Many believe in them. Many have one. Lucky charms are objects that have accompanied us through many difficult situations and to which we attribute that we have survived these dangerous situations because they have brought us luck. But can talismans also be used therapeutically? Can they be used as reminders of anxiety situations that have already been successfully overcome? Do they give us the peace of mind we need to overcome new scary situations with ease? Or is carrying lucky charms ultimately even a counterproductive safety behavior that slows down progress?
__________________

Studies (just a small selection):

Culver, N. C., Stoyanova, M., & Craske, M. G. (2011). Clinical relevance of retrieval cues for attenuating context renewal of fear. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25(2), 284-292.

Dibbets, P., Moor, C., & Voncken, M. J. (2013). The effect of a retrieval cue on the return of spider fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44(4), 361-367.

Dibbets, P., Moor, C., & Voncken, M. J. (2013). The effect of a retrieval cue on the return of spider fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44(4), 361-367.

Shin, K. E., & Newman, M. G. (2018). Using retrieval cues to attenuate return of fear in individuals with public speaking anxiety. Behavior therapy, 49(2), 212-224.

ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY is one of the most exciting advances in psychotherapy. According to recent studies, ACT has achieved similar “cure rates” in the treatment of anxiety and depression as the proven Cognitive Behavioral Therapy …

__________________

Studies (only a small selection):

Arch, J. J., Eifert, G. H., Davies, C., Vilardaga, J. C. P., Rose, R. D., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Randomized clinical trial of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) versus acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for mixed anxiety disorders. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 80(5), 750.

Han, A., Yuen, H. K., & Jenkins, J. (2021). Acceptance and commitment therapy for family caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, 26(1), 82-102.

Ong, C. W., Lee, E. B., & Twohig, M. P. (2018). A meta-analysis of dropout rates in acceptance and commitment therapy. Behaviour research and therapy, 104, 14-33.

Fang, S., & Ding, D. (2020). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for children. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 225-234.

Bai, Z., Luo, S., Zhang, L., Wu, S., & Chi, I. (2020). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to reduce depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 260, 728-737.

Is it possible to simulate the medical effect of pills by simply imagining taking one? A fascinating new study published in the journal Nature provides answers and could help to finally harness the placebo effect. However, the idea of an imaginary “hypnosis pill” is decades old and was developed in particular by Steve the Shazer – one of the most famous psychotherapists of all time. In the video, two of his most famous cases are presented.

Background:
Steve de Shazer was a renowned therapist who explored new ways to heal. In his pursuit of alternative treatments, he developed the idea of an imaginary hypnosis pill. He recognized that the placebo effect, in which people experience improvements because of their belief in the effects of a treatment, was a powerful force. Based on this concept, he created the idea of a pill that could relieve headaches and sleep problems, although it was purely imaginary.
Steve de Shazer began by educating his patients about the imaginary hypnosis pill and gaining their full confidence in its healing power. He explained to them that the pill contained special ingredients designed to relieve their symptoms. Through his empathetic communication and the creation of a trusting atmosphere, he was able to strengthen his patients’ faith in the pill’s effectiveness.
Amazingly, many of his patients actually reported a reduction in their headaches and an improvement in their sleep after sessions with the imaginary hypnosis pill. Steve believed that believing in the pill’s effects caused people’s subconscious minds to make positive changes in their bodies. It was a demonstration of the power of the imagination and the mind over the body.
body.
__________________

Studies (small sample only):

Buergler, S., Sezer, D., Bagge, N., Kirsch, I., Locher, C., Carvalho, C., & Gaab, J. (2023). Imaginary pills and open-label placebos can reduce test anxiety by means of placebo mechanisms. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 2624.

de Shazer, S. (1984). The imaginary pill technique. Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapies, 3(1), 30-34.

Hahn, A., Göhler, A. C., Hermann, C., & Winkler, A. (2022). Even when you know it is a placebo, you experience less sadness: First evidence from an experimental open-label placebo investigation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 304, 159-166.

Kaptchuk, T. J., & Miller, F. G. (2018). Open label placebo: can honestly prescribed placebos evoke meaningful therapeutic benefits?. Bmj, 363.

