Helping others helps teens stay on the road to addiction recovery

November 9th, 2011 in Health

A new study of teens undergoing substance abuse treatment finds helping others helps the adolescent helper by reducing cravings for alcohol and drugs, a major precipitator of relapse. These novel findings stem from the "Helping Others" study (http://helpingotherslivesober.org) led by Maria Pagano, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University S...

Researchers link alcohol-dependence impulsivity to brain anomalies

April 15th, 2011 in Medicine & Health / Research

Researchers already know that alcohol dependence (AD) is strongly associated with impaired impulse control or, more precisely, the inability to choose large, delayed rewards rather than smaller but more immediate rewards. Findings from a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural basis of impulsive choice am...

Individuals who are victimized -- especially in childhood -- likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs

December 17, 2010

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study finds strong associations between victims' experiences -- such as unwanted sexual activity, neglect and physical violence -- and substance use disorders.

Substance use disorders and victimization experiences were more prevalent for gays, lesbians an...

Alcoholics can curb drinking with use of a pill

December 15, 2010 By Katherine Kahn

A little-used medication can help treat alcoholism, an updated review of studies confirms.

At any given time, about 5 percent of the population suffers from an addiction to alcohol, often with devastating consequences to work, family, friends and health. Twelve-step programs have been the mainstay for helping alcoholics to quit drinking, but a significant ...

Mindfulness meditation found to be as effective as antidepressants to prevent depression relapse

December 6, 2010

A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy--using meditation—provides equivalent protection against depressive relapse as traditional antidepressant medication.

The study published in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry compar...

Quitting smoking especially difficult for select groups

February 12th, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

With the national trend toward quitting smoking flat, psychologists are finding some success with treatments aimed at helping smokers from underserved groups, including racial and ethnic minorities and those with psychiatric disorders.

In a special section of this month's issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical...