2021

The rapid advancement in technology has opened up exciting opportunities for psychological treatments. The combination of virtual technologies and evidenced-based psychotherapies can achieve excellent results, as evidenced by the increasingly widespread use of virtual reality-based exposure therapy. As virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technology further mature, more complex …

       Perfectionism has been linked to anxiety, depression and eating disorders.  It has been argued to be a ‘transdiagnostic process’, meaning it cuts across diagnostic boundaries and may put a person at risk of various mental health problems and also keep the problems going.  Treatment of perfectionism is a specific …

Research about negative metacognitions (cognitions about worrisome thoughts e.g. ‘I cannot control my worrying’ or ‘worrying is dangerous‘) has garnered much interest the last decade. Metacognitive therapy (MCT), the treatment that flows from this model, put a central focus on changing these negative beliefs.  In this study, we wanted to …

Despite being a popular target for research in psychology, perfectionism has been difficult to define. However, researchers generally agree that self-imposed perfectionism involves setting yourself overly high, and often unrealistic, standards for what you want to achieve, along with making huge efforts to reach these standards, being self-critical when you …

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for many mental health disorders, but not everyone benefits from therapy. While some studies have shown over 80% respond to treatment, others have observed rates as low as 38%. Why does CBT work for some, but not others? People who try therapy …

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light how much we rely on our routines and the downstream consequences when our habits are forced to change. Good, regular sleep relies on good sleep hygiene including waking up at the same time every day, having access to sunlight during the day, and …

Around the world, people are experiencing increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and various other negative mental health consequences as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These mental health consequences have stemmed from several sources, including uncertainty regarding the nature of the threat of COVID-19 and associated best safety …

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (late April 2020 to late May 2020), we conducted an online survey study evaluating a range of clinical and health behaviors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of our survey, media articles and public health agencies were reporting …

First responders, including firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and law enforcement officers, are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, first responders have been understudied as compared to healthcare workers with regard to mental health during the COVID-19 crisis. This study represents, to the best of our …

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly had global physical, social, economic, and psychological impact worldwide. Across the world, there are approximately 95 million cases of COVID-19 with over 2 million people who have died as a result (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html). In the United States, approximately 400,000 people have died with over 2 million …