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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October 6, 2026
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Oct. 1, 2026 People who followed the MIND diet more closely showed slower brain shrinkage and less grey matter loss over time, with the strongest differences equivalent to about 2.5 years of delayed brain aging. Berries and poultry were linked with healthier ...
Oct. 1, 2026 People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic ...
Oct. 1, 2026 The Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE4 may actively damage brain blood vessels and sabotage the cellular systems that remove harmful proteins. Researchers were able to reverse some of these effects in experiments, revealing promising new targets for ...
Sep. 30, 2026 A review of more than 265,000 people found that cannabis use was associated with higher rates of both committing violence and becoming a victim of it. The researchers say the link is significant but does not prove cannabis itself is the ...
Sep. 29, 2026 Creatine helped middle-aged adults gain muscle and strength even without a structured workout program in a new 12-week study. When combined with exercise and a calorie-reduced diet, it produced even greater strength gains while helping participants ...
Sep. 29, 2026 Depression may change which emotional faces children notice most, but the pattern appears to depend on family history. Children at higher familial risk became increasingly focused on sad faces, while lower-risk children with rising symptoms paid ...
Sep. 29, 2026 A massive MRI study found that Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, psychiatric disorders, and addiction are associated with distinct patterns of accelerated brain aging. The strongest effects appeared in Alzheimer’s and mild ...
Sep. 28, 2026 A new study suggests coffee may influence mood and brain function by changing the activity of microbes in the gut. Both caffeinated and decaf coffee were linked to lower stress, depression, and impulsivity, while also producing measurable changes in ...
Latest Headlines
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Oct. 5, 2026 Stimulating the vagus nerve after practice helped mice develop stronger long-term motor learning, revealing a potentially important window when the brain is still locking in a new skill. The effect ...
Sep. 28, 2026 Strengthening the body’s natural daily rhythms helped mice recover after stroke by improving the brain’s waste-clearing system and reducing lingering inflammation. The approach worked even when ...
Sep. 27, 2026 Scientists found that immune cells contributing to Alzheimer’s-related brain damage may be activated in lymph nodes outside the brain before traveling into the nervous system. Blocking this pathway ...
Sep. 27, 2026 A large health-record analysis found that glucosamine use was associated with a 25% higher likelihood of mild cognitive impairment progressing to ...
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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 ...
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 ...
Sep. 24, 2026 The brain may have a built-in way to quickly settle disagreements between regions processing the same scene. Researchers found that matching signals ...
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 ...
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 ...