Uniview Worldwide recently sent me a copy of a DVD of a lecture presentation by Dr Philip Zimbardo on the topic of a book he has recently published entitled “The Lucifer Effect”. In this lecture Zimbardo uses classic social psychology theories of conformity, prejudice, aggression, social influence and anti-social behaviour to try and understand why ‘good’ people can do ‘evil’ actions. To illustrate his arguments he uses examples of both historical and very recent events, including his experiences explaining the shocking behaviour of US soldiers at Abu Ghraib. It’s an interesting presentation which makes social psychology theories come alive as they are used to understand current events. If you are interested you can get the DVD from uniview.co.uk

TalkingCure.com is the website of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change (ISTC) which is an organisation that conducts research and training on the factors that account for change in all therapeutic approaches. “Common factors” research has been translated into a “client directed” therapeutic perspective where direct client feedback is used to tailor individualised interventions. The website provides a very interesting therapeutic perspective that breaks the boundaries between the traditional schools of psychotherapy and takes the lead from the client in determining what is effective therapy. The website has a very good “Research & Resource” section with articles, presentations and even audio files available to download.

Postpartum Progress is a blog by Katherine Stone that covers all aspects of postpartum depression and anxiety, postpartum psychosis, and other mental health concerns connected to childbirth. The blog features frequent posts on newly released research, media coverage, and personal experiences related to postpartum difficulties. To vist the blog go to: http://postpartumprogress.typepad.com/weblog/

Mindsite offers free access to clinical resources on mental health. The site is aimed to help patients find quality information on diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems. You can take diagnostic surveys developed by the Harvard Medical School to test for symptoms of various disorders. There are articles and videos available on many mental health topics and If these do not answer your questions then you can ask the mindsite community for answers. You can visit the site at this address: http://www.mindsite.com/

The Child Therapy Toolbox is a website showcasing therapeutic children’s stories written by a clinical psychologist, Lauren Snailham. You can use the site to explore and purchase the books. The stories can be used by psychologists, social workers, teachers and parents to help children with anger management, death, child abuse, divorce, feelings and anxiety, bullying and trauma. The stories can also be used in a variety of settings such as therapy, classroom, home, individual, group or family settings. Visit the site at this address: http://www.therapeuticstories.co.za

Psychotherapy.co.za is a online resource for South African psychotherapists. You can keep updated with news posted on the site, explore articles and links to useful resources, or read book reviews. The site has an active forum for therapists to interact and you can even advertise your practice in a therapist directory. Check it out at http://www.psychotherapy.co.za

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is a British organisation responsible for providing guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health in the NHS. They have published a number of good guidelines on treating various psychiatric conditions which can accessed at: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byTopic&o=7281&set=true

The Dulwich Centre website includes a series of 20 popular articles on Narrative Therapy which can be freely viewed and downloaded. The website address is http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/articles.html

Welcome to the new PsychNews blog! In this blog I plan to review resources on psychotherapy that I discover during my meanderings on the net. Hopefully this will grow into a useful collection of resources that psychotherapists can use to grow professionally. I would appreciate your help in discovering new resources so please feel free to drop me an email with the details of a psychotherapy related website that I have not reviewed.