Digital mental health intervention by the World Health Organization (WHO) found to lower anxiety and depression, with improvements maintained at 3‑month follow-up

By SharpBrains | July 5, 2022

WHO dig­i­tal men­tal health inter­ven­tion effec­tive in reduc­ing depres­sion among Syr­i­an refugees in Lebanon (press release): A new dig­i­tal men­tal health inter­ven­tion, Step-by-Step, devel­oped by the World Health Orga­ni­za­tion (WHO) with the Nation­al Men­tal Health Pro­gramme (NMHP) at the Min­istry of Pub­lic Health Lebanon and oth­er part­ners, was effec­tive in reduc­ing depres­sion among Syr­i­an refugees…

Read More

From forest bathing to urban parks: How nature helps protect our well-being during a pandemic

By Greater Good Science Center | March 3, 2022

Liv­ing through the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has had a severe impact on people’s men­tal health and well-being. Restrict­ed move­ment, loss, and iso­la­tion have led to increas­es in depres­sion, anx­i­ety dis­or­ders, stress, sleep dis­or­ders, and more. The effects have been even harsh­er for teens. How can we help pro­tect our well-being dur­ing this par­tic­u­lar­ly dif­fi­cult time? Though a…

Read More

Update: Why MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may become an FDA-approved treatment for PTSD within 2 years

By SharpBrains | December 30, 2021

Wel­come to a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains’ e‑newsletter, shar­ing impor­tant brain/ men­tal health news plus a few fun opti­cal illu­sions to tease and appre­ci­ate our unique human minds. #1. Why MDMA-assist­ed psy­chother­a­py may become an FDA-approved treat­ment for PTSD with­in 2 years “We are a phar­ma­cist and physi­cian team who inves­ti­gate the ben­e­fits and harms asso­ci­at­ed with…

Read More

Ten insights on human well-being and potential from two giants we sadly lost in 2021: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Ed Diener

By Greater Good Science Center | December 13, 2021

Many of us suf­fered ter­ri­ble loss­es in 2021. In the field of pos­i­tive psy­chol­o­gy, we lost two of our most influ­en­tial schol­ars: Mihaly Csik­szent­mi­ha­lyi and Ed Diener. In their hon­or, I’d like to remem­ber and appre­ci­ate the con­tri­bu­tions they made to the under­stand­ing of human flourishing.

Read More

To call, or to text, that is the (mental well-being) question

By Greater Good Science Center | November 3, 2020

Like most peo­ple, I’ve been doing a lot of tex­ting with friends and fam­i­ly late­ly. COVID-19 (and the phys­i­cal sep­a­ra­tion it neces­si­tates) has made social­iz­ing in per­son very lim­it­ed, which means I’ve had to work hard­er than ever to keep my rela­tion­ships strong and healthy. But a new study sug­gests that if that’s my aim,…

Read More

Study: A combined teaching + app gratitude program helps adolescents address anxiety and improve mental health

By Greater Good Science Center | October 16, 2020

Stu­dents and edu­ca­tors have start­ed a new school year in the midst of a pan­dem­ic, an eco­nom­ic cri­sis, a reck­on­ing with racial injus­tice, and a divi­sive polit­i­cal cli­mate. Everyone’s men­tal health is at risk, and schools are search­ing for ways to sup­port young people’s well-being in addi­tion to their aca­d­e­m­ic learning.

Read More