As research grows, interest also continues to rise in psychedelic therapies as treatments for addiction and mental health conditions, including PTSD and depression. But how does the “set and setting” of a psychedelic experience affect the experience of patients receiving these treatments?  A scoping review published in 2022 from the International Arts + Mind Lab […]

As anyone who has ever heard “their song” can attest, the right music has the power to make you move. Now, healthcare providers are trying to harness this power to help patients with a disabling neurological motor disorder, Parkinson’s disease (PD). Over the past three decades, researchers have begun to uncover the neural basis of […]

Despite recent controversies over which books should line the shelves of schools and libraries, there is little debate that literature expands the mind. But can the act of reading also improve our mental health and wellbeing? Researchers are investigating the impact of reading experiences and reporting evidence of promising mental and social health benefits. Whether […]

Artists across cultures and throughout history have long recognized what scientific research has only recently been able to confirm: The arts are essential to our ability to heal and thrive. The emerging field of neuroarts studies how the arts and aesthetic experiences change the brain, body, and behavior – and how this knowledge can be […]

“Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew That even as we hurt, we hoped That even as we tired, we tried That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious” Amanda Gorman, the 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate, spoke these powerful words at the 2020 presidential inauguration […]

In a village on the east coast of China, a farming couple and their “rural-style shuffle dance” has gone viral on TikTok. Their dancing is joyful and upbeat, sometimes taking place in front of fields of corn or grazing cows. And it has been therapeutic. The husband, Fan Deduo, had fallen into a depression following […]

When our lives are disrupted by the stress of a traumatic experience, like the pandemic, our mental health can be compromised.  The constant disruption in our routines, the possibility or reality of loved ones becoming ill, the potential exposure to a life-threatening virus and the overall uncertainty of the situation makes it difficult for the […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the entire healthcare system and the first responders treating those who fall ill.  Even before the outbreak, half of all doctors and a third of nurses in the United States experienced symptoms of burnout, which the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that […]

Millions of families are adjusting to a new normal of stay-at-home life. COVID-19 has changed how we learn and work and interrupted our routines for recreation and leisure time, too. For adults, gyms and fitness centers are closed. Children and youth are missing out on physical education, recess and after-school sports and activities. In many […]

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, older adults were at risk for social isolation and loneliness.  Because the elderly are more vulnerable to COVID-19, they are wisely being asked to stay in their homes, retirement centers, and nursing facilities, reducing their potential exposure to the virus.  But with restrictions on their movements as well as visits […]