Many people who suffer from sleep disorders try to force themselves to sleep by taking sleeping pills. In doing so, they accept the side effects of medication, although there is an extremely effective alternative in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (ICBT). The good news is that many therapy elements can be easily integrated into everyday life (even without a therapist). Apps can also help with this (e.g. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.va.mobilehealth.ncptsd.cbti)… (You can find the app under the name “CBT-I Coach”).

____________

Studies (only small selection):

Chow, P. I., Ingersoll, K. S., Thorndike, F. P., Lord, H. R., Gonder-Frederick, L., Morin, C. M., & Ritterband, L. M. (2018). Cognitive mechanisms of sleep outcomes in a randomized clinical trial of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Sleep Medicine, 47, 77-85.

Gee, B., Orchard, F., Clarke, E., Joy, A., Clarke, T., & Reynolds, S. (2019). The effect of non-pharmacological sleep interventions on depression symptoms: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep medicine reviews, 43, 118-128.

Hasan, F., Tu, Y. K., Yang, C. M., Gordon, C. J., Wu, D., Lee, H. C., … & Chiu, H. Y. (2022). Comparative efficacy of digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 61, 101567.

Lowe, C. J., Safati, A., & Hall, P. A. (2017). The neurocognitive consequences of sleep restriction: a meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 80, 586-604.

Soh, H. L., Ho, R. C., Ho, C. S., & Tam, W. W. (2020). Efficacy of digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep medicine, 75, 315-325.

Staines, A. C., Broomfield, N., Pass, L., Orchard, F., & Bridges, J. (2022). Do non-pharmacological sleep interventions affect anxiety symptoms? A meta-analysis. Journal of Sleep Research, 31(1), e13451.

van Straten, A., & Cuijpers, P. (2009). Self-help therapy for insomnia: a meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 13(1), 61-71.

Van Straten, A., van der Zweerde, T., Kleiboer, A., Cuijpers, P., Morin, C. M., & Lancee, J. (2018). Cognitive and behavioral therapies in the treatment of insomnia: a meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 38, 3-16.

Even though our lives would certainly be dull and boring without emotions, everyone has probably wished at some point that he or she no longer had to bear a negative emotion (e.g., fear, sadness, or anger) or at least to be able to mitigate it. Fortunately, after decades of research, hundreds of studies are available from which we can learn which emotion regulation strategies really work and which strategies are even counterproductive! In this short 12-minute video, you will learn the essence of this research based on huge studies (meta-analyses).
__________________

Studies (small sample only):

Augustine, A. A., & Hemenover, S. H. (2009). On the relative effectiveness of affect regulation strategies: A meta-analysis. Cognition and Emotion, 23(6), 1181-1220.

Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical psychology review, 30(2), 217-237.

Buhle, J. T., Silvers, J. A., Wager, T. D., Lopez, R., Onyemekwu, C., Kober, H., … & Ochsner, K. N. (2014). Cognitive reappraisal of emotion: a meta-analysis of human neuroimaging studies. Cerebral cortex, 24(11), 2981-2990.

Compas, B. E., Jaser, S. S., Bettis, A. H., Watson, K. H., Gruhn, M. A., Dunbar, J. P., … & Thigpen, J. C. (2017). Coping, emotion regulation, and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological bulletin, 143(9), 939.

Hu, T., Zhang, D., Wang, J., Mistry, R., Ran, G., & Wang, X. (2014). Relation between emotion regulation and mental health: a meta-analysis review. Psychological reports, 114(2), 341-362.

Kross, E., Bruehlman-Senecal, E., Park, J., Burson, A., Dougherty, A., Shablack, H., … & Ayduk, O. (2014). Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: how you do it matters. Journal of personality and social psychology, 106(2), 304.

Levitt, J. T., Brown, T. A., Orsillo, S. M., & Barlow, D. H. (2004). The effects of acceptance versus suppression of emotion on subjective and psychophysiological response to carbon dioxide challenge in patients with panic disorder. Behavior therapy, 35(4), 747-766.

Liverant, G. I., Brown, T. A., Barlow, D. H., & Roemer, L. (2008). Emotion regulation in unipolar depression: The effects of acceptance and suppression of subjective emotional experience on the intensity and duration of sadness and negative affect. Behaviour research and therapy, 46(11), 1201-1209.

Moser, J. S., Dougherty, A., Mattson, W. I., Katz, B., Moran, T. P., Guevarra, D., … & Kross, E. (2017). Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-9.

Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological bulletin, 138(4), 775.

