A New Treatment for Adolescent Depression: FDA Approves Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
The FDA got it right when they approved TMS therapy for adolescent depression (kids aged 15 and older). TMS is one of the most effective treatments for resistant depression. The decision to approve this treatment for kids is an absolute game-changer and will save many young lives. This article describes the dramatic impact of the FDA’s approval and covers research that shows TMS for kids to be safe, well-tolerated, and effective.
Sleep as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder
If you have bipolar disorder, getting the right amount of sleep at the right time of day is absolutely critical in achieving and maintaining mood stability. Good sleep at night clearly exerts mood-stabilizing benefits. This article addresses several strategies for improving mood stability in bipolar disorder and discusses the tradeoffs faced in regulating your activities and schedule.
Controlling Your Emotions in Parenting: Helping Yourself First
While children can be quite wonderful, our kids can also pull emotional responses out of us that leave us feeling exhausted and frustrated. This article covers the importance of taking care of your emotional health as a means of enjoying parenting more and increasing your effectiveness as a parent.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Adolescent Depression
Even though depression rates for youth are rising, the FDA has only approved a few treatments for adolescent depression and has not yet approved TMS for adolescent depression. This article describes TMS for adolescents and covers research that shows TMS for kids to be safe, feasible, and likely effective.
Change Depressive Habits when the Wind Is at Your Back
While some people can change their habits through sheer willpower, many people need a source of motivation or energy to make meaningful change. This is especially true for people who experience depression. This article discusses depressive habits and strategies for changing them so that treatment for depression can be more effective and durable.
Action Needed from the FDA: Approval to Treat Adolescent Depression with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy, one of the most effective treatments for major depression, has been FDA approved for adults for 14 years. The FDA has not yet approved TMS for adolescent depression even though they approved a TMS device for migraine headaches in children. This article reviews research that shows TMS for adolescent depression to be safe, feasible, and effective.
A New Kind of TMS for Depression: SAINT Becomes Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT)
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy is one of the newest and most effective treatments for major depression, especially treatment-resistant depression. This article reviews recent research that supports Stanford’s revolutionary approach, which may improve the effectiveness and accessibility of TMS for depression.
Behavioral Shaping: Getting More Positive Behavior from Your Kids with the First Rule of Parenting
Many parents find that trying to convince their kids to have more positive behaviors is either ineffective or backfires. This article addresses the strategy of behavioral shaping for parents to enhance positive behaviors and reduce conflicts when their kids are off-task. This basic parenting strategy, colloquially known as Grandma’s Rule, when consistently applied, can help life at home go more smoothly.
Helping Depressed Friends and Family
Helping someone you care about who is depressed can be a challenge, but your informed persistence can make all the difference. This article addresses ways of supporting the people you care about in their fight against depression.
A Stepwise Approach to Medications for Depression
Many people are not told what to expect when prescribed an antidepressant medication. Basic information, such as the dosing range, the goal of treatment, how side effects can be overcome and how long to stay on the medication, is frequently left out of a clinical encounter. This article outlines a methodical approach to antidepressant treatment for depression.
Helping Teach Your Child Social Skills
Some parents are at a loss if their child struggles with social skills because it seems like such a basic, naturally-acquired ability. However, many kids struggle with lagging social skills and this can result in fewer friendships, trouble learning at school or aggression. This article addresses creative strategies for helping your child.
How Record Keeping Can Help Treatment-Resistant Depression
Many people with longstanding depression believe that they have tried every treatment out there. A detailed review of their history often reveals that they are mistaken and that there are several strategies that they have never tried. This article addresses what information is needed to make a well-informed decision about what treatment to try next and how a history of past treatments combined with a strategic, methodical approach can open up options to newer and potentially more effective treatments.
What to Do When You Know Why You Are Depressed
Some people have severe depression despite having a relatively good life. Others know exactly why they are depressed and can identify the specific cause or situation that is worsening their mood. This article focuses on depressive symptoms caused by maladaptive patterns and life toxicities and what to do about them.
How to Help Your Child Learn from Their Mistake
Sometimes kids make a big mistake. How you deal with it can have a positive or negative impact on your relationship with them and determine their likelihood of repeating the mistake and what lesson they learn from it. This article addresses a strategy for handling your child’s mistake and helping them learn from it.
Light Therapy for Depression: Are You Doing It Right?
Light therapy works not just for seasonal affective disorder but also is used to treat major depression and bipolar depression. It is important to follow the right steps in light therapy to determine if it works for you.
How Does Yoga Help Depression?
There is growing evidence showing that yoga is beneficial for depression. Researchers are looking at biological mechanisms, but are there other factors involved? Yoga practices vary, which makes determining the mechanism of its benefit difficult. However, observing yoga from a holistic perspective, rather than only from a neurobiological standpoint, may lead to insights into how yoga helps depression.
Stanford’s SAINT Study: a TMS Breakthrough for Depression?
It has been definitively proven that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an effective treatment for treatment-resistant depression. The researchers in the Stanford SAINT study achieved better results in a shorter time, getting 90.5% of severely depressed patients to full freedom from depression.
The Surprising Results of Exercise for Depression
Regular exercise is a strategy that not only helps major depression but also helps prevent mental illness. There is an abundance of research on the positive effects of exercise on mental and physical health and the results for depression are amazing. This article explains the effects of exercise on depression and how to make it work for you.