The stigma associated with mental illness, especially psychosis, has been around for a long time. In the past, psychiatrists were called alienists, most of them working in asylums for the insane (or “others”) in isolated rural locations. Even the contemporary term psychiatry is mysterious enough, translating to “medical treatment of the soul” (Lieberman and Ogas,…
Key Takeaways AI tools can be helpful, but they can’t replace the emotional depth of a trained human therapist. The question of whether AI can truly provide empathy and human connection is central to understanding its limitations. Therapy is built on shared emotional experiences, which AI lacks. Concerns around whether AI is safe and private…
We’re living in a time when you can ask an algorithm for advice about anything, your marriage, your trauma, your loneliness at 2 a.m., and get an instant response. AI/ChatGPT therapy has become increasingly popular as people seek immediate mental health support. In some ways, that’s extraordinary. It can also be profoundly misleading. While ChatGPT…
Susan Inman In my community across Canada of families of people living with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, BC is considered to have the best Mental Health Act. It ensures that our family members potentially have access to the fastest route to getting out of psychosis if they have relapses, which are not uncommon. People admitted…
This week we’re joined by award-winning scholar, ethnomusicologist, and cultural anthropologist Dr. Kyra Gaunt to explore the powerful intersections of music, play, and identity in the lives of Black girls and women. Dr. Gaunt, author of The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop, offers a brilliant breakdown of how musical play,…
Fran and I find analogies helpful when discussing mental and physical health. This is especially true when one person has little or no experience of what the other is attempting to convey. In this post I want to share a few models and analogies we find useful, and introduce a new one we’ve only recently…
Recently, I’ve started to suspect that I have depression, even though I was able to look after myself, for the most part, although not to a high enough level to avoid my health issues. So I started to explore the idea of having high-functioning depression, and this was where that led me. What…
Bipolar disorder is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease with significant impact on quality of life, functioning and suicide risk (Carvalho et al. 2020; Aghababaie-Babaki et al. 2023). Current treatments involve mood stabilisers, antipsychotics, and antidepressants, combined with psychosocial interventions. However, about one-third of patients relapse within a year (Geddes et al….
A new study published in the Journal of Emotion looked at hope as a meaningful emotion. “We were interested in examining the relation between hope and meaning in life,” study author Megan E. Edwards told us. “We predicted that hope would be a particularly important emotion for fostering meaning in life.” Feeling like life is…
We may receive referral fees from providers listed below. See our full disclaimer. Now, perhaps more than at any other time in recent history, people must change how they connect and access information. Not only are we ordering groceries online, but we’re also accessing medical and mental health care through mobile apps. With their ease of…