Michelle Craske to share how research can inform anxiety and depression treatment

For more than three decades, Michelle Craske  has been trying to understand what makes some people prone to anxiety and depression. She’s studied what biomarkers, behaviors and thinking patterns contribute to these conditions, and how to use that knowledge to develop better treatments. At the128th Faculty Research Lecture, Craske, distinguished professor of psychology in the UCLA College, will describe some of her findings and talk about how virtual reality has begun playing a role in changing patients ’ mindsets for the better. The talk will be held at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. “Anxiety and depression are dramatically increasing in prevalence,” said Craske, who is also a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and holder of theJoanne and George Miller and Family Endowed Chair. “We need to understand the engine that’s driving these conditions so we can improve our treatments.”In the U.S., only about half of people with symptoms of anxiety or depression receive treatment. And when they do get help, treatments are only effective about half the time, said Craske, also an executive committee member for theUCLA Depression Grand Challenge, a campus-wide initiative that aims to cut the global burden of depression in half by 2050.Much of Craske ’s work on anxiety centers on the idea that people prone to anxiety disorders, which affect an estimated 18% of U.S. adults each year, anticipate threat more ofte...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news