Reference Terms
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Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a range of techniques which use only dialogue and communication and which are designed to improve the mental health of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (such as in a family). Most forms of psychotherapy use only spoken conversation, though some also use various other forms of communication such as the written word, art work or touch. Commonly psychotherapy involves a therapist and client(s) - and in family therapy several family members or even other members from their social network - who discuss their issues in an effort to discover underlying problems and to find constructive solutions.
Therapy may address specific forms of diagnosable mental illness, or everyday problems in relationships or meeting personal goals. Treatment of everyday problems is more often referred to as counseling but the term is sometimes used interchangeably with "psychotherapy".
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September 28, 2026
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Sep. 25, 2026 A major analysis suggests Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a genetic disorder closely linked to autism, may affect about 1 in 7,300 people and more than 45,000 Americans. Researchers warn that thousands of ...
Sep. 23, 2026 A large study tracking more than 95,000 people suggests that how you sleep may be linked to your risk of developing dozens of diseases. People who spent more time in REM sleep had lower risks of 83 conditions, including dementia, heart failure, and ...
Sep. 23, 2026 A major Swedish study of 3.7 million people has found that rare TORCH infections passed from a pregnant woman to the fetus are linked to much higher risks of autism and intellectual disability later in life. Children with a congenital TORCH ...
Sep. 22, 2026 Caffeine may make sleep less restorative even when you fall asleep normally and stay in bed for eight hours, with EEG recordings revealing fewer of the slow brain waves associated with deep sleep. Individual sensitivity varies dramatically, meaning ...
Sep. 21, 2026 Researchers have found evidence that long COVID may damage dopamine releasing neurons in the brain, potentially explaining persistent fatigue, low motivation, slowed movement, and memory difficulties. The discovery could lead to new treatments that ...
Sep. 21, 2026 Stem cell transplants helped regenerate stroke-damaged brain tissue in mice, producing new neurons and restoring lost motor function. The treatment also improved blood vessels, inflammation, and the blood-brain barrier, raising hopes that a similar ...
Sep. 21, 2026 A new needle-thin brain implant can record neural activity, deliver drugs, and stimulate multiple brain regions using a single flexible fiber. Successful tests in mice suggest it could give ...
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Sep. 26, 2026 Scientists discovered a surprising energy paradox in the brain during REM sleep, the stage most closely associated with dreaming. Blood supply to the ...
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Sep. 21, 2026 Scientists have found that the human brain develops from two distinct cellular systems, suggesting that evolution fused together two ancient nervous ...
Sep. 19, 2026 Complex systems may work better when their parts are not perfectly alike. Northwestern physicists found that carefully balanced variation, or “disorder,” can make networks such as power grids, ...
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Sep. 17, 2026 Scientists discovered that brain-cell axons may not be smooth tubes as textbooks have shown for more than a century, but instead naturally resemble strings of tiny pearls. Those pearl-like structures ...
Sep. 16, 2026 Scientists discovered a hidden “immune organ” inside the skull that acts as a rapid first responder against brain cancer in mice. Strengthening this local immune defense improved tumor rejection ...
Sep. 16, 2026 Scientists reconstructed videos from the brain activity of mice, producing 10-second clips based only on signals from neurons in the visual cortex. The breakthrough could help reveal how the brain ...
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Sep. 15, 2026 Scientists have uncovered sweeping changes in how the human brain controls and organizes its genome beginning in midlife, offering new clues to why aging sharply increases the risk of Alzheimer’s ...