Daniel O'Rourke, PhD

05Jan201904Jan2019

The Importance of Sleep for Adolescents

Daniel O'Rourke, PhD Children, Key Research, Kids, Mental Health, Psychology, Research, Research Review, School, school refusal, Science, Sleep, Teens 0 Comment

I take a look at a recent study where a school district changed its start times so adolescents could sleep more.

15Dec201815Dec2018

Listening to Anxiety

Daniel O'Rourke, PhD anxiety, Mental Health, Psychology, Shorts, Stress 0 Comment

A lot of the time if you’re feeling anxious, it’s a really good thing. Anxiety motivates you to take action. Anxiety says “hey, something bad is going to happen, do something about it!” Your body has evolved to figure out when something bad is going to happen. It’s pretty good at warning you. I’d argue […]

11Nov201810Nov2018

Does Screen Time Affect Children’s Sleep?

Daniel O'Rourke, PhD Children, Computers, Evidence-Based Treatment, Kids, Mental Health, parents, Psychology, Research, Science, Screens, Sleep, Smartphones, Teens, TV 0 Comment

A few days ago, the BBC published an article called “Children’s screen time has little effect on sleep, says study”. If you have read any of my other articles, you’ll know that this statement contrasts with a lot of the research done to date. I thought I’d take a look at the study and break […]

12Oct201811Oct2018

What is Cognitive Therapy?

Daniel O'Rourke, PhD anxiety, Anxiety Treatment, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Evidence-Based Treatment, Mental Health, Psychology, Science, Therapists, Treatment 0 Comment

Many people have heard about a type of treatment used for various mental health issues, called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It is the most research-supported treatment for mental health. But CBT has 2 parts. The “C” and the “B”. I mostly write about the behavioral parts (the “B”) of treatments on this blog – Things that […]

18Sep201818Sep2018

How To Know When Stress Is Helpful

Daniel O'Rourke, PhD anxiety, Anxiety Treatment, Mental Health, Psychology, Science, Shorts, Stress, Therapists, Treatment 4 Comments

Most people have had a time when they feel high levels of stress. It might be caused by exam time, going through a divorce, moving house, or any number of things. But what is stress? About Stress Stress is a response to some strain in your life, involving physical symptoms, emotional reactions, and behavioral changes. […]

16Aug201815Aug2018

Does Cognitive Therapy Enhance Exposure Therapy?

Daniel O'Rourke, PhD anxiety, Anxiety Treatment, Evidence-Based Treatment, Exposure Therapy, Mental Health, OCD, Psychology, Research, Research Review, Science, Therapists, Treatment 0 Comment

A neat study was published recently exploring this topic. In the OCD literature, research has typically compared exposure response prevention (ERP) treatment to cognitive therapy (CT). Both are shown to be effective, but the literature is larger for ERP interventions. However, what about combining them? Here’s the reference: Rector, N. A., Richter, M. A., Katz, […]

Knowing Anxiety

Author: Daniel O'Rourke, PhD