The quick way to higher intelligence?

When children (but also adults) encounter difficulties, they tend to think handicapping thoughts: “I’m so stupid,” “I can’t do it.” All of these negative thoughts consume cognitive capacity.

A study by French researchers shows:

A simple reframing can succeed in leveraging this negative mechanism and freeing up the cognitive capacity so that it is once again available for more important tasks.

Study:

Autin, F., & Croizet, J. C. (2012). Improving working memory efficiency by reframing metacognitive interpretation of task difficulty. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(4), 610.

What does really help after a traumatic experience? Should we, directly after a traumatic experience, talk through the traumatic experience again in great detail in a conversation with a psychologist (or another person we trust) so that we can process the experience better? Or might it be better to play Tetris, for example. The answer is perplexing…

__________________

Studies and books (only a small selection):

James, E. L., Bonsall, M. B., Hoppitt, L., Tunbridge, E. M., Geddes, J. R., Milton, A. L., & Holmes, E. A. (2015). Computer game play reduces intrusive memories of experimental trauma via reconsolidation-update mechanisms. Psychological science, 26(8), 1201-1215.

Holmes, E. A., & Iyadurai, L. (2020). Can we develop a «cognitive therapeutic vaccine» for the early hours after trauma to prevent the reccurrence of intrusive memories of trauma. Risk Management of Terrorism Induced Stress, 66-71.

Horsch, A., Vial, Y., Favrod, C., Harari, M. M., Blackwell, S. E., Watson, P., … & Holmes, E. A. (2017). Reducing intrusive traumatic memories after emergency caesarean section: A proof-of-principle randomized controlled study. Behaviour research and therapy, 94, 36-47.

Iyadurai, L., Blackwell, S. E., Meiser-Stedman, R., Watson, P. C., Bonsall, M. B., Geddes, J. R., … & Holmes, E. A. (2018). Preventing intrusive memories after trauma via a brief intervention involving Tetris computer game play in the emergency department: a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. Molecular psychiatry, 23(3), 674-682.

Kanstrup, M., Kontio, E., Geranmayeh, A., Olofsdotter Lauri, K., Moulds, M. L., & Holmes, E. A. (2021). A single case series using visuospatial task interference to reduce the number of visual intrusive memories of trauma with refugees. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 28(1), 109-123.

Kessler, H., Schmidt, A. C., James, E. L., Blackwell, S. E., von Rauchhaupt, M., Harren, K., … & Holmes, E. A. (2020). Visuospatial computer game play after memory reminder delivered three days after a traumatic film reduces the number of intrusive memories of the experimental trauma. Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry, 67, 101454.

Kessler, H., Holmes, E. A., Blackwell, S. E., Schmidt, A. C., Schweer, J. M., Bücker, A., … & Kehyayan, A. (2018). Reducing intrusive memories of trauma using a visuospatial interference intervention with inpatients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(12), 1076.

Lau-Zhu, A., Holmes, E. A., & Porcheret, K. (2018). Intrusive memories of trauma in the laboratory: Methodological developments and future directions. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports, 5(1), 61-71.

Anyone who successfully confronts his fear (e.g., in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy) builds neuronal “safety networks” in his brain. However, in many situations these safety networks still compete with the old “fear networks”. Depending on which network has the upper hand, our organism reacts with fear or composure. Against this background, many researchers have been looking into the question of how “safety networks” can be further strengthened in our brain. Initial studies were able to show that we can significantly reduce the return of fear through simple mental training (in which we remember successful fear confrontations). Presumably, mental training consolidates the neuronal memory traces of our safety networks.

__________________

Studies and books (only a small selection; all other studies can be found in the book: “Anxiety – what really helps…”):

Burck, E. (2019). Anxiety-What really helps against anxiety and panic attacks?: The most effective strategies against anxiety and panic from a research perspective. BoD Books on Demand.

Craske, M. G., Treanor, M., Conway, C. C., Zbozinek, T., & Vervliet, B. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behavior research and therapy, 58, 10-23.

Craske, M. G., Kircanski, K., Zelikowsky, M., Mystkowski, J., Chowdhury, N., & Baker, A. (2008). Optimizing inhibitory learning during exposure therapy. Behavior research and therapy, 46(1), 5-27.

McGlade, A. L., & Craske, M. G. (2021). Optimizing exposure: Between-session mental rehearsal as an augmentation strategy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 139, 103827.

