unseen nuances… things that shape us into who we are.” – Orel Hershiser, former major league baseball player. Invisible disabilities span a wide variety of symptoms and conditions, including chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders, brain injuries, mental illnesses, and more. The disability, and the suffering that goes with it, may easily go unnoticed. And so, d ..read more

Ian Dooley/Unsplash, Creative Commons This article was co-authored by Samantha Mason and Dr. Robert T. Muller, Ph.D. Multiple large-scale studies have aimed to measure the impact of caffeine on productivity, attention, speed, and accuracy. A study from 2015 showed that caffeine is effective in offsetting impairments in cognitive functioning when participants experience a reduction in sleep quality. This suggests that caffeine intake can sustain workplace productivity. However, the same study showed that vigilance and speed of decision-making were reduced. Other studies have shown the opposite ..read more

Tim Gouw/Unsplash, Creative Commons Co-authored by Daniel Sanchez Morales and Robert T. Muller, Ph.D. International students are currently facing a mental health crisis, with elevated suicide rates and a lack of resources to support their needs. Limitations, such as language barriers, an unfamiliar mental health system, and misinformation, make it more difficult for international students to seek help. Gigi (name changed for anonymity), an international student from Japan studying at the University of Toronto, said that she started suffering from multiple panic attacks during her second year ..read more

Source: Cottonbro/Pexels This post was co-authored by Fatmah Jahim and Robert T. Muller, Ph.D. Brainspotting (BSP) is the name of a new approach for the treatment of trauma that was developed by psychotherapist David Grand. He proposed it as a new short-term treatment.1 Although the approach is relatively novel, some enthusiasts have praised it as a “doorway into stored trauma from the past.” Neurologist Robert Scaer describes BSP as a way to return the parasympathetic nervous system to homeostasis.2 In a BSP session, a therapist holds a pointer and guides the client’s eyes across a field of v ..read more