Theravive Home

Schizophrenia is one of the more serious mental health diagnoses, and is possibly one of the more misunderstood illnesses. Individuals with this diagnosis often require very close observation and intensive mental health treatment interventions in order to maintain stability. This summary will explore some of the symptoms of the diagnosis, some of the treatment options, and some of the common misconceptions about the illness. There seem to be varying levels of stigma surrounding mental health issues, and schizophrenia suffers as one of the more stigmatized disorders. [More]

What is the best way to help children from aged five to eight with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? A recent study from Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island offers an interesting insight. Researcher there found that family-based cognitive behavioral therapy is beneficial. They found that developmentally sensitive family-based treatment that included exposure/response prevention was more effective in reducing OCD symptoms and functional impairment in this age group when compared to a structured relaxation program. [More]

Social anxiety is becoming more and more common in today's world. Every year, millions of people struggle with anxiety disorders and they try to work through them on their own. Social anxiety, or social phobia, is "a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed. This fear can be so strong that it gets in the way of going to work or school or doing other everyday things. [More]

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) was formerly known as multiple personality disorder, and remains to this day as one of the most controversial and misunderstood disorders in the Diagnostic Manual. It is a difficult diagnosis to make, and often is more difficult to treat. It has been the topic of many Hollywood productions which gives laypeople an idea that they understand what it is, but as is often the case in movies and media, there is some sensationalism that occurs. It is not a common diagnosis and is only one of the classified dissociative disorders. [More]

In the not too distant past, there was a lot of difficulty for individuals needing to access mental health care services. Many health insurance companies treated mental health as a separate and unequal health issue compared with medical health problems. This made it difficult for the mentally ill to get adequate treatment, and to be able to afford that treatment when it was needed. In the last few years, those laws have begun to change, and mental illness is now considered to be equal in regard to insurance as is physical illness. [More]

Sleep disturbances are common in the United States population. Harvard Health Publications (2009), estimate that sleep problems are prevalent in at least 50% of patients receiving psychiatric treatment. This can be compared to the general population in which about 10% report sleep problems. What is not entirely clear is whether or not sleep disturbance is a symptom or a risk factor for mental health presentations. [More]

The Paralympic games are both a welcome reminder of the amazing potential of physically challenged athletes as well as the innate human ability to transcend our physical boundaries. These athletes prove time and again that mind does take precedence over matter in the end. The brain is unlike any other organ in the human body. There are trillions of neurons whizzing by at near light speeds in billions of synaptic nerves in the brain flooding us with the information about the outside world. [More]

Studies have shown that depression-like behavior in mice correlates with abnormal electrical activity in the brain. By modulating these electrical signals, researchers have fixed the brains of these mice and returned their behavior to normal. Scientists were startled to find that cells in the brain have an inborn ability to modulate their electrical signals back at a more normal pattern. [More]

Panic attacks are incredibly frightening to people, and if you haven't encountered them before, they can be frightening to you, even if you're just with someone who is having one. In this article, we're going to explore how you can tell if someone is having a panic attack and how you can help them through this frightening thing. [More]

The classic sign of Schizophrenia is hearing voices that other people don’t hear. Schizophrenics may believe that others are reading their mind, controlling their thought, or plotting to harm them. Conversations with schizophrenics may not make a lot of sense. Because schizophrenics may sit for hours without moving or talking they may seem fine until they relate what they are thinking. Schizophrenia is a life-long debilitating disease that affects about 1% of all Americans. [More]