Mystkowski, J. L., Craske, M. G., Echiverri, A. M., & Labus, J. S. (2006). Mental reinstatement of context and return of fear in spider-fearful participants. Behavior Therapy, 37(1), 49-60.

Vervliet, B., Craske, M. G., & Hermans, D. (2013). Fear extinction and relapse: state of the art. Annual review of clinical psychology, 9, 215-248.

Approximately 20% of the population suffer from chronic pain (Ashar et al., 2021). It is not uncommon for back pain, knee pain, headaches, etc. to have no clear physical cause, even after the most intensive examinations. At the same time, there are people, for example, whose spine shows several herniated discs in magnetic resonance imaging and yet are completely free of symptoms! These and numerous other findings suggest that pain largely originates (and is maintained) in our brain. The new “PAIN REPROCESSING THERAPY” makes use of this knowledge and was able prove itself in a first clinical study…

__________________

Studies (only a small selection):

Ashar, Y. K., Gordon, A., Schubiner, H., Uipi, C., Knight, K., Anderson, Z., … & Wager, T. D. (2021). Effect of pain reprocessing therapy vs placebo and usual care for patients with chronic back pain: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry.

Hilton, L., Hempel, S., Ewing, B. A., Apaydin, E., Xenakis, L., Newberry, S., … & Maglione, M. A. (2017). Mindfulness meditation for chronic pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 51(2), 199-213.

Louw, A., Puentedura, E. J., Zimney, K., & Schmidt, S. (2016). Know pain, know gain? A perspective on pain neuroscience education in physical therapy. journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 46(3), 131-134.

Lumley, M. A., & Schubiner, H. (2019). Psychological therapy for centralized pain: an integrative assessment and treatment model. Psychosomatic medicine, 81(2), 114.

Owen, P. J., Miller, C. T., Mundell, N. L., Verswijveren, S. J., Tagliaferri, S. D., Brisby, H., … & Belavy, D. L. (2020). Which specific modes of exercise training are most effective for treating low back pain? Network meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 54(21), 1279-1287.

Sheng, J., Liu, S., Wang, Y., Cui, R., & Zhang, X. (2017). The link between depression and chronic pain: neural mechanisms in the brain. Neural plasticity.

Shiri, R., Coggon, D., & Falah-Hassani, K. (2018). Exercise for the prevention of low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. American journal of epidemiology, 187(5), 1093-1101.

Zhuo, M. (2016). Neural mechanisms underlying anxiety-chronic pain interactions. Trends in neurosciences, 39(3), 136-145.

For decades scientists have tried to improve the effectiveness of depression therapy. Until recently only with limited access.

New evidence suggests that things could change due to Metacognitive Therapy which was developed by the clinical psychologist Adrian Wells (2011).

The treatment approach in Metacognitive Therapy is fundamentally different from other treatments. Whereas in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) a lot of effort goes into reframing negative thoughts in Metacognitive Therapy you don’t have to change the content of your thoughts. Instead you have to change what you belief about your thoughts (metacognitive = beliefs concerning your thoughts). This will help you to detach your attention from negative thoughts and will finally stop your rumination.

Studies & Books:

Callesen, P., Reeves, D., Heal, C., & Wells, A. (2020). Metacognitive therapy versus cognitive behaviour therapy in adults with major depression: a parallel single-blind randomised trial. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-10.

Fisher, P., & Wells, A. (2014). Metakognitive Therapie (Vol. 8). Junfermann Verlag GmbH.

Wells, A., Fisher, P., Myers, S., Wheatley, J., Patel, T., & Brewin, C. R. (2009). Metacognitive therapy in recurrent and persistent depression: A multiple-baseline study of a new treatment. Cognitive therapy and research, 33(3), 291-300.

Wells, A., Fisher, P., Myers, S., Wheatley, J., Patel, T., & Brewin, C. R. (2012). Metacognitive therapy in treatment-resistant depression: A platform trial. Behaviour research and therapy, 50(6), 367-373.

Wells, A., & Papageorgiou, C. (2004). 13 Metacognitive Therapy for Depressive Rumination. Depressive rumination, 259.

Wells, A. (2011). Metacognitive therapy for anxiety and depression. Guilford press.

Wells, A. (2013). Advances in metacognitive therapy. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 6(2), 186-201.